Honors Program student Blaine Brubaker graduated from 西顿希尔大学 with a degree in 音乐表演. After discovering a passion for music history at Seton Hill, Blaine decided to pursue two masters degrees at the University of North Texas. 毕业后, she was offered a position at the UNT Music Library and now works as Music Cataloging and Metadata Librarian. We recently talked with Blaine about how her undergraduate studies as a 音乐表演 major helped prepare her for her current position. 

What made you want to major in 音乐表演?

我决定我要主修 音乐表演 when I was a sophomore in high school. 我喜欢吹长号. It did not take long into my high school career to know that being involved in music in some way was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Performing on your instrument can be such as rush! My ultimate goal as an undergraduate music major was to be an accomplished performing trombonist. 

Why did you choose 西顿希尔大学 for your undergraduate degree? 

When I first visited 西顿希尔大学 in my junior year, I knew it was the place I wanted to be. 哈佛大学的教授 音乐系 在澳门金沙博彩娱乐平台都很棒. Being at a smaller school was also a huge pull. There is not as much personalized attention at larger music schools compared to a school like Seton Hill.

How did you go from majoring in 音乐表演 to a career in music history and cataloging? 

By my spring semester of my junior year of undergrad, I realized I might not want to be a performer as much as I did in the past. 就像我喜欢表演一样, 我的音乐史, 世界音乐, and jazz history courses made me realize I wanted to explore that side of music more. When I did decide to go down a different path, my professors at Seton Hill switched gears along with me to help me succeed, providing me with advice and support. I will never forget how they supported me. I would certainly not be where I am today without them.

"When I did decide to go down a different path, my professors at Seton Hill switched gears along with me to help me succeed, providing me with advice and support. I will never forget how they supported me. I would certainly not be where I am today without them."

Can you give me a brief timeline after you graduated from Seton Hill?

I graduated from Seton Hill with a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance in May 2017. 8月, 我搬到了丹顿, Texas to simultaneously pursue two master’s degrees at the University of North Texas: a Master of Arts in Music, concentrating in Historical Musicology, and a Master of Science in Library Science, concentrating in Music Librarianship. 我以M的成绩毕业.A. 在2019年8月和我的M.S.L.2020年5月. While earning my two master’s degrees, I worked at the Music Library at UNT. In November 2021, I was hired into my current position as Music Cataloging and Metadata Librarian.

Can you tell me more about your current career as a Music Cataloging and Metadata Librarian at the University of North Texas Music Library? 

As the name suggests, I have two primary roles: cataloging and creating metadata. When physical music materials arrive at the UNT Music Library, they go through a several step process before they are accessible to library patrons. 其中一个步骤就是编目. Cataloging allows librarians to prepare an item for the library shelves and also allows library patrons to locate the items on the online library catalog. The physical items I catalog the most are scores, CDs, vinyl, and DVDs. They can range in style and genre: classical music, popular music, 世界音乐, etc. My specialty is cataloging the music materials in Japanese and Korean. Creating metadata is similar to cataloging—one describes an object in a specialized manner on the computer for people to find online. AT UNT, we specifically create metadata for our digital content. 

How did your education at Seton Hill prepare you for your current career?

My general music courses have helped me significantly, especially 我的音乐史 courses. I also participated in many different 乐团 当我在澳门金沙博彩娱乐平台的时候. Being in those 乐团 enforced discipline, 协作, and a well-rounded knowledge in different repertories and instrumental and vocal pedagogies. This knowledge has served me well when cataloging as I recognize music I performed and know how to catalog music so patrons who need it can find it easily. This position allows me to use my education in music and library science every day.