i work, is a conservatory. the difference between a department of music and a conservatory in the united states is that if you’re enrolled in a music department and decide composition is not for you, it’s easy to change majors and you can be a psychology major or do religious studies or whatever you want. but in a conservatory, you’re accepted as a composer and changing your mind and switching majors is really hard.
one day, i had some students come to me that were wondering whether to continue in the composition program. i refused to tell them whether or not they had any talent: i don’t think that’s something any 