Passion is Sacrifice: A Music Major’s Perspective

Students of the arts, including theatre, music and film among countless others, often go undervalued for their work and contributions to the world. Many of them have heard some variation of the condescending question: “But what can you actually do with that?” Those outside of the arts often fail to understand that, for many, happiness lies in pursuing what they are passionate about, regardless of monetary success. Bennett Wells is one of the many.

Wells is a music composition major who transferred from Front Range Community College to pursue a bachelor’s degree at UNC. Wells’ love of music started early. His dad put him in piano lessons at a young age and his love of video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band further nurtured his fondness for the medium.

“I kept buying one game after another, completing every single track on it,” Wells said. “That’s when I got into drumming.”

From there, Wells took drum lessons and developed a love for percussion, a passion that would stick with him for the next several years. Wells played in honor bands and marching bands, including at Louisiana State University his first two semesters of college, and decided that this is what he wanted to do, and UNC’s music program only strengthened that decision.

“The whole point of it is to just really get you doing it a lot and get you immersed in music, not just as a hobby, but as a lifestyle,” Wells said.

While UNC’s music lifestyle has grown Wells’ passion, it hasn’t come without its challenges. Wells said being a music major is hard work, with long hours and lots of practice, something that makes balancing work, school and a social life difficult.

“It’s not for everybody,” Wells said. “It’s really intense… You have to write new stuff every single week. It’s just kind of like this constant need to produce stuff, along with classes that have assignments and tests as well.”

Unlike Wells, the sacrifices required weren’t worth it for Reed Benson, a 2024 UNC music composition graduate.

“I do not regret the degree, I just would never do it again,” Benson said.

Music students take far more classes per semester than most other majors, with Benson and Wells saying they each took around eight to 10 classes per semester with workloads not indicative of the listed credit hours. Wells has 13 credit hours this semester, but his average week takes much more time.

“In reality, it’s probably more like a 23 to 25 hour overloaded schedule,” Wells said.

Benson said he had trouble balancing the workload, oftentimes having 12-hour days, not including work.

“While doing that and trying to balance a full-time job, it was rough,” Benson said.

Wells agreed that the lifestyle of a music major is tough and highly demanding, but for him, it’s been worth it.

“Passion, by definition, is just being willing to suffer for something that you love,” Wells said. “The level of satisfaction that I get from having a concert go well or having a piece of music finished and all polished up and you can look at it and go, ‘That’s something that I created,’ it makes you want to keep going.”

The pursuit of one’s dreams is never easy, but the desire to live for what you love is powerful. Despite not finding the same satisfaction as Wells at UNC, Benson continues to nurture his love of music in his own way, playing for a wind symphony in Florida where he now resides.

“I'm able to talk to people, play with people again,” Benson said. “That is giving me my motivation to start writing again.”

Wells remains passionate about his schoolwork and is embracing the ever-changing lifestyle of a musician, as he continues to teach, write and compose music.

“It gives me a reason to wake up in the morning,” Wells said.