Exploring the relationship between college students' music participation and their intent to continue after college

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which college musicians (N = 76) found music participation to be important in their lives as they move on the path to adulthood. The participants were all non-music major stringed-instrument players in the Philharmonia Orchestra (n = 21) and the Illini Symphony (n = 55) at the University of Illinois in the spring semester of 2014, chosen for this study, in part, because of their status as emerging adults. The study also examined respondents' plans to continue participating in making music in college and beyond, their inclination for a leisure career in music after they leave college, and what they envision as obstacles to future participation. The Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure (SLIM) was the basis for a survey used to collect data on musical participation in regards to six characteristics and 12 durable outcomes of serious leisure participation. Response rate was 70%. Findings suggest that two characteristics and three durable outcomes of serious leisure participation as well as playing multiple instruments were significantly related to participants' stated intent to continue musical participation after college. Most participants (55%) intended to participate in music for 30+ years after college, but 8% anticipated stopping their participation once they are finished with college. Work and the availability of participation options were seen as impediments to their future participation. Current musical participation as a form of serious leisure was neither a strong nor consistent predictor of participants' intent to continue musical participation after college. Analysis of the characteristics and outcomes of serious leisure participation as well as the musical profiles of participants provided an opportunity to explore the intent to continue musical participation in the context of emerging adulthood. Implications for music educators and suggestions for future research are discussed in detail.