How many trumpet players graduate from college every year—and how many full-time orchestral trumpet chairs actually open?

That is the uncomfortable question at the center of this episode of The Ultimate Trumpet Podcast. Adam and Bella take an honest look at the numbers behind the music degree and the enormous gap between the number of musicians being trained for professional performance and the relatively small number of permanent orchestral positions available.

This isn't an argument against music school. In fact, it's the opposite. A music degree can be an extraordinary education. But young musicians need to understand what the degree can—and cannot—promise.

There may be hundreds of trumpet performance degrees awarded in a year, while the number of new professional trumpet positions is dramatically smaller. And when a ...