How do you make a living with a Music degree doing what you love?
When we seriously consider this question, what we REALLY want to do gets overshadowed by the dreaded "shoulds"...
Should I get a "real" 9-5 job? You know, just until I get established​​
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Should I get a different/additional degree as a safety net in case this whole "musician" thing doesn't work out?
Or the nagging "what ifs"​...
What if I can't pay my rent and my bills pile up?
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What if I start something and it fails?
I get you.
Because I was you.
Let's back up a hot second, because you're probably curious about how I got here.
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I started undergrad as a Music Ed major. I wanted to be just like my high school band director (with a dash of Richard Dreyfus from Mr. Holland's Opus). And for the first three semesters, things were great.
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As my schedule got fuller and my practice hours became more irregular, I realized that I didn't love the classroom the way my peers did. I was TERRIBLE at other instrument groups (I even broke a cello string as a freshman, which did not go over well with the professor), and I didn't want to spend hours and hours in courses where I couldn't see a future for myself. I realized I was pursuing a music ed degree because of the job market, not because I was actually passionate about classroom teaching.
I didn't want to stick with the "safe" option
because it's what I SHOULD do.
So, despite scaring the bejeezus out of my parents (thanks mom and dad for being supportive despite your daughter's antics), I switched to Saxophone Performance and never looked back.
Fast forward a few years to grad school in sunny Arizona. I got accepted into one of the most prestigious studios in the country with a professor I had only dreamed of studying with. You better believe that I worked my butt off to get there, stay there, and I was all about going on to get a DMA. But halfway through my masters degree, I realized that I wanted to pursue a doctorate for the wrong reasons:
I was motivated by the fear of failure.
I thought I needed that degree to finally legitimize me. That without it, I wasn't a "real, legitimate musician," and doomed to live a lowly life devoid of meaning and impact outside of the spotlight.
After a lot of soul searching (with the support of dark chocolate and The Golden Girls), I realized that the reason I became a musician was because I want to impact others. More specifically, I want to help others have a clear plan of how to turn their interests and talents into a career that is as unique and beautiful as they are. ​
That brings us to today, which consists of:​
a thriving private studio
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the ability to set my own hours while working with high-achieving students
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performing with a group of colleagues that are close enough to feel like family
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teaching masterclasses and assisting in product development for a major woodwind company
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giving professional development workshops across the country
But best of all:
I get to use my experience to help you
create a career that you love.
Yay! Tell me more
cool stuff about you
College and Graduate School
Bachelors from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Masters from Arizona State University
Where I teach
Vandegrift High School
Leander ISD
Am an O.G. clinician, Reed Fairy, and 1st female saxophonist!
D'Addario Woodwinds
Performer, Board Member, and Director of Summer Camps
Austin Saxophone Ensemble
More fun facts
I learned how to sing before I could talk
Wild, right!? My childhood speech impediment made my r's and w's sound the same (which was unfortunate because I lived in Marlborough and my favorite toy was Marble Works). Pediatric speech therapists couldn't get me to talk, but my mom realized that she could correct my speech only when I was singing with her in the car. In my little mind, every correction my mom gave brought me one step closer to singing as beautifully as she can.
I've had more knee surgeries than I can count​
Once upon a time I was a prima ballerina and planned on becoming a choreographer. Long story short: I have a cartilage defect exacerbated by a dance injury, which meant an abrupt end to ALL dancing when I was 14. I am part of some cool medical studies, though, since my first cartilage transplant was among the first to be studied.
The coolest place I've ever performed was in a 1,000+ year old stone church in Southern France
You know, casual.
If a formal bio is your jam, see below!
Austin-based concert saxophonist Elizabeth Rosinbum maintains an exciting career as an educator, speaker, clinician, and performer.
She maintains a select private studio as the lead saxophone instructor in one of the most competitive districts in the state. Her commitment to educating the next generation of musicians has led to numerous successful enterprises beyond her private teaching career. Rosinbum was the first-ever saxophonist to be hired as a D'Addario Woodwinds clinician. Since her initial involvement in 2013, she has facilitated additional growth in this program by supervising and mentoring other clinicians in multiple states, authoring D'Addario's "Saxophone Survival Guide," and becoming a founding member of the D'Addario Educational Collective.​ During the summer months, Rosinbum is Director of Summer Camps for Austin Saxophone Ensemble's Youth program. She has also held positions as Adjunct Professor of Saxophone at Concordia University Texas, and as a faculty member of the Great Plains Saxophone Workshop and Longhorn Music Camp's Middle School Saxophone Academy.
A skilled clinician and speaker, Rosinbum travels throughout the United States and internationally to lecture on woodwind pedagogy, entrepreneurship, performance psychology, and career strategies and business skills for musicians. She has spoken as a guest lecturer at multiple colleges and universities in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and overseas, and was recently featured in Episode 6 of the podcast "Pay to Play." She has also given hundreds of masterclasses in her role with D'Addario Woodwinds, where she showcases D'Addario mouthpieces, reeds, and accessories as educational outreach to young musicians.​
Rosinbum has performed nationally and internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She has premiered and/or commissioned works by Michael Mikulka, Jack Wilds, Rob Smith, Anna Meadors, James Lowrie, Shelley Washington, Andrew Koss, Alejandro Cimadoro, Brett Kroening, and Andrew Noseworthy. Rosinbum has performed with the Austin Saxophone Ensemble since 2017, and currently serves on the board. She is also a proud Key Leaves artist.