Five Things I Wish I’d Known After Music College with Jocelyn Freeman

Hannah caught up with SongEasel Founder Jocelyn Freeman about their Young Artist Programme, as it reaches its sixth year.

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Photo by Daniel Baillie

A sought-after duo partner for singers globally and Founder-Director of SongEasel, Jocelyn has given song masterclasses and career keynote talks at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and was recently awarded ‘Most Inspiring Collaborative Pianist & Song Curator’ by SME News.

Five things I wish I’d known as a musician fresh out of music college.

The step from music college into the wider profession can feel exhilarating, and yet quietly destabilising. The structures that once held you disappear almost overnight, and suddenly you’re expected to define success, pace, and tenacity for yourself. If your path doesn’t unfold in the way you imagined when you first applied to conservatoire, you’re not alone.

As a collaborative pianist working with singers around the world, and as Founder-Director of SongEasel, I’ve spent the past decade alongside young artists at moments of transition. SongEasel’s Young Artist Programme now enters its sixth year, and again and again I hear the same questions: Am I doing enough? Am I doing the right things?

These are five things I wish I’d known when I was starting out, lessons learned slowly, sometimes the hard way, and now offered in the spirit of reassurance rather than instruction.

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1. Everyone has a unique career pathway

It can be daunting to step out into the big wide world of a career, especially if it differs from your plan when you started studying. Contrary to what it seems, and let’s not pretend that social media isn’t contributing to our perceptions (!), each musician has a unique pathway for their career. Collage (or portfolio) Careers are a thing, so choose the bill-paying work that feeds and enables you as an artist, not just what you think you ‘should be’ doing. There is no single, correct way to build a musical life. As Picasso once suggested, even if there were only one truth, there would still be countless ways to paint it.

2. You hold the reins for your career

I was 100% guilty of waiting for opportunities to happen when I graduated and didn’t initially have the initiative or aptitude to take the reins of my musical pathway. Be brave and spend time thinking about where you want to be, and map out some steps to get you there. It could be building a website to share your work with the world, or curating your own project. Whatever it is, do it to the best of your ability and with your full artistic being.

3. Focus on your niches

Everyone has a niche – you might have studied an unusual topic for A-level, have wizzy language skills, or business nous that can actually shape your unique pathway. Or perhaps friends and family have an amazing network that wants to hear from you as an artist. Set aside time to reflect on your different skills, how they can help you achieve your goals, and celebrate them!

4. Create those good habits and strategies now

Every musician I’ve spoken to says that life just gets busier post-university. Don’t wait to create good strategies – put them in place now. Even if you’re juggling jobs, carve out time to practice daily and be your best musical self. Set time aside, even half an hour a week, to take baby steps towards your goals. Buddy up and perform new pieces to a friend before trying them out in public: Little strategies make a big impact!

5. The three Ks

This is a decision-making process that I’ve used for a while now. It helps us to weigh up the benefits of various engagements practically:

• 1 ‘Kash’ (AKA cold hard cash) – how well it pays

• 2 Kicks – how much it excites and feeds me as an artist

• 3 Kudos – how it impacts my profile

Often, two out of three of these Ks are good, and another scores less high, whilst if only one of the 3 Ks scores high, we have to decide if it is a worthwhile project.

2025 SongEasel Young Artist Programme: masterclass with Stephan Loges

A sustainable musical life is rarely built through one perfect opportunity. More often, it emerges through a series of thoughtful choices, made with increasing self-knowledge and care. Over time, you begin to recognise which work nourishes you artistically, which supports you practically, and which helps you grow in visibility and confidence.

The aim isn’t to optimise every decision, but to stay connected to your values as an artist. Careers shift, priorities change, and capacity ebbs and flows. That’s not failure, it’s part of the work. If these reflections help you feel steadier, more curious, or more compassionate towards your own journey, then they’ve done what they were meant to do.

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SongEasel’s Young Artist Programme

SongEasel’s Young Artist Programme 2026 is now open for applications, with wonderful opportunities for promising, early-career song duos through an intensive programme of talks, masterclasses and showcase events!

Spread over four days 21–24 May in South East London, this intensive course offers song duos masterclasses with acclaimed tenor James Gilchrist, iconic pianist Roger Vignoles, and renowned Lieder specialist Richard Stokes. There will also be talks to develop practical skills for careers in song.

Applications are made via the application form, and are open until 5pm on Friday 20th February 2026.

2025 SongEasel Young Artist Programme with Jocelyn Freeman

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