Beyond the Orquestra Geração: The Manuela's portrait, a youngster who dreamt with becoming a professional clarinetist

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the journey of a young clarinetist who, after finishing her path at Orquestra Geração, decided to join the National Conservatory, with the dream of building a professional career in the music world. Created from Manuela's sociological portrait, this analysis stands in the crossing between Lahire's dispositional theory and an idea of education that emerges from Dewey's Pragmatism as well as from some authors connected with Critical Pedagogy. The portrait is therefore read in a triangle that defines itself from these two lines, and is analyzed through the concept of “sustainability” (Mota & Figueiredo, 2012). This discussion raises some problematic questions about the transitional moment that certain young musicians may cross when they leave the project Orquestra Geração to join other formal educational contexts connected with music education. In the end, some possible directions to overcome the problems that have emerged in the discussion section will be presented.