--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because I have sixty years of being a…" description: "\"Because I have sixty years of being a professional composer, conductor, musician, whatever, and you develop a lot of friendships and you get involved w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/gunther-schuller-24722_because_because-i-have-sixty-years-of-being-a-pr_1933962.png" --- # Because I have sixty years of being a professional… ![“Because I have sixty years of being a professional composer, conductor, musician, whatever, and you develop a lot of friendships and you get involved with a lot of sort of long-term commitments and obligations.” quote by Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/gunther-schuller-24722_because_because-i-have-sixty-years-of-being-a-pr_1933962.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/gunther-schuller-24722_because_because-i-have-sixty-years-of-being-a-pr_1933962.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/gunther-schuller-24722_because_because-i-have-sixty-years-of-being-a-pr_1933962.png) > “Because I have sixty years of being a professional composer, conductor, musician, whatever, and you develop a lot of friendships and you get involved with a lot of sort of long-term commitments and obligations.” [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Decades of professional music work foster deep friendships and long‑term commitments, shaping one’s career and life. **In simple terms:** Music career builds lasting bonds and obligations. Key Takeaway Value relationships. Themes career friendship commitment Mood thoughtful inspirational Type professional reflective When to use this quote - orchestra leadership - composer residencies - ment mentorship Key Concepts Professional networking artistic collaboration Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance obligations? - What friendships sustain you? A Different Perspective It may overlook burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Commitments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitments/) [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Conductor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conductor/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Friendships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendships/) [Long term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-term/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Obligations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligations/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not really a professional composer; I just compose now and then when someone asks me to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-m-not-really-a-professional-composer-i-just-compose-now-and-then/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [Notes are part of life for any composer for hire. There's no way around it. I think anyone who has done even a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christophe-beck/notes-are-part-of-life-for-any-composer-for-hire-there-s-no-way/) [Christophe Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christophe-beck/) > [Elizabeth Lutyens was the first professional composer that I ever knew. I sent someextremely infantile pieces that I I'd written and got marvellous encouragement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodney-bennett/elizabeth-lutyens-was-the-first-professional-composer-that-i-ever/) [Richard Rodney Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodney-bennett/) > [Ordinary citizens are obliged and, if need be, compelled by force to meet their commitments. But let higher obligations of an international order be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-albert-gobat/ordinary-citizens-are-obliged-and-if-need-be-compelled-by-force-to/) [Charles Albert Gobat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-albert-gobat/) > [And also I assert our interest in respecting all our obligations and implementing all our commitments. And will save no effort whatever to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abbas/and-also-i-assert-our-interest-in-respecting-all-our-obligations-and/) [Mahmoud Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-abbas/) > [As people who have commitments and obligations, we try to blockade emotions and go on our course towards excellence, and that's a lie. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/as-people-who-have-commitments-and-obligations-we-try-to-blockade/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I pushed away a lot of friendships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/i-pushed-away-a-lot-of-friendships/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [Most of my close friends, growing up, were women - and even after I got married, I still maintained a lot of those friendships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gurland/most-of-my-close-friends-growing-up-were-women-and-even-after-i-got/) [Andrew Gurland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-gurland/) > [I boldly assert, in fact I think I know, that a lot of friendships and connections absolutely depend upon a sort of shared language,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-boldly-assert-in-fact-i-think-i-know-that-a-lot-of-friendships-and/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [A lot of it is the friendships made over the years...We've become friends. We've become a family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-moore/a-lot-of-it-is-the-friendships-made-over-the-years-we-ve-become/) Barbara Moore > [My job is to suggest and ratify and use any expertise that I might have gained over the 23 years in professional hockey to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-hull/my-job-is-to-suggest-and-ratify-and-use-any-expertise-that-i-might/) [Bobby Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-hull/) > [The first 10 years I was a professional actor, I did Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/powers-boothe/the-first-10-years-i-was-a-professional-actor-i-did-shakespeare/) [Powers Boothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/powers-boothe/) > [I started in my pro debut in a leisure centre in front of a couple of hundred people and I just worked hard for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocky-fielding/i-started-in-my-pro-debut-in-a-leisure-centre-in-front-of-a-couple-of/) [Rocky Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocky-fielding/) > [After a couple of years in a professional setting, you'll get used to dressing presentably, preparing for meetings, speaking appropriately, showing up on time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-yang/after-a-couple-of-years-in-a-professional-setting-you-ll-get-used-to/) [Andrew Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-yang/) > [The first 10 years of my professional life had only to do with running away from my father. He was a wonderful cabinet-maker, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/the-first-10-years-of-my-professional-life-had-only-to-do-with/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) ## More by Gunther Schuller > [I wanted to be a painter and an artist. And it's interesting that in some of my later musical works, I refer so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-wanted-to-be-a-painter-and-an-artist-and-it-s-interesting-that-in/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [I don't hate work, composing is not work for me, it's my pleasure; it's my life. So why should I stop? If something is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-don-t-hate-work-composing-is-not-work-for-me-it-s-my-pleasure-it-s/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [Symphony musicians are not trained in improvising, certainly not in a jazz style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-improvising-certainly-not-in-a/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [So now, thirty years, forty years later, I mean, I could find a whole orchestra of a thousand to put these things together in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/so-now-thirty-years-forty-years-later-i-mean-i-could-find-a-whole/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [My whole childhood was filled with classical music and going to concerts of the New York Philharmonic and other New York ensembles and organizations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/my-whole-childhood-was-filled-with-classical-music-and-going-to/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [Many people think of me as a modernist, as a radical in music, you know, someone who's always sort of at the avant-garde of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/many-people-think-of-me-as-a-modernist-as-a-radical-in-music-you-know/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [After the war, once the bop revolution had taken hold, there were all kinds of young musicians, talented young musicians, who were ready for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/after-the-war-once-the-bop-revolution-had-taken-hold-there-were-all/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [I would like to read some books: I don't have time; I would like to continue working on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-would-like-to-read-some-books-i-don-t-have-time-i-would-like-to/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [My primary calling, I always knew since the age of 11, was as a composer, and so that had to take priority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/my-primary-calling-i-always-knew-since-the-age-of-11-was-as-a/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [His musical inspiration operates in a world uncluttered by conventional bar lines, conventional chord changes, and conventional ways of blowing or fingering a saxophone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/his-musical-inspiration-operates-in-a-world-uncluttered-by/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [You know, I'm not gonna take my money with me to heaven or hell, wherever I'm going. So I want to do something good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/you-know-i-m-not-gonna-take-my-money-with-me-to-heaven-or-hell/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [Well, because music is my life and music is not work for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/well-because-music-is-my-life-and-music-is-not-work-for-me/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [So this anchoring in some way, in some important way in the past without repeating the past, but on the basis of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/so-this-anchoring-in-some-way-in-some-important-way-in-the-past/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [As long as I'm healthy and can keep going that's what I'll do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/as-long-as-i-m-healthy-and-can-keep-going-that-s-what-i-ll-do/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [The record company started as an adjunct to that, to give young composers their first recorded performances; to give young musicians their first debut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/the-record-company-started-as-an-adjunct-to-that-to-give-young/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) [Explore all 24 Gunther Schuller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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