Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra composer Michael Morgan took the stage at the Capistrano Hall Tuesday about his background how to make it in the music industry.

Morgan, who was born and raised in Washington D.C, furthered his career in St. Louis and now has been working with Sac State and the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra for 15 years.

“In St. Louis I didn’t see the importance of communicating with the audience,” Morgan said.

He insisted it was vital to find your ‘enough’ in your career.

“Don’t attempt to follow someone else’s career,” Morgan said. “Some of my friends play for the National Symphony Orchestra and are on six figure incomes, but haven’t found their ‘enough’ and are unhappy in their careers.”

In winning first prize in Hans Swarovsky International Conductors Competition in Vienna, Morgan applied and was successful in becoming the assistant conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Morgan said how surprising it was for himself to be appointed the position by the Chicago Symphony, being he was black and that the orchestra was predominantly Caucasian. At that point Morgan decided that he wanted to use his involvement in the orchestra to connect the split communities.

Lorna Peters, piano major, commented on how influential the talk was and was quick to identify the importance of practice within the music industry.

“This has really made me debate what my ‘enough’ is,” said Charlie King, a sophomore criminal justice major. “I felt it was very applicable to my major.”

Twenty-one years ago, Morgan moved to Oakland, where he increased his involvement in the community through creating his own orchestras. The orchestras look to help communities come together and contribute through music.

When asked how much practice Morgan carries out, he said that it was not enough.

“As a conductor, you must continuously learn,” Morgan said., “Through the history of music, culture, language and society, it is vital to learn and practice.”