This author conducted a qualitative interview study of community orchestra musicians to better understand why they have sustained their music-making. The first chapter of this dissertation outlines the three research questions along with a rationale and author’s narrative. A problem statement along with a conceptual framework are also included within the first chapter. Three key areas of connected and relevant literature are identified and discussed in the second chapter of this proposal: 1) Socioeconomic Status (SES), parental involvement, efficacy, and attrition in formal school settings: Motivations of students to start learning an instrument and sustain that learning through high school; 2) Characteristics of members of community orchestras; and 3) Studies examining why adults sustain their music-making. The first dimension enables comparisons and contrasts between community orchestra members and school music students. The second and third domains offer a context for both the musicians' individual work and adult music-making in general. The third chapter is a description of the methods, research questions, and timeline of data collection. Data were gathered via a semi-structured interview and a PhotoVoice activity from 10 community orchestra musicians in the New York City area. A description of the pilot study is also included along with the findings. Additionally, the third chapter includes a detailed description of the PhotoVoice method. There were three main findings for each of the three research questions and those findings and the supporting themes/codes are described in chapter 4. The discussion chapter includes extensive thoughts on the implications of the findings. The concluding chapter summarizes the research, lays out plans for future research, and reflects on the study.