Music education is an open system shot through with cultural and societal influences (Jorgensen 2008). Such influences include music (the repertoire students are exposed to), the way music is taught, how it is learnt, and curriculum, among others. These aspects of musical education experience are dynamic and specific to different contexts. This implies that music education is uniquely experienced in the various regions that make up our globe. Within such environments, students trained in higher education music programs are expected to practice their profession as music educators and musicians in a way that resonates with societal and cultural realities. Changes in systems of education, approaches to curriculum design and delivery that emphasize marketability of music education, and questions of relevance face students who are expected to serve society. This study is an invitation to consider perspectives of students as consumers of university education curricula that are designed to train them as educators to transmit the musical skills and knowledge they have acquired, or as performers to share their art with diverse audiences. Through the lenses of self-identity theories including aspects of Transformative Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1978 as cited in Howie & Bagnall, 2013) and sociocultural theories (Mercadal, 2021) that support the multicultural nature of music education in Kenya, this qualitative study explores how cultural and societal influences interact with music education as outlined and enacted in the 3 different undergraduate programs (Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Music (Technology) and Bachelor of Education Arts/Music) offered in the Department of Music and Dance at Kenyatta University in Kenya. The study then employs semi-structured interviews to explore how 15 final year undergraduate music students (5 from each of the three programs) purposively sampled perceive their social roles as musicians and/or music educators. Data is collected through audio recording of the 15 interviews. Data collection and analysis is simultaneously conducted in an iterative process involving transcribing of audio data, coding of the data, identifying themes and comparing thematic patterns to develop a narrative. The findings of this study are expected to reveal how correlations between education, culture and anticipated professions shape music students’ roles and identities. The findings have implications for Higher Education music teaching, which will be outlined in the paper.