Sound Bits: Page 18

A young musician once asked an established, entrepreneurial musician a great question: “What do you think is the biggest mistake that young musicians make?”  The older musician answered without hesitation, “thinking too short term.”  They went on to explain the importance of thinking long term and not only focusing on the immediate future. I like […]

If you don’t know much about Groupmuse, or haven’t checked them out in a while, take a few minutes to peruse their excellent website: https://www.groupmuse.com/ Groupmuse is a fascinating and innovation model of providing house-concerts – you can setup a concert in your living room through Groupmuse, and their platform connects you to area musicians.  […]

Well, Black Friday 2016 and Cyber Monday 2016 are now passed, but this still seems an opportune time to think about our “customers.” If we think of ourselves or our ensembles like a business, we should be thinking about who are customers are and what they want, right?  Isn’t that what business do? (Answer: Yes) […]

Do Great Work.  Focus on your craft – whether that means performing at the highest level with your ensemble, teaching at the highest level, writing great arrangements, etc.  Excellence has to come first; do great work and people will notice.  When people notice, “lucky” things start to happen. (Read: opportunities will present themselves that seem […]

Are your concerts just like everyone else’s? Are your compositions or arrangements? Is your improvisational style? Your teaching? If not, what makes your’s different? What makes it unique? This is essential knowledge.  And sometimes it takes a while to really figure it out.  You need to know what makes your work different from your peers, […]

When we face challenges, when being an artist or musician or teacher or freelancer is hard, we should remember why we went down this road in the first place.  When the world around us seems frazzled (I’m writing this on election day…) I think it is important to look back and remember what captivated us […]

On October 8, 2016, the Eastman School of Music hosted the INNOVATE. LEAD. MUSIC. conference, organized by the Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research.  The event was very well attended by musicians, educators, students, and leaders from around the country, and an outstanding group of guest speakers shared stories, ideas, and strategies that were […]

If you are interested in this program, send an email expressing your interest to margaret@chamber-music.org by October 26, 2016! Sound Places – A New Grant Opportunity for Ensembles Sound Places, a pilot program, aims to integrate ensembles-in-residence into the community life of Cultural Districts in Louisiana. Chamber Music America (CMA), in partnership with the Project […]

Kate Sheeran, Provost and Dean of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music was a panelist this past weekend at the INNOVATE. LEAD. MUSIC. Conference.  One thing she said really stuck with me.  The panelists were discussing the importance of innovation and entrepreneurial thinking and training.  Kate made the point that thinking like an innovator and […]

Check out this exciting new grant program from the League of American Orchestras! From their 9/20/2016 news release: The League of American Orchestras has launched the American Orchestras’ Future Fund, a new grantmaking program funded by the Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation. The $4.5 million grants program will offer two-year organizational grants as well as […]