Events to Check out at the CMA Conference – January 12-15

If you are in New York City, or plan to be there for the Chamber Music America National Conference January 12-15, consider checking out these innovation-themed sessions which look very interesting (the first one features two Paul R. Judy Center Grant Recipients!):

Friday January 13

Teams Without Borders: Collaborating Virtually
2:00 PM – 3:10 PM

Organizations with members scattered across different cities are managed increasingly by ‘virtual team administrators’—but not without certain challenges. Seth Brenzel, executive director of The Walden School, will discuss how he coordinates and supports his national team of staff, faculty, and artists, with a focus on effective methods for navigating schedules and time zones, sharing centralized materials, and coordinating meetings, spaces, and decision-making. Panelists include professionals whose staff members live throughout the country and who have a modular organizational structure that allows them to operate from their home bases.

SPEAKERS:
Seth Brenzel, Executive Director, The Walden School
Matt Levy, Executive Director, PRISM Saxophone Quartet
Ben Melsky, Executive Director, Dal Niente Ensemble
Vanessa Rose, Executive Director, International Contemporary Ensemble

Balancing Innovation and Tradition
3:20 PM – 4:30 PM

Programming and repertoire choices are often caught between two competing concerns: staying true to the artist’s identity and acknowledging the reality of what sells tickets. In this session, we’ll explore how programming choices can reveal an artist’s personality, discuss examples of successful and innovative projects, and brainstorm strategies for how to program challenging, new, or lesser-known repertoire successfully.

SPEAKERS:
John Zion, Managing Director, MKI Artists
Valerie Coleman, Flutist, Imani Winds
William Fedkenheuer, Violinist, Miró Quartet
Barry Kempton, Artistic & Executive Director, The Schubert Club
Elio Villafranca, Pianist, The Jass Syncopators

The Art of the In-Home Concert
4:40 PM – 5:50 PM

As traditional venues become less and less reliable as outlets for chamber music, entrepreneurial musicians are increasingly turning to a variety of alternative venues to connect with audiences. Jeremy Siskind and his chamber jazz trio have performed over one hundred house concerts in twenty-four different states in the past three years alone. In this presentation, Siskind will discuss how to organize a successful in-home concert, how to find appropriate hosts, and how to monetize the engagement most effectively. He’ll also explain why the in-home experience is especially well-suited to outreach, education, and enhanced creativity.

SPEAKERS:
Jeremy Siskind, Assistant Professor, Western Michigan University
Anne Dvinge, Founder/CEO, Low-Fi
Steve Lyman, Chairman of the Board; American Pianists Association
Kimball Gallagher, Pianist and Entrepreneur