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Taking the Next Career Step

Thursday, March 7th, 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

I have always had great admiration for people who stay in the same job for long periods of time and who feel no need for change because they are presented with regular opportunities for learning and growth along the way. Typically they are in an environment where their contributions are valued, they have a voice in developing new projects for their company or institution, and they are appropriately rewarded financially for their performance. However, I have seen others who stay in a job that increasingly makes them feel unhappy and unfulfilled because they think that they only know how to do one thing, they wouldn’t be happier somewhere else, or they lack the courage to try something new. Contemplating this subject, I decided to speak to two colleagues who have made a career change in the past few years and now both work for radio station WQXR. Graham Parker, its General Manager and Vice President, and Martha Bonta, Executive Producer, Live Events and Special Programming, both came to the station after it was acquired by New York Public Radio three and a half years ago. Parker was the former Executive Director of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Bonta was Vice President, Artist Manager at IMG Artists. Mr. Parker told me that he hadn’t been looking to leave Orpheus and always imagined that if he did change jobs, he would remain in the orchestral world. An e-mail from Laura Walker, President and CEO of New York Public Radio, came totally out of the blue. When he first glanced at the job description, he saw some responsibilities for which he felt well qualified and others that would be new to him. He had coffee with trusted colleagues to see how they viewed such a move and also ran by them some statements that he planned to make in his interview. Initially, some of them were quite skeptical but by the end of their time together, they seemed totally convinced. This gave him the courage to take the next step, even though he had never worked at, let alone run, a radio station. He did have artistic, financial, board development and strategic planning experience that was very relevant to his possible new position and that, in the end, mattered more to his employer. In addition, having developed new initiatives for Orpheus such as commissioning new music and launching live broadcasts at Carnegie Hall on WNYC, now the sister station of WQXR, Parker seemed the perfect candidate for the new visionary leader that Ms. Walker was seeking. She laid down the challenge of expanding the station into a multi-platform media company and he enthusiastically embraced it.

Martha Bonta stressed to me the importance of evaluating one’s skills and leveraging them appropriately as one contemplates a new career direction. When she left IMG Artists in 1998, where she had been Booking Manager, to take on the title of Director of Artistic Planning and Touring at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, she was able to leverage her booking experience to obtain the job, which also presented an attractive opportunity to work in the area of artistic administration, including programming and producing concert series. Five years later, she leveraged the artistic administration skills in gaining a new position at IMG Artists as Vice President and Artist Manager. When she joined WQXR in July of 2011, her mission was to help shape their extensive live broadcasts and develop a diverse range of programming for live performances in the Greene Space, the station’s intimate on-site performance venue which has quickly become a “hot” place to hear the best young and established talent in riveting programs. Within six weeks of her arrival at the station, she programmed and produced the first 12-hour marathon of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas, drawing on production experience gained at the Chamber Music Society. She told me how exciting it was to see the large crowd that stretched far around the block, consisting of many young people who were coming to hear an extraordinarily gifted group of pianists, none of them “household names”, especially as she knew that many were “brushing shoulders with classical music for the first time.” WQXR’s offerings at the Greene Space may also be multi-genre in nature, as in the case of an event on March 18, 2013, which features Bill T. Jones, The Orion String Quartet and dancers from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Ms. Bonta worked with the dance company in a special project during her tenure at the Chamber Music Society. They are also long time clients of IMG Artists.

In sitting over lunch with Graham and Martha, I couldn’t help but be inspired by the irrepressible enthusiasm, excitement and optimism with which they seem to greet each new day at WQXR. While understanding the need to be financially prudent and not move in too many directions too quickly, they embrace a vision of the station continuing to grow organically in ways as yet unknown. What new channel might be added to the already successful Q2 and Operavore, which is dedicated to attracting new audiences to opera? They are invigorated by the opportunity to share the best of New York’s diverse and rich cultural offerings with the widest possible audience. What advice would they give to others contemplating a new career direction? Martha suggested not giving undue significance to every word of a job description and concentrating on the capabilities you have that could prove very attractive to your prospective employer. Graham concurred and even indicated that he loves hiring people “out of skill set”, even though it may take courage to do so. He also said that if someone wants to get into a new field, they should have the courage to reach out to people who might be of help. “Everyone will be happy to let you buy them a cup of coffee and if you prepare your time with them wisely, they will generally be more than willing to help you make new connections.” He stressed that relationships are key, and that everyone is well advised to stay in touch with people who may have helped them in previous jobs or who they greatly respect. All of this seems like sage advice from two people who distinguished themselves in earlier positions and who have assumed possibly even more rewarding roles that allow them to help shape the future of a dynamic and treasured radio station, which introduces new audiences to classical music on a daily basis in a manner totally consistent with our times.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

Posted in Arts Administration, Ask Edna | Comments Closed

The Artist-Manager Relationship

Thursday, February 28th, 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

When I opened the Arts section of The New York Times three weeks ago, I saw an interesting article about a singer who was new to me, the South African soprano Pretty Yende. The first name certainly called attention to itself, as did the large picture of Ms. Yende, taken from her debut in Le Comte Ory at the Metropolitan Opera in January. The New York Times reported that “since Ms. Yende’s debut, her phone has been ringing with offers from agents. So far, she said, she has turned them all down.” This statement got me thinking. My first reaction was one of admiration and respect for an artist who felt she needed more time to complete every aspect of her training. (She apparently said: “This is my year to study.”) I felt it would take real courage to turn down management offers, especially if they were from well-established, reputable agencies. However, after a bit more reflection regarding this particular artist, who is already very much in the public eye and who had time to hone her craft during multiple years in the Academy at La Scala, I wondered whether she was wise to turn away management offers. The decision would seem predicated on the fear that a manager would push her too hard, too soon, but that is not what a good manager would do. A young, immensely gifted artist whose career is about to shift into high gear needs an insightful, skilled and sensitive manager at such a juncture, more than perhaps at any other time in their career.

Many people think that a manager’s role is simply to help an artist get engagements (and in a few rare cases, endorsements). That is certainly part of the picture, but an excellent manager will also do the following

1)  Consult with the artist (and possibly their teacher or mentor) about suitable repertoire at any given time. For a singer, this can be particularly critical. The manager may help the artist to resist the temptation to accept an opera role for which they are not yet ready. In the case of an instrumentalist, conductor or ensemble, the manager may have ideas about repertoire that is infrequently performed which, if it suits the artist, may help them gain attention. In all cases, the manager will attempt to find opportunities for the artist to perform new repertoire in smaller cities and venues before taking it to larger markets.

2)  Make introductions for the artist to major conductors and presenters and help them establish relationships that will become important and meaningful throughout their career. They may also have the ability to set up auditions for the artist with conductors who they think might be nurturing to them.

3)  Negotiate appropriately on behalf of the artist, based on their considerable knowledge of fees commanded by artists in different stages of their careers – something that is awkward and difficult for the artist on their own. They may also have some influence on finalizing a rehearsal schedule if it seems less than optimal for the artist.

4)  Act as an intermediary with presenters who may request additional activities beyond the performance which could place undue stress on the artist. Their objectivity can help artist and presenter arrive at a schedule that works well for both.

5)  In this time of increasingly complex media contracts and the potential for unauthorized use of an artist’s performance, steer their artist through these waters (perhaps with the help of an attorney), unless the artist prefers to totally delegate this responsibility to an attorney.

6)  Introduce the artist to public relations experts who can get the word out about important debuts and special projects, and who can help in pacing exposure for the artist, commensurate with the level and number of their engagements.

If an artist has achieved a modest amount of success but feels that they want to continue their studies or professional development for a few more years, that is not in itself a reason to turn down management. The right manager will be sympathetic to the artist’s wishes but will begin to create a buzz about them, while temporarily putting some seemingly premature high exposure dates on the back burner. If an artist is successful in building a relationship with this type of individual, it may develop into a successful partnership that could endure throughout their career.

Note: While writing this column, I learned that Pretty Yende is represented by Zemsky Green Artists Management. Nevertheless, I proceeded to post it because I felt that the topic merited attention.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

Posted in Ask Edna, Career Etiquette, Uncategorized | Comments Closed

An Enlightened Concert Experience

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

About a month ago, I attended a panel discussion at Chamber Music America’s 35th annual conference in New York during which one of the panelists, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, spoke of her quest to make her concerts as personal, intimate and warm as possible. Reinforced by the atmosphere at a Leonard Cohen performance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (seating capacity of approximately 18,000), which made her feel as though she were in his living room, she has set out to experiment with special lighting to warm up the feel of her concerts. Where possible, presenters may be asked to use special gels that may complement a motif in her concert attire. Alternatively, she may ask for a lamp with a lamp shade near the piano, as well as a piece of carpeting under the piano. In some instances, Ms. Dinnerstein has prepared a mixed tape to be played in the hall from the time the doors open, that is related to the program she will perform and that is designed to help the audience put their cares behind them and to welcome them into the concert experience even before she plays a note. Such a compilation might include selections as diverse as songs sung by Joni Mitchell and the late countertenor, Alfred Deller. In a program called “Night”, based on her soon to be released album by that name with singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, the two came out and started performing on a dark stage. As the lights gradually came up, the audience was already engrossed in what they were hearing, spared the applause that traditionally accompanies the artists’ coming out on stage and that can be a rather harsh entry point into a captivating musical experience.

A darkened stage is not a unique or new phenomenon in the concert hall. CMA panelist Eric Edberg, artistic director of the Greencastle Sumer Music Festival, related how he presented Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time on a dark stage with only stand lights. Conductor Paul Haas, founder and visionary Artistic Director of Sympho (which was launched with a revelatory and highly acclaimed multi-media concert in 2006 called “Rewind”) will present a concert at the Church of the Ascension in New York this May with the title “Ascending Darkness”. The following description appears on Sympho’s website: “In this concert, Sympho will explore what happens to the orchestral concert experience when the lights go out, when the audience is invited to listen to the music without visual distractions, allowing the sense of hearing to be heightened. World premieres and pre-composed classics collide in varying degrees of light and darkness in the resonant space of Manhattan’s famed Church of the Ascension. Musicians are placed in unexpected configurations and locations, enveloping the audience in various musical textures. No programs to fumble with or tall concertgoers to peek around. Instead, this concert invites you to sit and focus on what you came to hear in the first place: glorious music.” Like Simone Dinnerstein, Mr. Haas is not exploring new forms of concert presentation because he thinks the music doesn’t stand convincingly on its own. Rather, he feels the concert experience for audience members can be significantly enhanced if they can immerse themselves in the music in as complete a way as possible.

A presenter who has come to many of the same conclusions is Laura Kaminsky, Artistic Director of New York’s Symphony Space. She spoke to me of the acoustical challenge of presenting chamber music and jazz in their smaller theatre, the Thalia, which was built as a screening house and has a low ceiling. The acoustics in the hall are much brighter when the screen is lowered and she thought to create visual backdrops for the music on stage by using lighting, gobos and gels to match the mood of the music being performed. Colors and images are chosen to illuminate and enhance the audience’s musical experience. During a recent contemporary music marathon, the lighting changed throughout the eight hour period, which they felt helped to give each piece its own special world and kept the audience alert and engaged.  In the annual Wall to Wall marathons which take place in the larger 800-seat theatre and which run for twelve continuous hours, she and her staff have created special tableaux that are projected to coordinate with what is happening on stage and that illustrate the changing theme of the Wall to Wall each year. They also feel strongly about setting the tone of a performance from the moment the audience enters the hall, both through lighting and music that create a suitable atmosphere and relate to the program that the audience is about to hear. Ms. Kaminsky elaborated on this to me, as follows: “When you go to a restaurant, you’re going for the culinary experience , but part of what makes it special is the lighting, the ambience, and perhaps the beautifully set table. You don’t go to simply fortify your body with calories. Similarly, a concert is a sensory, aesthetic and cultural experience which should be enjoyed to the fullest.”

While I still regularly attend concerts and feel uplifted by a stimulating program beautifully performed, without the benefit of special lighting or any other unusual sensory stimulation, I am excited at the thought that colleagues whom I hold in high regard are exploring new ways to make audience members feel more comfortable, engaged and connected to what they are hearing and seeing on stage. This can only be a positive development as we continue our efforts to introduce new, younger audiences to centuries of great musical masterpieces.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

Posted in Ask Edna, Communicating with Your Audience | Comments Closed

Remembering Ralph

Thursday, February 14th, 2013

By: Edna Landau

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In my first column of this year, I listed among my New Year’s resolutions “try to go to at least one concert a month that offers music unfamiliar to me, preferably new music.” Little did I know then how rewarding that would prove to be. On January 10, I received a press release announcing “A Contemporary Evening for Ralph”at Merkin Concert Hall in New York on February 4. I learned that some of the finest new music groups to be heard anywhere were joining together to pay tribute to Ralph Kaminsky, who died at the age of 85 one year ago and who was perhaps one of the greatest advocates of new music that the contemporary music world has ever known. Those groups included the JACK Quartet, Either/Or, Talea Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), and members of Alarm Will Sound. It promised to be an extraordinary evening and indeed it was. The groups, all of whom donated their services, seemed to be as delighted to all be performing in the same concert as the audience was to hear them. The hall was full and many people were seen embracing one another. Who was this man, I wondered, who brought all of these new music performers and aficionados together?

Ralph Kaminsky was a native of western Canada whose studies were in economics and who subsequently taught at the University of Manitoba and at Yale. After a time, he ventured into urban planning, which took him to various countries around the world. He returned to academia as professor of economics and public administration, and later associate dean, at New York University’s Graduate School of Public Administration, a tenure which lasted 23 years. After his retirement, he devoted the last 20 years of his life to his great passion for contemporary music. Together with his wife Hester Diamond, an authority in visual art and design, he hosted monthly listening sessions in a large music room in their beautiful home, where the guests (many of whom were from outside the music world) were introduced to Ralph’s latest discoveries – young composers and contemporary works that particularly excited him. The sound system was state of the art and all who attended received meticulously prepared programs, complete with notes about the (often cutting-edge) pieces. A lively discussion always followed the concerts. With the exception of some special marathons that were devoted to Wagner’s “Ring”, it was a rare occurrence if any of the music heard at the sessions was written before 1980. As Bruce Hodges, a writer and close friend of Ralph’s, wrote in a beautiful tribute on his blog, Ralph was often heard saying, “I listen to music by composers who are composing, not decomposing.” Sometimes the programs involved live performance, featuring familiar faces from the new music scene. But Ralph didn’t just enjoy new music at home. He regularly went to concerts and supported both the performers and the institutions who presented them. He had no hesitation in writing to major concert presenters in New York City to question why new music didn’t constitute a larger percentage of their concert offerings. At various times he sat on the boards of the American Composers Orchestra, Talea Ensemble, Sospeso Ensemble and eighth blackbird. The Merkin Hall concert program included the following tribute from eighth blackbird: “He was part of our organization before we even had a career, when he graciously opened up his home to us to rehearse for the Young Concert Artists competition. He of course showed us his amazingly ridiculous sound system and his exhaustive music library, but what we remember most is that he sat down and talked with us at length, discussed the New York music scene and new music in great detail, and showed a genuine interest in what we were doing. In short, he cared, at a time when we were unsure of ourselves and what we were doing. It meant a lot.”

It is unlikely that the contemporary music world will ever encounter another individual as single-mindedly dedicated to introducing laymen and music lovers alike to the great composers and new music ensembles of our time, and giving them the tools to personally relate to their music. Alex Lipowski, a close friend of Ralph’s and percussionist with the Talea Ensemble, called him a “trendsetter”. Rather than just lament this great loss, he and other close friends of Ralph’s conceived of the idea of organizing a concert to celebrate his life and jointly planned the event. The production costs were covered by members of the Contemporary Listening Group, many of whom saw one another at the concert for the first time since the last listening session, one and a half years ago. The brilliantly performed program consisted of works that were particularly meaningful to Ralph, including Marc-André Dalbavie’s Fantaisies, which his wife had commissioned for his 80th birthday. Happily, the concert coincided with the announcement of the Ralph Kaminsky Fund for New Music, “which aims to carry on his legacy by encouraging curiosity, exploration and passion for cutting-edge contemporary music through commissioning new works and ensuring their performance.” Ralph Kaminsky never sought the spotlight, but there is no question that he would have heartily endorsed this project and been touched by the superb and loving tribute concert in which so many of his close friends participated. I came to Merkin Hall just to hear a concert, but I left feeling deeply inspired by how much one person’s passion and intense dedication can lastingly affect an entire music community.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

Posted in Ask Edna, Uncategorized | Comments Closed

Broadening Your Repertoire Horizons

Thursday, February 7th, 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

I am extremely grateful to the following individuals whose input was of great assistance in preparing this week’s column: Nadine Asin, Emanuel Ax, Bärli Nugent, Jay Campbell, David Finckel, Ani Kavafian, Jennifer Koh and Lucy Shelton.

Dear Edna:

I have read a number of your blog posts in which you encourage young musicians to incorporate into their programs commissioned works by their contemporaries and unusual repertoire that is deserving of more frequent exposure. With everything I have to do to meet the requirements of my Master’s degree in piano, it is hard to set aside time for researching this. I actually don’t even know where to start. Can you help? —Robin S.

Dear Robin:

Thanks for writing with a question that I expect will be of interest to many of our readers. Since you are still in school, you have considerable resources at your disposal. First and foremost are your teachers. Be sure to share your curiosity about repertoire with them as they will undoubtedly have ideas about works that will suit your musical temperament. If your school has a composition department, that should be your next port of call. Composers are eager to have their music performed and if they haven’t written anything for piano, consider commissioning them. While still at school, they may charge a nominal fee or nothing at all in exchange for getting their music heard. They might also tell you about their friends who may have written for your instrument.  You have also probably seen me write about the importance of going to concerts of music with which you are not familiar. You might hear a ravishing song cycle and discover that the composer also wrote solo piano works or chamber works with piano that you’d love to explore.

Here are some additional suggestions and resources which you might find helpful, both with regard to new and older music:

WEB RESOURCES

  • All music publishers list their catalogues online. Some give you the opportunity to listen to sound clips of particular works (for example, http://www.boosey.com and http://www.schirmer.com).  The Schott Music Corporation’s Project Schott New York features more than seventy new works by over thirty composers, with listening samples and videos embedded in the blog section of the website.
  • School libraries are a great resource. If you can’t physically get to them, many offer a wealth of information online. One example is Yale University’s Irving S. Gilmore Music Library (http://www.library.yale.edu/musiclib) whose website offers a broad variety of useful information.
  • Cellist Jay Campbell finds http://brahms.ircam.fr useful when seeking the comprehensive works of a particular composer, especially for 20th century music and music of today.
  • The website http://www.arkivmusic.com is primarily a source for purchasing recordings but it contains a great deal of information about a large variety of composers and their works, as well as listening samples.
  • Emanuel Ax told me about the Petrucci Music Library, a source for a huge amount of work that is in the public domain and can be accessed on computer for free. (I am told it can even be downloaded to your iPad.) He also told me about Music for the Piano: a Handbook of Concert and Teaching Material from 1580 to 1952 by James Friskin and Irwin Freundlich (Courier Dover Publications, 1973).
  • David Finckel called my attention to Classical Archives which offers a broad scope of works that can be listened to in full. A subscription costs $7.99 a month.

OTHER IDEAS

  • Look at catalogues of great composers to whose music you are drawn to see what they wrote for your instrument.
  • Explore the recordings of great artists of the past on your instrument. They often reveal neglected gems that were frequently played in times gone by.
  • If you have heard of a composer who you think might be of interest to you, they are in all likelihood represented by performances of their works on YouTube.
  • The ASCAP Foundation and BMI both give awards to young composers and have an impressive track record of having recognized gifted young composers before they became famous. The names can be found on their websites.
  • Look at programs from broad ranging and innovative concert series and festivals to be introduced to new works and composers. Don’t limit yourself to solo works. A chamber piece can be very refreshing on an otherwise solo recital program. Take a look, also, at works being performed by artists and ensembles who you admire.
  • Acquainting yourself with composer anniversaries (births and deaths) may draw you to works that you may not know and that may prove interesting to both presenters and audiences alike. A good source for such information is Classical Composers Database.

All of the artists I spoke to in preparing this column weighed in strongly about the responsibility of today’s musician to explore the great heritage of repertoire for their instrument and to become part of the exciting community of new composers writing for it. They emphasized how much easier it is today than it was thirty or more years ago when research could only be done by physically going to a library. Ultimately, an artist should only play repertoire that truly appeals to them and that demonstrates their strengths to the fullest advantage. However, a musician who expends energy in meeting composers and is generally curious about repertoire  is someone who is likely to connect most successfully with fellow musicians, presenters and even record companies, and enjoy the richest and most meaningful experiences throughout their career.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

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Starting a Concert Series? Begin With a Great Idea

Thursday, January 31st, 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

I am frequently asked what it takes to start a concert series. Having spoken to a good number of artists who have done so, I would say that the main basic ingredients are passion, determination, hard work, resourcefulness, excellent networking skills and perhaps, most importantly, a great idea or anticipation of a need. Anyone who has started their own series has literally thrown themselves into it, believing that the community they are targeting, and possibly even the world beyond, will be richer as a result of it. In this column, I have chosen to highlight the Cypress String Quartet, architects of the Call and Response and the Salon Series in San Francisco, and pianist Orli Shaham, founder of Baby Got Bach in New York City, designed for three to six year olds.

The Cypress String Quartet, now in its seventeenth season, has adopted an entrepreneurial approach to the development of their career since the very beginning. Early on, they shared a passion for commissioning new music but were drawn to the idea of linking the commissions to great works of the past. This led to their annual Call and Response concert, conceived as the commissioned composer responding to the call of the older work. To date, the Quartet has commissioned 14 works for the series. This year’s concert features the World Premiere of a new work for String Quartet and Voice by the Pulitzer prizewinning composer Jennifer Higdon, based on poetry of former American Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin, heard alongside Dvorak’s The Cypresses, twelve Moravian poems set by the composer as love songs for string quartet. The Cypress Quartet’s annual Call and Response concert at the Herbst Theatre is the culmination of dozens of outreach presentations in area schools which are prepared in advance with lesson plans and listening guides supplied by the Quartet, aided by an intern. Students who attend the concert are given tickets free of charge. A typical concert finds as much as half the audience under the age of eighteen, seated next to regular subscribers and listening to a program that might pair Beethoven’s Op. 131 with George Tsontakis’s String Quartet #5 (commissioned by the Cypress String Quartet). The educational component is relatively new for the Quartet, a result of successful fundraising stimulated by a very dedicated Board of Directors. However, before the Quartet obtained 501(c)3 status, contributions and grants were received via the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, which acted as a fiscal sponsor. Subsequent to that, but before becoming non-profit, the Quartet became a legal partnership. All concert income was split five ways so that even a modest sum could be set aside to defray expenses, which included the cost of a part-time assistant. Sometimes the Quartet had to be flexible about their share. The Quartet’s current Board initially started out as just friends, who followed and encouraged the ensemble since the beginning. It is the current Board chairman who encouraged the Quartet to give a series of salon concerts in New York 2 ½ years ago (which included three New York premieres),  and who was the source of inspiration for the Quartet’s nine self-presented salon concerts in San Francisco this year, taking place in unusual, intimate venues and followed by (donated) wine and chocolate receptions. While the Quartet no longer sets up chairs for their own concerts, and the venues are generally donated, they tell me that they still may pick up programs from the printer from time to time. What advice do they give to emerging artists? Dream really big and then figure out how to get there, asking for help and advice all along the way.

Pianist Orli Shaham credits her publicist, Gail Wein, with the idea of a concert series for 3-6 year olds, launched three years ago at Le Poisson Rouge in New York. Ms. Wein was attending a concert at LPR one night, together with friends who had children the same age as Ms. Shaham’s three year old twins, and thought why not have concerts here for kids? Ms. Shaham, who had already been contemplating the lack of musical activities for the 3-6 year old set, loved the idea. So did LPR, who already had a Sunday afternoon pop music series called “Baby Loves Disco”. Ronen Givony came up with the name for the new series and LPR hosted the first two seasons, which featured Ms. Shaham performing together with guest artists and young musicians from the Carnegie Hall/Weill Institute Academy program. Each “Baby Got Bach” concert begins with thirty minutes of musical activities from which the young participants can choose, such as composing and performing a song or playing a musical instrument. The youngsters are actually given a colorful booklet called a Passport, which they get stamped when they visit a particular music station. Once they are sufficiently tired out (Executive Director Gail Wein’s words!), they listen attentively to a 40 minute concert of short selections which always begin with Bach and often include specialy commissioned music that may involve audience participation.

Like the Cypress Quartet, Orli Shaham launched “Baby Got Bach” with fiscal sponsorship, in her case from Fractured Atlas. (She is now working on obtaining 501(c)3 status.) The Centene Charitable Foundation helped launch the series in New York and inaugurate a new series in St. Louis. (“Baby Got Bach” has also taken root at the Aspen Music Festival, which Ms. Shaham visits each summer.) In New York, the series has now moved to the 92nd Street Y, which provides an infrastructure (and subscription base) that enables Ms. Shaham, its Artistic Director, to spend less time on logistics and more time on expanding the number and artistic quality of the programs, often involving faculty members of its School of Music. In reflecting on the past three years, she told me: “When you start something like this, passion is critical. It still sustains me today. For the hour or so that the children are with us, I can’t imagine them doing anything more meaningful. The programs also enrich time spent with my own children, who sometimes assist in preparing concert materials.” It is not important to her whether any of the children who participate in “Baby Got Bach” become musicians, but she feels confident that this early musical experience stands a good chance of creating in them a lifelong love of music.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

Posted in Ask Edna, Managing Your Own Career | Comments Closed

When the Right Things Happen at the Right Time

Thursday, January 24th, 2013

by Edna Landau

Having lived in New York all my life, I have been a big fan of the Mostly Mozart Festival since its inception. I enjoyed many concerts under the direction of Gerard Schwarz and was surprised that when the festival announced a new music director in late 2002, Louis Langrée, it was someone totally unfamiliar to me. Ten years later, the festival thrives with consistently excellent playing by the Mostly Mozart Orchestra and visiting orchestras, as well as expanded imaginative programming. Also ten years later, Mr. Langrée has been named music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at the age of 52. As things go these days, Mr. Langrée is earning major recognition, at least in America, at a later stage of his career than many of his colleagues. I was curious to know whether he had wished at any point that his career would develop more quickly. A phone conversation with him revealed a degree of wisdom, patience and acceptance that can serve as a model for some of today’s young conductors.

Louis Langrée told me that he is actually happy that things didn’t come faster for him. His early years as a vocal coach and assistant at the Opéra National de Lyon in the mid 1980’s (of which he later became music director) and his subsequent music directorship with Glyndebourne Touring Opera over a decade later laid the foundation for his distinguished work today at the Paris Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. His early symphonic experience was gained over the course of a decade as assistant conductor with l’Orchestre de Paris, music director of the Orchestre de Picardie, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège. In speaking of those years, Mr. Langrée cited a quote from Nietzsche: “Deviens  ce que tu es” (become who you are). He knew he needed time to become who he was already and to achieve the greater depth that comes with age and experience. As offers began to multiply, he felt fortunate to have the services of an excellent agent, Charles Fabius, who knew his strengths and weaknesses and helped him to say no when he might have been tempted to say yes. He also remembered the words of his music analysis teacher who said: “Always be careful to take your time. If you neglect time, it will have its revenge.” He pointed out to me that instrumentalists, such as pianists, learn technique in a way that is similar from one artist to the next but conductors benefit from taking the time to find the language of their own body. He never took conducting lessons but gained invaluable guidance and insight from two very different conductors—John Eliot Gardiner at the Opéra de Lyon and Semyon Bychkov in Lyon and at the Opéra de Paris. The time he spent with them became especially meaningful years later when Jane Moss, vice president for programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, was seeking a new music director for the Mostly Mozart Festival. She was very eager to develop a classical style for the orchestra that integrated a period instrument and modern instrument approach and he had experience in both. Mr. Langrée credits his special chemistry with the musicians as the source of his success at the festival over the past ten years. Ms. Moss underscored that when she told me that “his total dedication to the music at hand has, in turn, earned him the complete dedication of every member of the orchestra.” She also mentioned his ability to communicate his love of everything he conducts, which has endeared him to festival audiences.

I asked Mr. Langrée whether conductors benefit from assistant conductorships with high level orchestras or whether they would benefit more from having their own orchestra and getting their feet wet as early as possible. He felt that both were of great importance. Ultimately, it is essential to have the experience of helping an orchestra improve its level of playing. However, it is also of paramount importance to have the sound of great orchestras in your ear, to remind you of what is possible. I also asked if his door is open to conductors seeking advice and was not surprised by his very positive answer. He closed our conversation by telling me how he went to Kurt Sanderling’s hotel when he was over 80 to ask him some questions about Brahms. They spent hours together during which Maestro Sanderling said: “When you conduct this piece someday, try this bowing.” He proceeded to put the bowings, as well as some other markings and phrasing, right in Mr. Langrée’s score. What a thrill it must be, even today, to conduct from that score and to remember that special moment.

© Edna Landau 2013

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A Circle of Friends

Thursday, January 17th, 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

What is one of the most valuable assets for any performing artist today? A loyal circle of friends with whom they have maintained contact through the years. Why do I say that?

In late November of 2012, I received a press release announcing the appointment of Tito Munoz as Music Director of Ensemble LPR. The release also announced the upcoming U.S. debut performance of British composer/performer Max Richter’s “Vivaldi Recomposed: The Four Seasons” with violinist Daniel Hope. Having never realized that there was an Ensemble LPR, my curiosity was piqued. I contacted Tito Munoz, who I had met a few years earlier, to find out more. I learned that composer/violinist David Handler, a co-founder of the very successful Le Poisson Rouge in New York’s Greenwich Village, had long envisioned an ensemble growing out of LPR’s eclectic programming. As it turns out, he and LPR’s other founder, cellist Justin Kantor, met at Manhattan School of Music in 1998 while they were getting undergraduate degrees. They formed a piano trio during their second year at school with Cuban born pianist and conductor Orlando Alonso, now co-Artistic Director of Ensemble LPR. Orlando Alonso and Tito Munoz went to the same high school and forged a friendship that they have maintained ever sense. Munoz always wanted to have an affiliation with an ensemble to expand his artistic opportunities beyond the scope of his orchestral conducting. Formerly a freelance violinist in New York, he performed all kinds of music in a variety of venues. His roots in New York City, his versatility in a variety of musical styles, and his burgeoning conducting career made him an attractive candidate for music director of the ensemble. The only “outsider” in all of this was Ronen Givony, whom Kantor and Handler happened to meet socially. His vast knowledge of music and specific business skills seemed perfectly complementary to their own. In addition, his flair for putting together unusual and fascinating programs for the Wordless Music Series, which he founded, made him an ideal artistic partner both for Le Poisson Rouge and its ensemble, of which he is now co-Artistic Director. When all of these gentlemen met together for the first time in August of 2012, old friends found themselves bonding in a new way, filled with inspiration and excitement over what they might create together going forward.

The future for Ensemble LPR looks very bright indeed. Their roster of musicians consists largely of New York’s finest players and can expand and contract according to the nature of the repertoire. They have already secured representation with Opus 3 Artists whose national booking director, Erik Martin, is busy planning tours for the next few seasons. Such tours might include residencies designed jointly with a music school’s composition and conducting departments and even entrepreneurship classes arranged through the business school. The recent performance by Ensemble LPR of Richter’s re-imagining of the Vivaldi Seasons and this past Monday night’s tribute to the late Elliott Carter with Fred Sherry and Ursula Oppens certainly whet one’s appetite to learn what they are planning for their inaugural season, to be announced this June. Their activities are likely to reflect the same unbounded curiosity, imagination and openness that have contributed to making Le Poisson Rouge one of the most vital concert spaces in New York City.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

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Reaching Out to Past and Potential Supporters

Thursday, January 10th, 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

The end of 2012 has brought a deluge of e-mails into my Inbox. Some were holiday greetings, coupled with updates on an artist’s current activities. Others were invitations to a showcase or to visit with an artist at the conferences which take place in New York in January. I will share the best and the worst of them with you since I think there are valuable lessons to be learned.

MY VOTE FOR BEST END OF YEAR HOLIDAY GREETING FROM AN ARTIST (Jennifer Sheehan)

Subject: Dreams DO Come True!

——————————————————————————–

Dear friends…

Ever since our show, “White Christmas,” opened in November here in Arkansas, we’ve been “dreaming of a white Christmas” about eight times a week.

Well, we got what we wished for– a very rare white Christmas in Little Rock!!

In fact, I’ve heard it’s the first one in 80 years. It was beautiful.

And yes, the show went on!

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season wherever you are!

I also am delighted to announce some upcoming engagements around the country and in the UK for early 2013. If you’re in the area,

I would love to see you!!

Jan. 11th & 12th – The Juilliard in Aiken Festival benefit concerts (Aiken, SC)

Jan. 18th & 19th – Electric Earth Concert Series (Peterborough, NH)

Jan. 27th & Feb. 9th – “Hopelessly in Love: the Lyrics of Tom Toce” (NYC)

February 12th – 16th – The Crazy Coqs (London, UK)

March 24th – 26th – The Savannah Music Festival, double bill with Jane Monheit (Savannah, GA)

May 4th – The Caramoor International Music Festival (Katonah, NY)

Details on my website and Facebook page.

*********

Keep warm and take care, friends..

and know that I wish you all a very happy new year!

Best,
Jennifer

YouTube Channel
Facebook Page
Website
You Made Me Love You CD

The e-mail from Jennifer Sheehan (featured in my blog of March 30, 2011, The “je ne sais quoi” of Great Talent) immediately caught my eye with its nice positive title (Dreams DO Come True). I enjoyed the human interest story about the first “White Christmas” in Arkansas in 80 years. It related to what Jennifer was doing at the time and the beautiful photo of the snow immediately put me in a holiday mood. I liked that Jennifer’s tone was warm and welcoming and that she shared information about a half dozen upcoming, significant engagements, while avoiding overwhelming me with detail by providing links to her website, Facebook page, YouTube channel and CD. Well done!

MY VOTE FOR WORST INVITATION TO MEET AT THE CONFERENCES

The subject of The Hasty Ensemble’s (fictitious name) e-mail to me was “CMA Conference Meeting?”. The text was as follows: Greetings! Let’s meet at the CMA Conference. The Hasty Ensemble is currently booking concerts for 2013-14 and beyond. Do you have time to talk on Friday or Saturday, January 18th or 19th? A rather bizarre picture of the ensemble followed, which, in my view, would never entice anyone to book them. The face of one member of the ensemble wasn’t at all visible and there were no instruments in the photo. I had no idea what type of ensemble it was. Beneath the photo were two phrases from reviews and a link to a new record release. That was it. I find it hard to believe that the sender would expect any responses to such an e-mail.

If you are writing a mass e-mail to people you don’t know, your first order of business should be to ascertain if they are in a position to help you. (I am not a presenter and hence I don’t book any concerts.) You should attempt to strike a cordial and even humble tone that doesn’t assume anything, but rather expresses appreciation for the reader’s consideration. The e-mail should be attractive, with an appealing photograph and enough information to give the reader a basis for deciding whether to respond. The Chamber Music America (CMA) conference is small enough that a targeted, personalized communication, perhaps mentioning a mutual contact within the industry, would have a far greater chance of success. The bottom line is that if you write to a potential supporter or presenter, you have to make that person care about you and what you have to offer. Try sharing your draft message in advance with a few people whose judgment you trust. Their feedback may prove valuable as you continue your efforts to network and promote your ensemble.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

Posted in Ask Edna, Career Etiquette | Comments Closed

New Year’s Resolutions

Thursday, January 3rd, 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

The New Year presents us with a wonderful opportunity to take stock of our individual goals and priorities and address them with renewed vigor and dedication. For many of us, these may include some of the following:

  • creating a website or regularly updating an existing one
  • taking a new set of professional photographs
  • ordering business cards
  • launching a Kickstarter campaign for an important project
  • making a recording or demo CD
  • maintaining contact with supporters and updating them on recent and upcoming activities
  • launching a new concert series or exploring concert opportunities at existing venues
  • starting a blog
  • mapping out time to prepare for a competition or for key orchestral auditions
  • adding a newly commissioned work to our repertoire
  • exploring possibilities for study abroad
  • creating a monthly budget and adopting a system to adhere to it
  • making sure we are covered by health insurance
  • working with a coach on public speaking and presentation skills

For arts administrators, they may include summoning up the courage to explore new professional opportunities after many years in the same job. Those interested in teaching might add seeking out experienced, successful teachers for specific tips and information about how they got started, or applying to a recognized teaching artist program.

Here are some that I have come up with for myself:

  1. Try to go to at least one concert a month that offers music unfamiliar to me, preferably new music.
  2. Read current arts news on www.musicalamerica.com or www.artsjournal.com every day.
  3. Identify at least two new blogs that are relevant to my work and read them regularly.
  4. Overcome my insecurities about social media and use it more effectively. Consider joining the large chorus of tweeters.
  5. Update my contact list and website at least every three months.
  6. Create a list of a minimum of 20 new individual or institutional contacts who I should get to know.
  7. Dedicate at least one day a month to helping those less fortunate than I.
  8. Begin to explore the possibility of writing an inspirational book about my rich and rewarding career odyssey of nearly forty years in artist management.

I would love to hear from some of our readers with their own thoughts about how to make 2013 a particularly successful, meaningful and inspiring year.

A very happy 2013 to all!

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2013

Posted in Ask Edna, Listening to Your Inner Voice | Comments Closed

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