Musical America Blogs

By: Edna Landau

In a column I wrote in February (Using Google to Find Concert Opportunities), I addressed the challenge that pianists confront in identifying new venues in which to perform or run through repertoire in advance of major recitals. I have always been sympathetic to the limitations they face in not being able to bring their instrument with them. I recently began to investigate the opportunities for piano stores and dealers to be a resource – both in terms of providing performance spaces and advising regarding specific locations with suitable pianos.  I was helped greatly in my research by Bonnie Barrett, Director, Yamaha Artist Services in New York, who led me to some very dedicated individuals whom I otherwise might never have met.

Let me say at the outset that this is not a column about the advantages of becoming an official artist of a particular piano company. There is no standardized information that I can offer about that as it is a personal decision for each artist. However, it does seem to me that the tide has turned and whereas piano companies’ rosters of artists were once populated primarily by “household names”, they have made an effort to reach out to younger performers in ways that can be extraordinarily meaningful. Substantial information about this can be found on the Yamaha Artist Services and Steinway & Sons websites. Yamaha’s range of services even extends to career advice and Steinway now has a special Young Steinway Artists roster for classical, jazz and pop artists.

Can piano dealers offer helpful information to pianists hoping to secure performing opportunities on their own? The answer is both yes and no. Vivian Chiu, Operations Manager, Concert Services at Steinway & Sons in New York, confirmed that dealers obviously have information about pianos they have sold or rented to institutions in their area. In all likelihood, they are in fine condition but she does find herself on the phone with artists who call to request  information about a particular piano. The dealers are usually not a resource for general locations of venues with pianos and they do not keep such a master list. However, a call (for example) to a church to whom the dealer has sold a piano may yield information about other churches with pianos. Most dealers have websites which list the institutions with whom they have had an affiliation.

How common is it for piano dealers to have a performance space and host concerts in their showrooms? Such an arrangement is not uncommon, especially in the larger cities. The New York City headquarters of Steinway and Yamaha have hosted concerts and press events for years.  The Yamaha Artist Services Piano Salon is equipped to offer its artists use of their unique Disklavier TV recording technology that allows them to connect to remote concert stages throughout the world. On a more fundamental level, students who need to prepare DVD’s for professional auditions are welcomed into the facility, provided with an excellent concert grand and assisted in the preparation of their recording.  Klavierhaus in New York City, which is in the business of piano restoration and sales,  built a state of the art concert space and recording studio several years ago which was used on a rental basis and attracted a very cultivated audience. The company has since relocated and is constructing a new showroom and recital space at Le Parker Meridien Hotel near Carnegie Hall, where it will also begin curating a recital series in the penthouse. Both Michael Harrison, Managing Director, and Nicholas Russotto, Director of Events, are excited about the possibilities that these venues will afford and note that it will allow Klavierhaus to continue to be a haven for pianists at all stages of their careers. Gavin English, General Manager of Steinway’s West Coast retail stores, told me that if you go on Steinway’s website, click on Dealer Finder and enter the zip code in which you are located, it will list the contact information of the closest Steinway & Sons showroom in that area. Another way to find your local Steinway & Sons showroom is to call 1-800-STEINWAY and it will reach the local showroom in the area code you’re calling from. He mentioned that there is no charge for Steinway artists, and often local artists, to use concert spaces in their dealers’ showrooms but advised that some showrooms are larger than others and availability may be limited to the daytime hours.

The motivations for hosting concerts vary from city to city. Many showrooms cultivate a relationship with local teachers and open their facility for student recitals. The typical showroom concert space has a seating capacity of 69-95, although some can seat as many as 150. Faust Harrison Pianos hosts concerts in all three of its New York area showrooms – New York City, White Plains and Huntington. Sara Faust, owner of Faust Harrison and a prizewinning pianist herself, told me that hosting concerts is a good way for the company to give back to the community and support artists. Understandably, she also explained that it provides opportunities to bring potential customers to the store. In White Plains, concert audiences attend for free and are also offered a factory tour. A dealer might host a showcase for an artist if local presenters (who can be good customers) are interested in hearing them. If an artist can bring a local audience of at least 50 to their performance, Faust Harrison won’t charge for the space. Sam Varon in Faust Harrison’s Huntington showroom adheres to the same general guidelines, with strong deference given to teachers for student recitals.

If my travels take me to Maryland any time soon, I will be sure to visit Downtown Piano Works in Frederick. The owners, Dan and Theresa Shykind, do very little traditional advertising, preferring to draw customers into their store via a free concert series which they present using the finest pianos from their exclusively Yamaha inventory. They have presented 100 concerts over the past six years, featuring some of the finest established and emerging pianists of our time. (They’ve even been known to sneak in a violinist or cellist.) Young artists receive a small honorarium. The space holds 65 and they generally have a wait list of over 150. The concerts are free and a percentage of seats are set aside for students of the Downtown Piano Works Music School, led by Theresa, herself a musician. On occasion, artists performing in the store offer master classes to the students. The Shykinds have no expectation of the artist bringing in an audience. They see the series as an opportunity to give back to the community in which they raised their children. Dan told me that he receives materials and CD’s every week from artists interested in performing there. He books the concerts over a year in advance and suggests that artists send YouTube links for his review to DowntownPianoWorks@yahoo.com. The company’s website  has an extensive list of institutions to whom they have provided pianos (albeit not always grands), which artists might find helpful. It is not uncommon for concerts at DPW to be reviewed and/or broadcast if the artist is willing, and for senators and congressmen to be present in the audience.

Despite the many visits I have made to Chicago over the course of my career, I only had occasion this week to connect with Thomas Zoells, owner of PianoForte Chicago, Inc. (a piano store) and founder and Executive Director of the PianoForte Foundation. After a time working in artist management, and a longer time spent in banking, he decided ten years ago to respond to his passion for pianos and enter the piano business. He told me that what drives him and gives him fulfillment is “to get people excited about the piano and to promote piano culture”.  Although the recital hall in the store is available for rent and the recording studio for a fee, they are also used for the classical and jazz concerts, and the radio series, curated by Thomas Zoells himself through the foundation. Moderately priced tickets are sold to the performances and artists receive a fee. Many of the concerts are broadcast live and students are particularly encouraged to attend those concerts. The application process for participating in the Foundation’s series is detailed on their website.

A Google adventure of mine led me to Coral Gables, Florida (perhaps in a subliminal search for better weather than we are currently experiencing in New York) where I discovered the Steinway Piano Gallery. I had a delightful conversation with the General Manager, Doug Thiel, a 40-year veteran of the piano business. The Gallery has a 90 seat hall which is used almost every day. They host hundreds of student recitals every year, as well as master classes and educational activities. There is no charge for the space. Doug Thiel sees his role very clearly as sustaining the evolution of classical music and jazz. He told me: “We’ve got to support the young people’s efforts in order to continue to cultivate an interested and appreciative audience.” I was impressed with Doug’s wonderful spirit and hope to have the opportunity to meet him in person someday.

By necessity, this column has focused on retail establishments in the U.S. Fortunately, there are many piano stores and showrooms around the world which also host concerts and educational activities and which are staffed with dedicated individuals who are often musicians themselves.  I encourage all young pianists to seek them out during their travels. They will undoubtedly prove to be great sources of information and may also become lifelong friends.

© Edna Landau 2014

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

I am often asked: How can I find opportunities to perform? There are several possible answers to this question but they all have one thing in common. There is a lot of work involved and there are no shortcuts that I am aware of. One approach is to set out on foot in your target area, as Julia Villagra did on behalf of her tertulias (see my last blog post), to explore performance possibilities in spaces that haven’t offered concerts in the past. The possibilities are many and might include galleries, restaurants, churches, banks and private clubs. However, in all likelihood, you will want to undertake a much broader search. Before approaching anyone, there is a considerable amount of research to be done. The most obvious solution is to target a geographical area and then look at newspaper listings and websites to ascertain where concerts are already taking place that feature performers at your level. It you live in a big city, be sure to consult publications and listings in the surrounding areas, which may include smaller community newspapers.

One approach, which I find most fascinating, is to make Google your best friend in launching your campaign. Since I live in Westchester County (NY), I decided to begin my Google search with “arts councils in Westchester County”.  (Arts councils are always an excellent place to start.) The first port of call proved to be a treasure trove of information.  ArtsWestchester bills itself as “Your Complete Guide to the Arts in Westchester” and indeed, it seems to be just that. From the Events category, I learned about several concert series that were totally new to me: Bronxville Women’s Club (whose upcoming event was a mandolin and piano recital), Downtown Music at Grace (Grace Episcopal Church in White Plains), Harrison Public Library concerts, and Friends of Music in Sleepy Hollow, NY, now celebrating their 60^th year! The home page of ArtsWestchester also features a Cultural Organizations Directory which yielded further information about these presenters and others, as well as smaller arts councils in the county. I googled “Churches in Westchester County with Pianos”, and although it didn’t produce a comprehensive list, it directed me to church event listings on NYTimes.com and also musical events taking place at individual churches in the county.

I have always been sensitive to the fact that it is particularly hard for pianists to identify places to perform, as creativity and resourcefulness do not necessarily lead one to a space with a piano. Out of curiosity, I googled “Senior Centers with pianos in New York City”. On page 5 (!), I found “Seniors Partnering with Arts Citywide”, which is part of the website of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. It had a list of Participating Senior Center Facilities, and indicated which had pianos. Many such facilities are eager to be approached by performers, although often, they are not able to pay a fee.

The most undoubtedly delightful moment of my Google searches resulted from my discovery of ArtsWestchester. Nestled in their Cultural Organizations Directory was a true gem: The Really Terrible Orchestra of Westchester. I kid you not. Check it out, and happy googling!

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©Edna Landau 2014

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 92^nd 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.

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© Edna Landau 2013

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

I am frequently asked how musicians can be expected to handle the various artistic, administrative, financial, and performance related responsibilities they must regularly juggle and still not have their performances suffer in quality. I actually wrote about this in an earlier column entitled Time out for Time Management (June 30, 2011). The question resurfaced when I was sitting in the audience at a recent Musica Sacra concert of some of my favorite choral music and spent part of the intermission reading the program, specifically music director Kent Tritle’s bio. I was so astonished by the number of positions he holds concurrently that I went backstage after the very wonderful concert to ask if he would be willing to meet for coffee and shed some light on how this is humanly possible. Fortunately, he agreed, and I am happy to share what I learned.

In addition to being Music Director of Musica Sacra, Kent Tritle is Director of Cathedral Music and organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York, Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music, a member of the graduate faculty of the Juilliard School, organist of the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra, and host of a weekly radio show The Choral Mix on WQXR. My first question to Mr. Tritle was whether he had assistants in all of these places (except his organ jobs) and the answer was yes. However, some deeper probing revealed that the assistance he has had over the years didn’t materialize overnight. He worked hard to earn it. When he began his 22-year tenure at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City in 1989, part-time help was organized on an hourly basis as needed. When he conceived of the idea of a concert series that would open the doors to a larger community and received enthusiastic endorsement from the pastor, he personally sent out letters to potential supporters and met with considerable success. Subsequently,the staff grew to five full-time employees. At the Manhattan School of Music, his only initial assistance was from a graduate student, but he now works closely with the esteemed Associate Director of choral activities, Ronald Oliver. He still gets additional assistance from graduate students who, in turn, get “podium time” conducting sectional rehearsals. Mr. Tritle’s weekly radio show would not be possible without the excellent help of Production Associate, Daniel Scarozza, whose passion for choral music mirrors his own. The selections are drawn from Mr. Tritle’s massive collection of recordings,which number in the thousands.

To keep all of the above in balance, Kent Tritle employs a personal assistant for 12-20 hours a week. However, he credits his Franklin Planner with helping him maintain his equilibrium. It has led him to spend fifteen minutes at the beginning of every day looking at the monthly, weekly and daily picture. He calls this time P & S (planning and solitude). It helps him get a sense of the overall flow of his responsibilities – what can wait, and what really must happen right away. He also orders his daily priorities by A, B and C, with A generally consisting of score study, practice, and exercise. These may not happen at the same time each day but they do happen. In recognition of the fact that there are so many elements of a performer’s life that are unpredictable, he stressed to me the importance of taking responsibility on a daily basis for the things one can manage so as to remain flexible for everything else that might come up.

In looking at Mr. Tritle’s performance schedule, what is impressive, and even touching, is how he brings together individuals from the various institutions for whom he works, affording them enriching opportunities that they might not otherwise have. In the fall of 2011, the Manhattan School of Music Symphonic Chorus performed Walton’s Henry V with the New York Philharmonic, and the chamber choir joined the Philharmonic for a Young People’s concert. The New York Philharmonic’s final concert of the 2011-12 season, Philharmonic 360—Spatial Music from Mozart’s Don Giovanni to Stockhausen’s Gruppen at the Park Avenue Armory, featured the Oratorio Society of New York and the MSM Chamber Choir, performing in the finale of Act I of Don Giovanni. In April 2013, Mr. Tritle will lead the MSM Symphonic Chorus in organist David Brigg’s transcription of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 for organ, chorus, and soloists at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. How exciting for all of the participants in these programs! This cross-pollination seems to be a very natural reflection of Kent Tritle’s humility, dedication, and excitement over every project he undertakes. If he has access to multiple venues and organizations, why not involve as many of the people he regularly works with as much as possible? It must be nice to see familiar faces on stage, and it undoubtedly facilitates communication when rehearsal times are at a premium.

There is one final fact that should perhaps not be overlooked in discussing Mr. Tritle’s ease with multitasking. He has not had a television in his home since 1994.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2012

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

When I had the pleasure of meeting with participants in the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival last summer, I addressed a number of questions that had been submitted in advance. One question concerned playing on music cruises, and how to apply for such opportunities. I decided to defer an answer until I had time to research the topic, hence this week’s column. I have never taken a cruise so I cannot speak firsthand of the experience. However, I hope that what I have learned and the links below will prove beneficial to those interested in going this route.

There are a good number of cruise lines that employ musicians. The large majority of musicians performing on cruise ships perform in the orchestra (sometimes called the showband), accompanying non-classical acts, or in lounges. They may contact the entertainment department of the cruise line (such as Carnival or Holland America) directly, or they may choose to sign up with an agency. They will submit promotional materials and will generally also be asked to audition over the phone. The goal of such an audition is to assess both their playing and sight reading skills. They may typically be asked to perform music that they received 30 minutes earlier. Chamber ensembles, including jazz combos, will be handled a bit differently. They will usually be asked to submit a variety of promotional materials, along with a video and repertoire list.

Certain cruise lines organize specific classical music and opera cruises (which can involve concerts both on board and on land). They typically have an artistic direction department which already has an idea of who they want to book. They will then contact the artist’s agent directly. However, they do give consideration to artists who write to them. I spoke with someone at one of the most exclusive cruise lines, Hapag-Lloyd, and they suggested that interested artists fill out a form on their international website, www.hl-cruises.com. (Go to “Contact Services” and then to the “Contact Form”.) It should be noted that they are most likely to use American artists for cruises in the U.S., as opposed to European routes. Other classical music cruises are sometimes organized by a variety of arts organizations, such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music@Menlo. In these cases, they are likely to invite artists with whom they are already familiar.

Showband and lounge musicians should be prepared to make an initial commitment of three to four months to the cruise line. If they enjoy the work and do well, they can explore prolonged opportunities on different ships in various parts of the world. They will be provided with accommodations and food, plus a salary. I have found the following guidelines which appear to be current: For orchestra sidemen, $1800-$2600 a month. For lounge entertainers, $2300-$3500 a month. All salaries are subject to federal taxation. It is possible that musicians may have to share a cabin. Some classical music cruises might not pay a salary or fee but will provide access to all of the ship’s facilities and may also allow for family members to come along. The ships will accommodate the artist’s need to find practice facilities and will usually allow them to sell cd’s on board. If you are someone who likes to travel, has some extra time on your hands and enjoys meeting new people, you might want to dip your toe into the water.

Here are some websites that you might find helpful in your explorations:

Agencies that provide cruise entertainers

Oceanbound Entertainment – www.oceanbound.com

Proship Entertainment – www.proship.com

Landau Music (no relation to me!) – www.landaumusic.com

General useful information on performance opportunities on cruises

http://www.musicianwages.com/how-to-get-a-cruise-ship-musician-job. The site offers general advice, as well as the opportunity to purchase online The Cruise Ship Talent Agency Directory and The Cruise Line Entertainment Directory. It also offers Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Musician: An Exhaustive Guide to Working as a Cruise Ship Musician, by Dave Hahn, and Ten Effective Strategies When Applying for Cruise Musician Jobs, by Daniel Thibault.

www.workoncruiseships.com: The Complete Resource Center for Cruise Ship Employment

www.cruisejobfinder.com

www.artistshousemusic.org/videos/jobs+for+musicians+with+carnival+cruise+lines (an informative video but somewhat outdated)

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2012

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

One of the questions I was asked this past summer when I did a live Ask Edna session at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival was about tips for successful grant writing.  Unfortunately, the allotted time that day didn’t suffice for me to address that topic but I felt I should dedicate a column to it as the question frequently comes up. The points itemized below have been gathered from various Internet websites and from a workshop that was presented to my class at the Colburn School a few years ago by Melissa Snoza and Adam Marks of Fifth House Ensemble. They have always been DIY types and they have developed considerable skill in this area over the years. Here are some general pointers that should apply to any type of grant application:

1. Leave yourself a lot of time from when you request an application until it is due. If you do your job thoroughly and take the time to learn from others with experience in this area, you will maximize your chances for success. Seek out people who have written successful grant proposals. They might be happy to show you some samples. There are many sources of information on the Internet regarding successful grant writing. Chief among them is the Foundation Center. Just google “grant writing” and you will discover many hours’ worth of constructive reading.
2. Read all instructions very carefully. A grant proposal can be rejected simply because the writer didn’t precisely adhere to them or because it was incomplete.
3. Your proposal should be neat and easy to read. Be sure to submit the exact number of copies the funder requests. If you are allowed to submit supporting materials, try to ascertain which items would be most helpful, rather than assume that you should include every nice letter that was ever written about you.
4. Make sure your project falls within the funding guidelines of the granting organization and matches their priorities. Also, take the time to check that you qualify for a grant even if you don’t have 501(c)3 status. You might be eligible if you have fiscal sponsorship but some funders won’t give grants through fiscal sponsors.
5. It is essential to comply with all deadlines stipulated by the funder. Keep a “tickler file” or online timeline of when all materials are due or when you need to complete certain tasks, and update it regularly as you make progress with your proposal.
6. Inquire about the maximum possible amount of the grant you are seeking and be sure not to submit a proposal for more. It is important to ensure that your budget corresponds realistically to what you hope to achieve. Don’t underestimate your expenses in hopes that a more modest grant request will have a greater chance for success.
7. Make sure your need and purpose in applying for a grant is well thought out, concise and crystal clear. In this regard, I liked the following sentence which I found on the lone-eagles.com website:“You should know exactly what you’re planning to do with their money and express it in elegant simplicity.” Be very specific as to what you will be delivering if you receive the grant and make sure that the outcomes are objective and measurable.
8. At any point along the way, you should feel comfortable calling the funder to ask any questions you may have. In fact, you might want to call even before you start the application process to make sure that your project falls within their guidelines. You might want to ask how applications are reviewed and how decisions are made. It is a good idea to invite them to events you are presenting during the application period. If you do not receive the grant in the end, you can also call them to get feedback that might prove helpful in the future.
9. In advance of the big moment when you finally submit your proposal, proofread it carefully and have at least one other person read it. Ask them if what you have written is totally clear to them and if they think you have made a compelling case for your project. Double and triple check the numbers in your budget.

If you are feeling squeamish about the prospect of going it on your own, you can always enlist the services of a grant writer. However, it would be prudent to use someone who comes with recommendations from people you know. You might even ask them to show you one or two sample proposals they submitted that met with success. In the end, you might decide to resort to buying Grant Writing for Dummies. Someone I know who has had repeated success with grant applications swears that they learned everything they know from this book. If you go this route, please be sure to let me know if you found it helpful!

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2012

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

Dear Edna:

I am a freelancer who makes a career by juggling a number of projects in the music business. I am pleased to have reached a level of success that has me in demand for a truly diverse range of activities, including publicity, media consulting, concert production, promotional writing, audio production and freelance journalism. On several occasions recently, I’ve been introduced by way of a halting description, ending in: “what DO you do?” Clearly I need to be honing my “elevator speech”, but with so many different kinds of projects on my plate, it is difficult to do so, and even I wind up stuttering when trying to describe myself in a short phrase. Can you suggest ways that I can “brand” myself more cohesively, while maintaining career diversity? –W.N.

Dear W.N.:

Thank you for submitting such an excellent question. There is no doubt that people whose jobs are focused in one clear direction have the easiest time presenting their elevator speech, though they will want to say something special about themselves that distinguishes them from others. For example: I am an epidemiologist, working at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and, over the years, I have been gratified to play a significant role in preventing the spread of potentially dangerous diseases to epidemic proportions. Your elevator speech is probably not your biggest problem, since an elevator ride in a medium to high building would give you a chance to mention all of the things you cited above. You could possibly say: I work in the arts and wear various hats at different times, including journalist, media consultant, publicist and concert producer. I’m very fortunate to enjoy that variety in my work and it brings me in contact with many fascinating people.

OK. Now comes the hard part – the brief introduction. If you know the profession of the person you are meeting, you might choose to emphasize one or two of the roles you play, above others. If you are meeting the editor of a magazine, you’d clearly want them to know that you are a freelance journalist and be less concerned that they learn about your concert production expertise. If you are meeting a young aspiring and ambitious artist, you’d want them to know of your experience in publicity, as well as audio and concert production. If you know nothing about the person you are meeting, I’d suggest you say: “I work in the arts as a publicist, media consultant and freelance journalist.” This doesn’t cover everything you do but subsequent conversation is likely to give you a chance to provide greater detail. There is very little you can do to ensure that colleagues and friends will introduce you the way you ideally would like to be presented. For example, it is very common that when introducing me, people say: This is Edna Landau. She used to run IMG Artists. Well, I haven’t done that for about five years but my reputation is based on that period in my life so it’s a comfortable answer for most people. I usually respond by saying that I’m very proud of my long tenure at IMG Artists but that I am now drawing great satisfaction from working in the areas of career advice and individual and institutional arts consulting. Anyone who possesses a variety of skills and is able to put them to use successfully should be very proud of their accomplishments. In the end, what you say in an initial introduction can be less important than how you say it. If your answer is imbued with genuine enthusiasm and pride, rather than with awkwardness over how exactly to categorize yourself, you are likely to gain the opportunity to fill in the blanks as a further conversation unfolds.

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

© Edna Landau 2012

By: Edna Landau

To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.

I recently made my third visit to the Bard College Conservatory of Music and spent two hours with some wonderful young singers who have been picked by Dawn Upshaw, Kayo Iwama and their vocal faculty colleagues to participate in the prestigious Graduate Vocal Arts Program. I was asked the following question which, at the time, had me a bit stumped.

Does having a specialization in a musical area or genre limit you, or does it make you more marketable as a performer?

I don’t think that 20 years ago, artists would have devoted their attention to what might make them marketable, yet I applaud the questioner for thinking this way. In this very competitive time for emerging young artists, achieving recognition in a certain area or genre of music would seem to be a plus. It increases the chances that someone will think of them when programming particular pieces. If an artist demonstrates that they have a great affinity for a specific area of repertoire and they perform it with considerable expertise, they may well enjoy a distinguished career. One example which comes to mind is soprano Emma Kirkby, who has mostly performed Renaissance and Baroque works and has achieved great recognition both for her live performances and extensive discography. The problem sets in when artists are repeatedly asked to sing in Bach masses and Haydn oratorios but they would equally love to perform Barber’s “Knoxville” or Britten’s “Les Illuminations”. If they have a manager representing them, they must arrive at a total meeting of the minds early on as to how to achieve and maintain this delicate balance. The manager must bear the responsibility of regularly reminding presenters and conductors about the breadth of the artist’s repertoire. One need look no further than the Artistic Director of the Bard program, Dawn Upshaw, to find a sterling example of someone who successfully met this challenge. She made her early mark in opera in Mozart roles, but her intellectual and musical curiosity led her to explore a huge variety of repertoire and to partner with leading composers of our time, such as John Harbison, Osvaldo Golijov, John Adams and Kaija Saariaho. Her major career breakthrough was the recording of Henryk Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3, which sold over a million copies. The commitment she has given to every corner of the repertoire along her artistic journey has been so complete that her fans have adoringly followed her, and presenters have waited with great anticipation to learn of her latest project. The answer to the above question, therefore, lies totally in the aspirations and abilities of the performer.  Fortunately, many artists are privileged to enjoy long careers which afford them the opportunity to change direction and embark on new musical adventures, once they have established a name for themselves. Demonstrating a special affinity for a particular area of repertoire can be a real advantage, but it does not in any way need to limit the options for any singer to excel in and be thought of for other works in the extensive vocal literature.

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© Edna Landau 2012