Now into their second year, my coaching groups at the Yale School of Music have provided a powerful measure of support to our budding artists as they forge the joys and the uncertainties of the artistic path. This year, our coaching groups were much more free form than last year. Students shared their challenges and successes and we improvised our topics …
Networking for Music Entrepreneurs: Using Your Head and Your Heart
I love teaching networking because it is such a valuable skill for musicians. And my recent networking class at Yale was such a treat because for the first time ever, I had a group where nearly half of the students enjoy networking! As a result, my “experienced” networkers were able to share their successes with their colleagues which both reinforced the importance of networking and showed other students what to do in order to incorporate networking into one’s arsenal of career-building tools.
The bottom line: networking involves both your head—being strategic—and your heart-being intuitive and sensitive to building quality relationships.
Let’s take a closer look at what worked.
The Power of Branding for Musicians: Connecting Your Purpose with Your Ideal Audience
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of presenting a workshop on Personal Branding for Composers in connection with the American Composers Orchestra’s Underwood New Music Readings and the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings. The room was filled with both classical and jazz composers who were eager to learn how to get their music out there and create opportunities for themselves. The magic of this workshop was an evolution from skepticism to embracing the power of a brand as a tool of helping composers to advance their careers by working smarter, not harder.