Advice From Musical Experts, Part I

On the last day before Piano Arts 2012's final recital of the year, the twelve semifinalists gathered at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, WI. The event? "Careers in Music" and "Working With Manager and Presenters", a panel discussion with four Milwaukee-area music professionals. These were Jonathan Winkle, the executive director of the Wilson Center; Laurence Tucker, former vice president and chief program officer at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchesta; Lee Dougherty, member of the PianoArts Founders' Council, and Andrews Sill, PianoArts music director and assistant music director at the New York Ballet. These professional music administrators--and artists in their own right--gave the budding talents of the 2012 PianoArts Competition a boatload of good advice on how to succeed as a soloist in the world of commercial music.

The first topic was how to get your name out there in a crowded music marketplace. "The relationship piece is more important than you realize," said Winkle. Music directors field hundreds of requests from would-be soloists and musical acts, everything from string quartets to bluegrass bands. To "get through the clutter", he said, "keep behaving well. Keep making friends." But although networking is important for a young soloist, equally important is finding your artistic voice."I [look] for the best artist", said Tucker. He told the semifinalists to "get out the art that's inside of you. Know yourself, and understand where music fits into your other art. Study music away from your instrument. You are at such a vital time in your life right now... Make mistakes. Play the wrong piece, or play a piece your teacher doesn't want you to. To your own self be true."

Dougherty reminded the artists that although the life of a soloist may seem carefree, there are a lot of responsibilities that accompany it (no pun intended). "You have responsibilities to yourself, to your town, but to your presenter too," she said. She advised the semifinalists to take care of the little things; to arrive on time, to be in touch with your presenter before the performance, to send them materials in advance. It's those details, and being a nice, personable individual, that matter to presenters. "The [artists] I really want back are appreciative," Dougherty said. "Be a human being with your audience. Send thank-you notes. Spent time makes a difference while you're performing. And if you do a really excellent job, [as a presenter] I'll call up my friends and say hey, you need to check this guy out."

Laurence Tucker mentioned the importance of having a website and having good promotional materials. It's worth it, he said, to have everything you send out to a potential gig look crisp, professional and present you the way you want to be presented. Nowadays, that even includes YouTube videos, which music directors will often seek out and look up; artists should make sure that they're good quality, from an audio/visual perspective as well as simply playing well. Smiling on stage helps; engage the audience. "These are little things, but they're really not," Tucker said. Dougherty added that public speaking is a part of the show as well; make sure your remarks are substantive, project your voice as though you were speaking to people in the back row, speak with a sense of authority. "It's the whole package," Tucker concluded.