New Interim Choir Director position, and Organists Wanted

I am pleased to announce that I accepted the job of Interim Choir Director at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Tremont, Ohio!  In related news, I am selecting skilled organists to accompany Sunday rehearsals and service.  Please contact me directly at webguybrandyn@gmail.com if you are interested.

Transgendered Individuals wanted for Interview/Research

So, in continuing the work of my song cycle, I would like to interview a few people about their life and what love/dating/relationships/experience growing up has been about.  If you are transgendered or have loved/dated someone who is transgendered, and would be willing to be interviewed online, please contact me at webguybrandyn@gmail.com.   This is part of my research for "A Place for Gay Men and Straight Women to Mingle", a song cycle written for mtf trans high voice and piano, and will be premiered by Alexandra Stjames Gray later this year.

The Recording Industry Association of America and Music Piracy

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade industry that supports the creative and financial aspects of American recording artists.  They do much work in protecting the intellectual rights of work created and provide standards for the licensing and distribution of digital music.  They also provide educational programs for classroom use in order to communicate the importance of intellectual rights with regards to media and how students can avoid piracy and enjoy music legally.

One of the many services they offer include the Why Music Matters website, dedicated tot the promotion of legal digital music and educating the masses about proper licensing and how to obtain music legally.  There is an about section that explains the categories of legally available digital music and a very cool directory of videos in which one artist discusses the music of another artist, presenting a unique perspective on their music.

Piracy is a huge issue worldwide.  Without the help of organizations like the RIAA to monitor and educate, musicians lose out on revenue and the arts economy suffers.  RIAA is doing some great work by giving music consumers the information and resources that they need in order to legally and appropriately access music digitally.

How Basic Chords Work -- Basic Music Theory Lesson

This is for my conducting students this week to review/learn their theory, but is also a great video for any musician to review their chords or who is interested in learning it.

New Song Cycle: "A Place for Gay Men and Straight Women to Mingle"

I am composing a new song cycle "A Place for Gay Men and Straight Women to Mingle". This work is being written for transgendered (mtf) voice and piano, and will be premiered by Alexandra St. James in Chicago later this year.  To hear samples of the work as I write them, visit https://soundcloud.com/brandynn-equality/sets/a-place-for-gay-men-and 

Thank you to my new sponsor-patron, Steve Drury

I have secured my first ongoing sponsor-patron as a composer and appreciate that so much!  Thank you, Steve Drury!  In exchange for monthly financial support of my work Steve will be getting regular compositions of varying types and the joy that comes from supporting the arts.

If you are interested in becoming a patron of my composition work, please contact me at webguybrandyn@gmail.com or message me on facebook.  Thank you again, Steve for your support!

Conducting Ensembles: Cues

New student?

Have a new saxophone student starting in a couple weeks.  Also, I'm taking new students still-- what have you always wanted to learn?

(I teach from my home studio on the West end of Cleveland, Ohio in Lakewood.  216.630.0468 for bookings, lessons, or to commission me for composition works.)

Sirena Huang: a master of violin-- and storytelling for brand management.

Sirena Huang may give one of most the dazzling violin performances you’ve ever heard from an eleven-year old, but her playing isn’t the reason I find her magical.  What captivates and inspires me about her is her own storytelling and branding ability.

She not only plays her instrument beautifully, but she has researched its construction and the physics theory behind it in order to find beauty in the sixteenth century technology.  She admires its elegant design--not just a musical instrument, but also as a innovative lightweight compact structure capable of large sound production ad a wide variety of timbres.

Huang speaks of the entertainment value of finding humor in music—she speaks of enjoying bow “swordplay” early in her musical career and relates anecdotes of humorous musicians she has had the pleasure of meeting.  However, I am most impressed with her own combination of lecture—a clear entertaining explanation of why she does what she does—with her performance.  Being able to speak about her art so eloquently and on a basic level that relates to her audience gives her a character far more memorable than so many other musicians who may surpass her in virtuosity.  Combine this with the fact that she is only eleven years old, and has learned how to brand and market herself and speak about why her work is important, and we find that Ms. Huang is an entertainment delight to be reckoned with.  Today barely a teenager, she gets the entertainment business as a total picture.

So, what can we artists and creative professionals learn from Sirena Huang?  We can learn that being amazing at what we do is only part of the battle.  We need to not only continually hone our craft, but we need to be able to market ourselves effectively in order to make sure we have a career.  And, it's really helpful if we can take time to stop and recognize the beauty and elegance of technology and design that go into creating the tools that we use to make art.