Catch me performing live this Sunday in "A Little Chamber Music" (Cleveland, Ohio)

What do you have planned for this Sunday afternoon? Why not treat yourself to a fun, relaxing afternoon of music!?

Members of the Blazing River Freedom Band will share their favorite solos, duets, trios, and quartets! Song selections range from classical to blues to pop- and beyond.

As if the music isn't treat enough...there will be a pay-what-you-will baked-goods bar during intermission, We'll save you a seat!

Archwood United Church of Christ
2800 Archwood Ave, Cleveland OH 44109
Suggested admission donation, $5.00

Sunday, October 5th at 3pm. Doors open at 2:30.
For more information, email info@blazingriverband.org or call (216) 744-3907

https://www.facebook.com/events/1535203426712257/?ref=22 

Get Orff your Arff...and Play with Pieces of Schulwerk!

Join the Greater Cleveland Orff Chapter on NEOEA Day for "Playing with Pieces of the Schulwerk" There are so many charming pieces in Orff and Keetman's body of work written for children. Some are short and therefore, easily overlooked. Some are intimidating with seemingly complex forms, rhythms, or meter. In this session participants will play pieces from the volumes as well as the supplemental Orff/Keetman texts. Participants will play with elements of the pieces in order to expand the overall learning experience. In short, we will play with what we play.
Admission is included for pre-paid chapter members. Admission for all others (including students) is $25. "First Time Free" does not apply to this event. Street parking is metered on Friday's and class is in session at CSU. Please leave extra time for parking. There is a parking deck on located next to the music building on E 21st street. Visit www.csuohio.edu/parking/neighborhood-parking for nearby lots and fees.

Visit www.clevelandorff.org for more information.

Business Planning for Artistis

Often artists have trouble with taking their work to investors and turning their great creative ideas into monetizable business transactions.  Here I will explore the advice of two prominent artist business plan writers.

Sarphreem King is a multiplatinum album producer and music industry journalist with years of experience helping artists to grow their careers.  He runs a music business course,  “Music Business Guru Academy” that he offers from his website.

King’s biggest tip for artists on writing business plans includes getting the information out of your head and on to paper as early as possible, whether that be on a napkin, scrap paper, or any medium.  Keeping the ideas in your head makes it harder to get it all down in to an organized business plan when it is time to develop your ideas and present your work to investors.  He also stresses the importance of taking yourself seriously and working on the business plan one step at a time so the artist does not get overwhelmed.

However, Alyson Stanfield, a renowned art business blog writer cautions against over-planning.  She recommends that artists start with a one-page business plan that includes immediate action items and defines their business as it currently exists, and then expand into the future.   Too often artists over-plan which can confine their options and prevent them from seeing creative solutions.  Furthermore, artists who spend all of their time planning often don’t have time to put their plans into action and use planning as a way to procrastinate.

King, Sarphreem.  Tip Jar: How to Write a Music Business Plan.  Accessed on Sunday, June 8, 2014 at http://musicconnection.com/tip-jar-write-music-business-plan/.

Stafield, Alyson.  Is Over-Planning Killing Your Art Business?  Accessed on Sunday, June 8, 2014 at http://www.artbizblog.com/2012/05/over-planning.html.

I'm teaching Jazz Camp this Summer!

I'm teaching Jazz Camp this summer at Marrell Music in Lakewood!  Call (216) 228-4885 or visit http://www.marrellinstrumentrepair.net to register.

Business Planning for Artists

            Business planning can be challenging for artists who often reject the business side of their work in favor of the creative process.  Here I examine the perspectives of two artist business managers and their advice on creating artist business plans.

Jennifer Lee is the author of “Right-Brained Business Plan” and a professional in her field.  She founded of Artizen Coaching, a business coaching program for working artists.  Lee explains how to use creative techniques to be more engaging for artists, such as vision boards and eye-catching graphics.  Many artists think visually and by incorporating visual aspects into the business plan can help them to become more engaged in the process and to communicate their vision more clearly.  She argues that having a business plan makes an artist more focused and helps them to set goals and achieve milestones along the way.  She also points out that the research done during the business plan writing process helps artists to know what other artists are doing and what steps they used to get there.  One of the most unique tips that she gives is that artists should reform their relationship with money so that they can better price their work’s worth in a way that is not so limiting to their financial success.  Such work should not be approached as “selling-out” but rather as attaching value to the projects that they feel so emotionally attached to.

            Rebecca Ann is a renowned author and blogger in the field of Artist Management.  She runs a video blog series entitled “The Productive Artist.”  She encourages artists to break a business plan down into a series of seven questions and to think of these questions as legs of a journey towards their ultimate goals.  Breaking down business planning into steps helps to make it easier to accomplish and helps to center an artist so they can determine their best market placement for their work.  Too often artists have trouble defining measurable steps and creating action items in order to get to their vision.

            Investors want to see information on the artist’s target market and their unique value proposition so they know how the work is different from that of other artists and why their work is a worthwhile investment.  This differentiates the artist from others and helps to monetize their ideas.

Work Cited:

Huff, Cory.  Business Plans for Artists, Here I Did it For You!  October 25, 2011.  http://theabundantartist.com/business-plans-for-artists-here-i-did-it-for-you/ as accessed on Thursday, May 8, 2014.

Ann, Rebecca.  The Productive Artist.  http://www.theproductiveartist.com as accessed on Thursday, May 8 2014.

Tips for New and Aspiring Ensemble Conductors

When one first learns to conduct an ensemble, there is so very much to learn.  It’s much more than just waving a stick around.  Here are seven tips for new conductors:

1.     Know your technique cold.

Learn to cue, how and why.  Learn how to effectively and efficiently conduct fermatas, with and without caesura.  Learn how to conduct all meters, not just the simple ones.

2.     Score Study. A lot.

When you first approach a score, listen to a few recordings.  Then, put the recordings away and start making your own choices.  If you have the skill, play through the parts on a keyboard.  Figure out what will be difficult for you to conduct, and what will be difficult for the musicians.  Where will they want cues?  Where will they want help?  Are there errors in the part?  Do you understand the harmonic progressions?  What decisions will you make about tempo and style?

3.     Keep your scores in your head, not your head in the scores.

The number one thing you can do is to learn your scores.  Your eyes should be on your ensemble 90% of the time while conducting.  Too many conductors—especially new ones—use the score as a crutch.  Conduct without it a few times to ensure you are comfortable knowing the piece.  Your focus should be on what is happening in the ensemble and what you want to do musically while you are conducting, not on reading and trying to figure out what’s next.  To do this you need eye contact with the ensemble constantly while they are playing.

4.     Practice piano for 15 minutes every day for the rest of your life.

This advice was given to me by one of my professors during my undergrad and I wish I had started this practice then.  The skill to play reductions of scores from piano or to accompany and understand harmony using a keyboard is invaluable.  Transposition is another often-underdeveloped score in new conductors that keyboard work can help with.  Develop these skills early and hone it every day.

5.     Learn other instruments- at least the basics.

You don’t need to be able to perform each instrument with mastery, but try to get a sense of how each instrument operates.  What fingering issues do wind players have?  How might suggesting alternate fingerings help them overcome challenging passages?  Which notes are harder to tune on which instruments?  Will this passage require difficult shifting in your strings?  Learning the basics of each instrument will help you to help your ensemble.

6.     Listen to as many different types of music as possible.

Don’t stick to your genre.  There is a lot of music out there, and each style will give you more understanding of how music works and perhaps give you ideas of how to interpret music in your main genre(s).  In your principle genre, learn the repertory.  If you are a wind band director, know all the big wind band pieces.  Discover new pieces daily.  Attend concerts.

7.     Watch those who are great.

Some of the best things I have learned as a conductor came not from the classroom, but from watching how professional skilled conductors treated various passages.  Everyone has an individual style and approach to conducting.  Watch those who are great and who get great results.  Try to figure out why they use the type of gestures they do, and whether or not their approaches would be helpful or detrimental to your own conducting.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg- but it’s a good start.  Master these seven tips and you’ll be well on your way to leading with artistry as an ensemble conductor.  One final tip:  Never stop learning or honing your craft.

The Benefits of Community Bands to Adult Musicians

            There is little dispute that music is an important part of education for children.  However, music is just as important for adults.  One of the best ways an adult can be involved in music is to play with a local community band.  There are community band of all shapes, sizes, missions and values throughout the United States.  Why is playing in a community band so important for adults?  Here are just a few of the reasons:

            Music keeps your mind sharp.  It encourages active problem-solving and critical thinking skills.  Music reading works a lot like math, but in a more abstract way.  Performing music in an ensemble helps increase concentration improves reaction time to various stimuli- from the conductor’s baton, from printed music and from aural cues.

            Community bands are a great social outlet.  In any community band you will find a group of people of different backgrounds who gather sharing a common interest: the making of music.  I have made long-lasting friendships as a result of my participation on community band rehearsals.  Community band concerts are also a great social outlet for your friends and family, and provide a night of high-class artsy entertainment for the audience.

            Making music is a great stress reliever.  How often do you come home from work feeling tired or fatigued?  While a night out on the town may be fun, it can be more exhausting to our bodies than other choices.  Community band rehearsals are my weekly retreat from the mundane and I find myself more relaxed and energized at the end of each rehearsal than I would from any other after-work activity.

            Making music is a creative outlet.  Many of us do not have a job in which we can express ourselves artistically or creatively on a day-to-day basis.  Music allows us to make beautiful art with sound and community bands allow us to make this art with others.

            Community bands are a great place for a number of reasons.  Don’t be afraid if you haven’t played in years- members are typically helpful and many adult community bands have many in their ranks who hadn’t played since high school when they came back to band.  Consider looking up some local community bands today.  Some great resources include the Lesbian/Gay Band Association, which has member bands in nearly every major city and the Association of Concert Bands.