If you want to start an ensemble, you have to choose whether you will be a nonprofit or for-profit business. Nonprofits can’t afford to be weak--they are still businesses after all. For-profits can’t afford to be ruthless. Both require the cultivation of audiences and our most valuable resource--relationships with talented musicians. Money matters with both. The main difference is who owns the business: for-profits are run by the business owners (you!) and nonprofits are run by boards on behalf of the public. Neither decision is good or bad--they simply come with different consequences. In the end, it’s an important decision--but not as important as the decision to work hard on whatever route you go. Both need your best work. Go on and start. We’re waiting.
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There are other people out there who want what you want. Search for them. Find them. They are your allies and your real audience. You don’t have to convince them that what you’re doing is valuable--they already know. Use all the resources at your disposal. Then, you can inspire each other.
Sometimes it’s really hard to hit the send button. You’ve drafted and redrafted. But what if they misunderstand something? Think that you’re being rude? 5.4.3.2.1 *click send*
*Check out Mel Robbins to learn more about the 5-second rule. If you’re doing something that raises eyebrows, you’re probably on the right track. It’s easy to create another string quartet, classical orchestra, or rock band. Everyone knows what worked before. But we’re doing something new, something different, something crazy. If people aren’t raising their eyebrows, you’re probably not going far enough.
When the New Year turned over, what did you say you wanted to do? Where are you with it now? If you’re on track, good job! If not, reassess and go from there. Was it a silly goal? A goal that you’re too afraid of so you make tons of excuses to not do it? Too big of one? Make some decisions and go after it--or cut it loose.
It’s not very funny when you’re seen as a joke--someone who can’t complete things. Doesn’t do what she/he says. How do you become someone who finishes? By finishing what you begin. Start small. Grow. Plan. Execute. Revise. Plan. Execute. Suddenly you finish things and people take you seriously.
*One of things I’m working on in 2019! I just don’t think I should have to convince anyone classical music is worthwhile. It’s self evident. TRANSLATION: I don’t want to do the hard work of connecting with an audience.
I shouldn’t have to play something I don’t like. TRANSLATION: My audience doesn’t matter. I’m a musician. I only play my instrument/ sing/ conduct. TRANSLATION: I’m not in the business of making connections. Having the the right ensemble with the right audience matters. Coal miners probably don’t want to listen to Mozart. Or maybe they do--but not in a concert hall. If you’re a Mozart-playing ensemble in a concert hall, coal miners are probably the wrong audience--not matter how much convincing, begging, cajoling, and bribing you do. Pick an audience--and focus on them. Lavish them with what they already want (or perhaps didn’t know they wanted). Spend a ton of energy figuring that out, and then the audience is yours (as long as you remain receptive to their cares and desires). Nobody likes it when a salesman tries to sell something no one wants. Go to households that need a vacuum.
If your new ensemble had been around for a while and suddenly disappeared, would anybody miss it? Do you meaningfully contribute to your (however defined) community? Do you treat people with respect? If nobody would miss you, what could you add that makes you invaluable to the community? That the loss of your ensemble is a real loss to that community? Meaningful contributions to the community translate into market value--either donors will want to give or audiences will want to buy tickets. Outside of the arts, a business closes quickly if it fails to find a community that can sustain it. Inspired customers and donors will attend concerts. Otherwise, what’s the point?
To be in peak shape, we must take care of ourselves. We need sleep. We need food. We need physical activity. Oddly enough, these make us more confident, more resilient, more creative, and better able to handle the many challenges we face. Here’s an invitation to get some sleep, to eat a nutritious meal, to go for a walk or run or to the gym.
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