Suzanne Vega: Artist-Citizen

Suzanne Vega is an enigma. I've known her name and song "Tom's Diner" for a long time...yet until recently I didn't have a clear picture of her place in music and culture. With her engagements in Madison coming up I figured it would be good to dig a bit deeper.

While Vega is, of course, an important figure as a folk-pop singer-songwriter of the 80's and 90's, looking at her career more closely reveals a much larger cultural relevance. Indeed she's a powerful musical figure (and voice), who has elevated the place of female songwriters by addressing issues - such as including childhood abuse ("Luka"), personal loss, and reflections on urban place and identity (Beauty & Crime) - that challenge us listeners to take a renewed look at our role in the world around us. And she's done so within a sophisticated sonic realm most in the pop world wouldn't dare attempt.

At the same time she's been on the cutting edge of tech advancements for more than a decade, including being one of the first stars to embrace MP3s (remember when those were new?), and Second Life (the first artist to perform digitally as an avatar). Vega's sense of artist-citizenship goes further than her art-making; for years, she's been dedicated to (quietly) helping raise awareness for charitable causes like Amnesty International, Casa Alianza, and the Save Darfur Coalition.

Most impressively, though, she fought against the "machine" to preserve her artistic voice, and has managed to collaborate with some of the biggest names in pop music, finding a place in that echelon, without abandoning her roots. And now she's giving back to the next generation of artists, through professional workshops that promise to offer an exciting and fruitful dialogue!

Here's a taste, a recent clip of her performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:


Hope to see you at Overture tomorrow, and please post your feedback....

April Arts Roundup: Wisconsin Film Festival Edition

So I know I've gone off on a tangent in my recent posts, straying far from my original intention to form a dialogue on the current state of professional artistry and entrepreneurship in the arts. But I've been thinking lately about the importance of not only embracing a holistic palette of arts interests, but also of incorporating such a scope into the more specific discussion of how one becomes a fully-formed and independent artist in today's world.

This stems from two of my earliest memories which are coupled within the framework of artistic expression. I vividly remember seeing movies on VHS from the time I was a toddler (classic 80's fare like Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and all those Disney classics) that changed the way I viewed storytelling and led me to pursue early visual arts training (in drawing, sketching, painting, and even writing a few hack-comic books). During the same time, my exposure to music with my parents, Aunt, and Grandmother in our Toronto apartments (everything from Vivaldi and Dvorak to Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Beatles) obviously hit a chord (oops, sorry about that), igniting a passion for musicmaking. The first experience led to lifelong penchant for watching new (and often fringe) films, while the other has led me to a career! My tastes have changed, but it's hard to say omitting the one hobby in favor of the other profession could have been productive in the path my artistic pursuits have taken.

With that in mind, I'm excited to frame this Arts Roundup post around the Wisconsin Film Festival, one event that I look forward to year after year. (Note: please comment and add other non-film festival arts events that are coming up in April!) I finally have the time to see more than a couple of films, and I spent much of my time in the airport two weeks ago mulling over my options in the WI Film Fest edition of the Isthmus. Here are my six picks, although there are about 200 more that should fit anyone's fancy!

Father and Guns: 04/14 - 7:30pm @ Orpheum Main

One of the French Candian movies at this year's festival. I missed 2008's Bon Cop, Bad Cop but this comedy looks like it will provide an opportunity to redeem myself. This is not only one of the opening movies of WFF10, but also will be a Wisconsin premiere! C'est bon!

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls: 04/15 - 6:00pm @ Orpheum Main

Much has already been written about this movie (Audience Award winner, 2009 Toronto Film Festival), and as a fan of documentaries this was a no-brainer. But I have another reason to see this film: during my time in New Zealand back in 2005 I read about the Topp Twins but never saw them in person. Can't wait to catch a glimpse of these enigmatic Kiwi legends, and to see more of Christchurch and Wellington.

The Host: 04/15 - 10:00pm @ Orpheum Main

When I saw Memories of Murder about two years ago, I knew I had stumbled upon another great South Korean director. Each of the installments of the four-film retrospective on Bong Joon-Ho at WFF10 are worth checking out, but this is a great entry to begin with (especially if you want to sample his work before committing to six additional hours of Joon-Ho's work). Also, I used to own about a dozen old Godzilla movies, and I'm not ashamed to say it.

Harmony and Me: 04/16 - 7:45pm @ Wisconsin Union Theater

Will this be the 500 Days of Summer of 2010? I don't know, but this looks like an entertaining and different take on the classic 80's love story. The filmmakers should be present, so get ready for a post-film Q&A.

Sat. Afternoon Shorts: 04/17 - 3:00pm @ Play Circle

I love short films. Short stories too, but especially short films. These are always a highlight of the WFF, so, naturally, I had to include at least one set. While Monona Terrace is my favorite venue for shorts, I highly recommend going to the Play Circle to experience it's intimate setting for (at minimun) one film. Saturday afternoon includes everything from an essay on condiments, to the life of a fowl actor, to some excerpts of the Wisconsin's Own series.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 04/17 - 7:30pm @ Orpheum Main

This is the main event (or one of them). I've been reading about this movie for over a year, and it's finally in Madison! This Swedish thriller, based on the book by Stieg Larsson, is a good bet for "breakout" international film of 2010. It's being reviewed (mostly positively) across the U.S., and is being hailed for it's depth, style, and taut narrative. OK, so you don't HAVE to go to WFF to see it, as it may hit theaters later...but then it's an amazing experience to see a movie at the Orpheum Main Stage when it's packed to the walls (that means about 1,600 people)! Don't miss it!

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To see all the films playing at this year's Wisconsin Film Festival, find showtimes, or order tickets, click here or on the logo at the top of this post.

Happy Easter + Viva Santa Fe!

I'm finally back from the New Mexico-Texas excursion, which was laced with traveling drama, a national conference of unexpectedly rich research, and some cultural sight-seeing.

Taking a day to recover from the hectic MTNA schedule, we took advantage of our proximity to the famous Turquoise Trail and spent an afternoon cruising some of the most dramatic and beautiful scenery in North America. Whether you're an outdoors enthusiast, Wild West buff, or just plain curious, the 60 mile highway that traverses the western plains from northern Albuquerque to Santa Fe is well worth your time.

And the destination makes this fun day even more satisfying. Santa Fe has been embedded in my mind ever since I first saw it 7 years ago, seeing it again was a real treat. With a quaint historic center made up of winding pedestrian streets, this classic Western town boasts excellent weather, plenty of museums, fantasic cuisine, and, of course some of the best artwork in the U.S.

This equation amounts to probably one of the best 12-hour mini-vacations around. Three of our highlights:

Madrid, NM: This ghosty town has charm and quirkyness to spare. Double the fun if you make this stop on a motorcyle.
The Shed: Quintessential New Mex cuisine, and the best margheritas around (literally, there was nothing even close in Albuquerque). The blue corn quesadillas are a delight, and makes sure you try both the red and green chilis...a Shed specialty!
Marble Brewery: Actually founded on Marble Street in Albuqeurque, this Santa Fe location boasts 10 beers on tap (in rotation, but I recommend the Marble Red and Brown Ale) for those of age, a rooftop patio (with historic city center views), and made-to-order wood-fired flat-bread pizzas made with local ingredients. Viva Santa Fe!

Now on to Texas! It was great to have another week to hang out with Chris, and to see Denton after all these years. My foray in Tex-Mex cuisine continued, but I must say that each and every beer fanatic must visit a Flying Saucer (I think there are three in the Dallas-Fort Worth area). With an impressive list from around the world, and many local micros as well, this is THE place to hang and enjoy a night out with friends.

Oh, and the recital was a success...although recording mishaps plagued us again, but I'll try to salvage some data to post soon. Now I'm in Madison, enjoying the turning to Spring...and all the pleasures this great town has to offer!

Speaking of which, coming up next will be a special post devoted to the Wisconsin Film Festival, surely one of Madison's best annual events! Til then, Happy Easter to all!

MTNA Conference Recap: Stage Fright, Laban Movement, and Entrepreneurial Mentorship 2.0

It's been a whirlwind of a week. Needless to say, my travelling adventures worked out; I made it to Albuquerque for the Music Teachers National Conference after all, and got to enjoy two and a half days of hyper-stimulation about all things music. I had fun with my poster session, and got more feedback about Entrepreneurial Mentorship, and of ways to view it from different perspectives (I sense another paper brewing...).

What makes these conferences fun (besides catching up with people from across the U.S., and learning about what's happening out there in the field-at-large) are the unexpected gems - the sessions that offer both substantially rewarding information, and deflate the stress of such a packed week of events.

The two highlights for me came on the final day of the conference. Frederic Chiu is not only one of my favorite pianists, but he is also a skillful clinician. His entertaining, intellectual, and probing session on stage fright brought together issues of musical training, the efficacy of routine, and psychological analysis. His discussion on Silvan Tomkins' Affect Theory was a particular "Ah-Ha!" moment for me. The idea that our emotional responses preclude (or at least out-pace) our rational responses, gives a new perspective on how our psychological state can influence and/or cause performance meltdowns. It also enhances the notion of regret aversion, which Barry Schwartz links to the mental trauma of making decisions - both in terms of musical interpretation/technical choices, and of the stress we face in our career development. In his book The Paradox of Choice the world of ever-expanding choices, we artists (often as "maximizers") not only have to deal with the opportunity cost of those options we gave up, but also of the ramifications those decisions have on our future trajectory. This can be traumatizing, and I am beginning to think there may be a connection between these feelings and the decisions we make - especially when we face the choice of leaving the field for "better" opportunities. Linking these two concepts from psychology offers a glimpse at how we may learn to control, or at least deal with, such challenges and perhaps quell some of the career-related fears of many artists.

Paola's session was also fantastic. I know I'm biased, but she held a crowd of 60+ people at 8am for the entirety of her talk. Blending a lecture with interactive movement experiences, I think this was perhaps the best session I've attended on movement/performance health/expression yet. We got an overview of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA), Bartenieff Fundamentals, and plenty of resources on how to use those principles towards greater physical health, flexible alignment, and (most important, perhaps) more effective musical communication. I know she also got great feedback on her ideas, and can't wait to move forward with more work on Laban Movement Analysis, and hopefully more conference presentations delving deeper into how we can better couple movement awareness with musical expression to further communication between artist and audience. Brava! (Check out her website here for more info)

Now I have to tell you about Santa Fe....which was a delight in and of itself...but that will be coming in my next post! For now, I have to catch a flight. Hope all is well in Madison, could the Terrace possibly open by the time Easter rolls around?

March Musical Madness, Part 1.5: An Interlude

March 20th, 2010: Remember that great Steve Martin and John Candy movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"? It's one of my favorites, yet now that I am currently in the middle of such an experience, it's taking on a new meaning.

I won't bore you with all the details, but let's just say I'm never inclined to fly United again. Also, don't buy cheap tickets. More connections mean getting stuck in a city at 2am, with no hotel, no time to explore, no deodorant, toothpaste, or sleep. But it could be worse - my bags could be lost somewhe...actually, nevermind. Hence the lack of toiletries.

Anyways, at least I got to do two things I've never done before: miss the first two days of a national MTNA conference, and fight my way onto a Greyhound for an unexpected 7 hour roadtrip. OK, one of those is better than the other, but I'm trying to think positively here.

Hold on a sec, someone on the bus just asked me read his Prozac prescription for him so he wouldn't accidentally overdose...done. OK that makes three things I haven't done before. Wait, make that four, he just asked to borrow my water too.

Hmm, how do I top that? I don't know but this trip seems to have more surprises up it's sleeve. And now I can see the snow-capped Rockies in the distance. I'll let you know when I get on the train.

March Musical Madness, Part 1

It always seems like March is a period of hyper-activity, augmented by short bursts of manic breakdowns. At least with mid-terms, the fervor to get at least one concert out of the way, and Spring Break plans that never quite work out, it seems that way.

As I'm currently stuck at the Madison airport (it's March 20th as I write this, but imagine it won' get on the web for a few days) ready for two weeks of my own travelling mayhem, I figured it's a good time to recap the first two weeks of the month - which was indicated to me by a colleague to be the busiest of Year in Madison! It will also distract me from my airport stress.

While there were plenty to cover, most have already been written about (go to the Well Tempered Ear for a great analysis of everything musical going on in Madison). I'm going to focus on two Arts Enterprise Madison events that had Bren a long time in the making.

So, we'll start out with the Jacqueline Schwab workshop on living an independent life as a musician. Hers was a story of twists and turns, many of which surprised me, and gave me reason to question my values.

For example, while she has a degree from New England Conservatory, it's in folk music...not the kind of track you often hear about. Even more off beat is the fact that folk styles are traditionally learned through rote, or at least through doing rather than studying. Of course, outside the world of folk artists, having that diploma surely wields an advantage. Plus, one's network surely expands over time. She found ways of breaking ground by leveraging tradition to her advantage.

Honest in her recounts of struggling as a young artist in Boston, it was clear she had experienced much of the challenges we students hear often about. Her story showed that perserverance does pay off, and while hard-earned achievements often don't guarantee fame and fortune, one can pave his or her own way to musical success - and on their own terms.

We were lucky to follow this up with a two-day residency by the hot young jazz quintet Diverse. Their path seems different - with early successes, and a promising future, it was clear that these young musicians had only just begun their careers. It helps that they are jaw-dropping on stage!

They were also tremendously generous, delaying their departure on a hectic shcesule to offer a 75min Q&A session for students. We had a fun and inteiduing discussion, one that probed questions not only of muodcal style, influence, and vision, but of nuts and bolts career issues as well. I particularly like the notion that one member brought about creating a mission for your ensembles. This simple, oft-omitted step clarifies vision, synthesizes goals, and acts as a benchmark for success.

All in all it's been a fun couple of weeks, now I'm off to New Mexico for a research presemtation and then Texas for Anhinga Duo recitals (three down, hopefully three more to go!).

I'll be writing next from Albuquerque, with the second instdllment of March Musical Madness, and with an update about the MTNA national conference. Tip then, check out these artists on their websites:

Jacqueline Schwab Homepage
Diverse Jazz Homepage

Writing for Fun: Can It Be True?

I struggle with writing. So much of the time it feels like pulling teeth...or cleaning teeth...something very much akin to going to the dentist. Any chance to delay, distract, or disconnect from such obligations are welcome. Yet I can't help but feel the urge to complete an essay or blog, to fulfill the anticipation of satisfaction that comes with a job (hopefully well) done.

So it was refreshing to find this article on the art of revision by journalist and writer John Douglas Marshall at IndieReader.com.

Here are some of his tips, in a nutshell:

1) Revisions mean the crap you just wrote is only the beginning. Don't forget that the first draft is just that - the first attempt at making words into art. Admittedly, this is easier for some than others...but at least you can sleep on it, read over your work, and refine it. If only such process-orientation was accepted in the world of piano-playing.

2) Revising is easier on the nerves than writing the first draft. You've already broken the ice, now it's time to enjoy the nuance and unpredictability of looking at a page with new eyes.

3) Try viewing the act of writing as continual revision. Embrace the technology age...cutting and pasting has never been easier. This is one I really like, because my neurosis is somehow quelled by the idea that I can fix as I go. This rarely actually happens, though.

4) Multiple revisions mean multiple realities. So, after a half dozen drafts, doesn't it look like we have six different papers? I never thought about how good that can be - who knows where those drafts may take you for future projects.

As someone revising two papers for publication/presentation at the moment, Marshall's article helped me think of all this work as a pleasure. OK, I'm not gonna lie, it also helps that I'm at my favorite coffee shop sipping an amazing cappucino. Reading what I just wrote, I must be a writer-in-training....

Check out IndieReader.com for more articles, a blog, and lots of other goodies here.

March Arts Roundup

With the fun Jacqueline Schwab event this past Wednesday behind us (check out this multi-faceted artist's website here) I finally realized it's March! And maybe it's because of the balmy weather we've been experiencing here in Madison, but I am getting evermore excited for these upcoming events:

03/07-08 "Making the Music Dance"
8:30pm Morphy Hall (03/07) and Steinway Piano Gallery (03/08)

Pianists and dancers from UW-Madison will present two collaborative performances entitled "Making the Music Dance." The concerts are the culmination of a series of movement workshops, led by graduate piano student Paola Savvidou. You will hear piano performances with live dance improvisation; the overall effect being an aural, visual and kinesthetic interpretation of music by the great masters.

The purpose of the movement workshop and performance project is to develop kinesthetic awareness in pianists, embody the essence of the music, and find creative ways of improving alignment at our instrument, deepening our musical understanding and communication.

Pianists: Sonya Clark, Amanda Horn, Doug Jurs, Jonathan Kuuskoski, Olivia Musat

Dancers: Lissa Erickson, Jamie Landry, Mary Patterson, Carlyn Pitterle, Olivia Templin

Works: Sonata in A-flat major, Hob. XVI: 46, Adagio (Haydn), Island of Joy (Debussy), Sonata in F-sharp major, Op. 78, Adagio Cantabile-Allegro ma non troppo (Beethoven), Nocturne in C minor (Chopin), Sonata No. 2, Andante (Skryabin)

This project is funded by the UW-Madison Arts Institute and the Steinway Piano Gallery of Madison.

For more information contact: Paola Savvidou, savvidou@wisc.edu
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03/10 Guest Artist Series Part V: Diverse Jazz Live! at Der Rathskeller
"The Professional Portfolio in Action"
8:30 pm @ Der Rathskeller, Memorial Union

This residency is a joint-effort among the Arts Enterprise chapters at University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. We will host the award-winning jazz ensemble Diverse on their midwest tour (comprised of UMKC students) for a concert and Q&A session (03/11 @ 11am, Room TBA for students. All events are FREE!

This project is supported by the Associated Students of Madison. For more info, email: artsenterprisemadison@gmail.com
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03/12 and 03/14 The Anhinga PianoSAX Duo Live! in Madison
12:15pm @ First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, “Friday Noon Musicale” Series (03/12)
2:00pm: @ Oakwood Village-West Auditorium, 6209 Mineral Point Rd. (03/14)

OK, a bit of shameless self-promotion! My new piano + sax duo will be in Madison for two concerts as part of our inaugural tour through Wisconsin, Texas, and Oklahoma. Both concerts are FREE and will feature works by Claude Debussy, Robert Muzcynski, Frederic Chopin, and Astor Piazzolla, among others.

To learn more, you can go to: www.jonathankuuskoski.com or www.chrisdickhaus.com
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03/18 Wisconsin Story Project: March Storyshare with Volcano Insurance
7:30pm @ The Project Lodge, 817 E Johnson St.

These are always fun...come out to support the Wisconsin Story Project as they raise funds for their debut show "Cancer Stories" at the Overture Center Playhouse Theatre in May 2010! At this March installment WSP will be sharing the bill with the Surrounded By Reality Jazz series and the jazz guitar trio Volcano Insurance.

The story theme of the night will be "On the Spot." Come share, come listen, come hang out. It's not to be missed!

Check out: http://www.wisconsinstory.org/
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As always, please add those events you'd like to share that I missed...and hope to see you there!

The Academy Awards: A Measure of Artistry or Relevancy?

I always get excited about the Oscars. As far back as I can remember, I've stayed up late to watch the stars, the hosts, the drama. Maybe it helps that I've been stuck on movies since I before I started walking. In fact, I remember back on our old Packard Bell computer (the Windows 93 version) I once set up a catalog of all the movies I'd seen, categorized by genre, year, and rating (yes, I had opinions back then, too).

Anyways, every year I toil with predictions of who the Oscar-winners will be. Will it be the favorite? The underdog? The spoiler? Usually we can expect some surprises. Mostly these are good, like Juliette Binoche winning for "The English Patient" in 1997. Sometimes, though, like when "Crash" upset "Brokeback Mountain" for Best Picture a few years back, they leave a sour taste in my mouth. It is in these circumstances that I wonder: do the Academy Awards function as the measure of artistic greatness or relevancy?

I list these as mutually exclusive choices because often it seems like they do battle against one another, as if the audience-at-large tends to choose their films based on one major criteria. I watched "Titanic" because of the effects, the sheer scale. It definitely wasn't relevant to me, not even in terms of the overblown love story. On the other hand, I don't know much about the mafia, but it's hard to deny the impact of the "Godfather" parts 1 and 2, and others like "Goodfellas" and "Bonnie and Clyde." These movies had iconic visual styles, and refined narratives that communicated far more than the words on the page (er, screen).

Maybe the best example is "Star Wars," whose inspiring message coupled brilliantly with breakthrough technology to offer one of the most entertaining movie experiences of all time. "Avatar" is the latest Oscar front-runner following in that legacy. If it does win best picture, something most blockbusters have failed to achieve in the past 30 years, most would acknowledge has to do with it's mind-bending technological achievements rather than the depth of the story or acting.

That's not to say great movies can't also resonate with us, even if they are dated and no longer as socially relevant. Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" - both visually stunning and perhaps the quintessential commentary on power, greed, and the American dream - still echoes as powerfully as it did in 1941. "The Hurt Locker" is another terribly relevant movie, and I dare say it may be great...but will that be enough to overcome the "Avatar" juggernaut. And, even if "Hurt Locker" upsets the race, is that even a fair measure of it's worth? After all, many of the so-called "greatest" directors never won Academy Awards for any of their films. Cases in point: Welles, Stanley Kubrick, and Robert Altman.

We'll have to wait and see what happens on March 7th, but until then I've devised a test of my questions. Here are my picks (of the 'major' categories), based not on viewing and comparing all the eligible films, rather on my compulsive obsession with cinema news, trends, and the current buzz. If I shoot more than 50%, maybe being in the forefront of the media is more important that message, vision, and artistry at the Oscars after all.

Best Picture: Avatar
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Best Screenplay (adapted): Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Best Screenplay (original): Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Best Achievement in Cinematography: Mauro Fiore, Avatar

Music on the Moon

One of my favorite NPR programs is WBUR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook.

Just yesterday they had a particularly interesting program topic, the dramatic announcement that NASA would soon turn over space travel - low-earth orbit, space station missions, and possible future travel to the moon - to private corporations. This is really a pivotal moment, perhaps on par with the launch of the Mercury astronauts, since it signals a change in momentum for a program that has long been dormant component of our National policy. It's also sparking debate as to whether private corporations are prepared for servicing this extremely high-risk, highly-expensive new market.

At the same time All Things Considered just ran a program on the history of music inspired by the notion of space flight (here is the complete article). So what do you think? Are we going to get space-age music (a new version "Night Flight to Venus" is a sure bet), or Kubrick-style reversion back to classics that evoke the experiential nature (lightness, silent space, chaos) of being in space?

Report: CMS Summit and the Future of Arts Entrepreneurship

It's taken me a while to get back to writing about the experience of attending (and presenting) at the first-ever College Music Society Summit. Partly because of the crazy schedule that awaited me back in Madison, and partly due to the gestation period I normally need after one of these highly-stimulating and tiring events.

In any case, this was (I believe) a watershed moment for the field of Arts Entrepreneurship (if there is one), that produced some valuable lessons about the current status of the arts student.

We need to remember that there are still too many variables, in terms of personal educational ideologies, for any sort of standardization to take place. And this is probably a good thing, as many of the noted scholars, administrators, performers, and composers pointed out: each educational environment (e.g. school, university, college) needs a unique and malleable combination of curricular and co-curricular initiatives. Otherwise, Arts Entrepreneurship risks the loss of its true effectiveness, as a vehicle for problem-solving and developing socially-minded arts ventures/projects. As was noted during the proceedings, we stand at the precipice of falling into yet another silo of bureacracy, and worse yet, irrelevancy.

There were, however, some trends emerging from the chaos of all the intellectual rhetoric:

1) Need exists for student involvement, leadership, and action

It's fairly obvious to students that we need to take responsibility for our talents and abilities, and to channel them towards social good. The importance of this opportunity for students and professionals to get together lay in the possibility for faculty to more fully realize the capabilities of students. That is, it became clear that many students have the capacity and drive to begin building a professional profile while still a student. This realization may open up new channels for student/professional collaboration, and, I hope, more student-initiated arts projects.

2) Divide exists between perceptions students and realities of working artists

The results of the student survey showed, among other things, that a majority of students (70%still hold on to the dream that most will either teach at a college/university or will be paid primarily to perform. This, or course, flies in the face of many graduates' realities. We often don't have the skills to navigate the professional world when we leave our institutions, nor do we realize the scope of possibilities out there for professional artists. We're now in the nascent stages of developing broader frameworks for achieving success in the 'real world' - and I think Arts Enterprise has the opportunity to play a large part in paving those roads!

3) Empowerment is the key to fostering renewed success for 21st century arts careers

One of the highlights was the chance to interact and mingle with so many people who have diverse backgrounds, and individual visions for helping students succeed. We did see a common theme emerge, though, and that was the idea that empowerment is the key ingredient to fostering innovative and sustainable careers. By combining skills with vision, we can transfer ability into action. More importantly, it must be through an individual's own sense of responsibility that he or she will find success in socially-driven and concsious art projects.

On that note, here is one example that illustrates the synergy of all those concepts. I mentioned in my last post that AE Madison was teaming up with UW-MTNA to host fundraising concerts for Haiti relief. Well, I'm happy to report that our first effort was a success! Thanks to the combined efforts of Steinway Piano Gallery, the fantastic publicity generated by our hard-working student groups, and effective logistical planning, we were able to fill the Gallery and raised an inspiring $673 from just 32 seats! Now just $1327 to go to meet our goals; I hope you'll be able to join these students as they work to build momentum to the second (and final) installment of our series. Read more here.

Til next time, enjoy the weekend and carry on, arts entrepreneurs!

Music for Haiti: Action-Based Learning At Its Best

Report: Our first event for 2010 was a smashing success! UWCU was gracious to host an hour-long seminar on "Financial Management for Aspiring Professionals" which proved both informative and engaging. Our seminar covered the essentials of budgeting, saving, and smart spending. Sprinkled with trivia questions about financial planning myths, we were also treated to lots of handy take-aways, including personal budgeting worksheets, and an outline for basic financial planning. And they managed to make this stuff fun! These guys rock, and I urge you to check out all the free seminars they offer.

Now, in lieu of my usual Arts Roundup post, I want to write more specifically about two exciting and urgent upcoming events. The UW Collegiate Chapter of the MTNA (for which I serve as a community advisor) has put together two concerts to raise money for Haiti relief. They're calling it "Music for Haiti," and (through these musical offerings) hope to raise $2,000. 100% of the proceeds will go to Hope for Haiti, one of the top agencies working on the ground to assist those affected by the devastating earthquake.

This was such a timely and thoughtful idea, Arts Enterprise Madison had to find a way to help them out. I can't think of a better example than this of how action-based, experiential learning can be channeled towards social good. UW-MTNA is also a strong ally in building an awareness of the need for artists to recognize their responsibility to society. In other words, how we can all use our art to serve and support those in need. So, AE Madison is sponsoring a reception, and working to build as big an audience as possible through our network in the community. Here are the details, and I hope you'll be able to join us for two evenings of wonderful music to help a very worthy cause:

Thursday, 02/04, Steinway Gallery of Madison, 7:15pm
(6629 Mineral Point Rd.)

Saturday, 02/13, Morphy Hall, UW Humanities Building, 6:30pm

With your help, we can raise $2,000! The concerts will include works by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Copland, Berg and Chopin.

To read more about the event and UW-MTNA, click here. Hope to see you there!

New Year's Resolutions, Part 2

My last post was devoted to corporate identity, and the ramifications of misidentifiying the responsibilities of corporations as "individual entities." It was also a bit of a rant. I want to take some time now to look at the positive side of that issue. This post also brings the discussion back to the world of art-makers, to their interactions with society and it's agents.

We must remember that all those who engage in creative enterprises face the question of how to determine a metric for valuation that honors both our individual skills and measurable potential impact on society. In fact, the question of valuation is one of the most challenging topics for any industry, and particularly with regard to how we can quantify the non-quantitative. How can we count into the equation the intangible measurements of success, those that lie beyond the bottom-lines of profit maximation and cost reduction?

This is an issue which touches all artists. I recently attended a piano teachers' conference where one panel was addressing the question of valuation, and one member advocated the dramatic raising of teacher fees for those who undervalue their potential earning power. "Stop charging $10 per hour," the speaker admonished, "because it is you who prevent the rest us from maintaining an adequate living. You are devaluing our field."

In many ways this panelist was correct: all-too-often piano teachers seeking to make casual, supplementary income don't bother to address how their earning power could increase. They also often fail to address the aggregate effect of setting the fee ceiling so low. In an ideal world, we could all collectively set our fees up to, say $100 per hour, if we included all the qualititative implications of our teaching. The increase in academic performance that corollates with music study, the predilection towards mathematical success, and the other positive behavioral patterns associated with students who pursue long-term piano study could, hypothetically, be used to support such a tuition hike. And we would all have to do so in tandem, AS a collective.

But what of the places where the current pricing norm is $20 per hour? Who could waltz into that town with the request that patrons pay five times the normal rate for the same service? Obviously, one would have to promise that he or she could offer many times the value to justify that kind of increase. How? For 3 hour-long lessons instead of the typical 30 minute offerings? I don't think so. We'd have to find ways of calculating all those non-quantifiable attributes our teaching offers. We'd have to show how our teaching does more than teach - how it empowers, how it engages, how it stimulates, how it frees. This is the true obstacle for most of us, as it requires a whole new perspective on our achievements. It also calls us to look forward to see the potential future accomplishments of our students.

Of course, there are some corporate models in other industries where "unquantifiable" assets have not only been accounted for, they have been leveraged to create more value for those who cultivate them. Apple, for example, is not (technically) an innovator. It didn't create the first MP3 player, the first SmartPhone, or the first desktop computer. But it DID find ways of making these technologies more accessible, more attractive, and trendy. In the process the engineers at Apple - like other companies, such as Google and Virgin Entertainment - have found ways of revealing the potentially "qualifiable" assets that these technologies possess. You want the iPod because it's fun to use, because using the iPod isn't just functional, it's entertaining, and because it brightens your day. That is why Apple's grip on that market is so powerful, and why it is continually the trend-setting brand in mobile technology. The just-enveiled Mac Tablet (or iPad) is the latest example of their impact.

Now we must find ways of 1) measuring our impact on society through our art-making, and then 2) developing a metric for valuation that fairly compensates us for our work. I don't know many pianists who would rather sell shoes than play or teach, it's just that most don't imagine that a new horizon exists for sustainable earning power AS professional musicians. This must be done on an individual basis, of course, due both to the varied micro-economic settings of artists and their personal levels of training and social attributes.

So here's resolution number two: this year, I promise to task myself on the question of how we can achieve a better benchmark for artistic work, and help others recognize a new and improved vision for their future as professional artists.

New Year's Resolutions, Part 1

I only just got back to Madison on Monday, and it's already been a busy week. With Brown's victory in Mass., Border's teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and the NYTimes.com to start charging uses in 2011 (heard that one before, maybe they won't stick to it this time, either)...I've had plenty of material from which to brew some ideas. The problem has been to get my brain to work.

Political views aside, probably the most staggering news for me has been the Supreme Court's rejection of previously established corporate spending limits (NYTimes.com). This has the potential for re-shaping the way campaigns are run, fought, and won...but more importantly for this discussion is how that decision provokes the notion that corporations should be granted the same privileges of the First Amendment (without restriction) promised to individuals.

Here's the problem, as I see it: while we are taught to treat corporations as individual "entities," separate of their owners, this systemic (and legislative) doctrine was introduced primarily due to the powerful advantage corporations have attained over time. That is, when corporations were first formed, they were typically small enterprises (and to some extent, most still are, I suppose) created to synergize the assets and capital of individuals. Greater power yields greater reward. And, in terms of business, this led developed (and developing) countries to the greatest aggregate wealth ever achieved in the history of the world. Bravo, corporations.

The problem arrives when these "individual entities" begin to sway that massive power towards policy. This is no surprise; with greater wealth comes greater responsibility, and many such organizations now have much to lose when particular legislation comes to bear. And this is in no way a political statement, as both Conservatives and Liberals alike have fallen into the shadow of corporate agendas. Governments are also prone to such abuses; thus the current American system, which, although sometimes inefficient, does at least exhibit the speed-bumps necessary to slow cartel-building (although I guess anything's possible).

But as of this week, according to the Supreme Court, we are supposed to suddenly accept that corporations (whether comprised of 2 people or 20,000) have the same pattern and degree of influence as individuals. And this is simply not the case. Corporations exist for one reason, to maximize profit. This is not true for human beings, as (for most of us) our financial aspirations are tempered with emotions, needs, and social consciousness. If anything, even the best corporations exhibit a serious lag on that curve because they must grapple with more costs, more overhead, more people, more ideas, more discord - than one individual could possibly mount.

Similarly, individuals need to coalesce to create enough leverage to change policy, while corporations (especially the largest ones) today have more than enough power to provoke and sustain significant policy change. When corporations band together to back one candidate with $50,000,000, who is to say, realistically, that another candidate who stands against that policy (and thus must rely on smaller individual donations) has a fair chance in any election. And with the Supreme Court's backing, who can blame them? After all, those corporations may have hundreds of millions at stake! Most importantly, if and when that first candidate gets elected, we no longer have any legitimate reason to protest when they put a personal agenda - driven by corporate goals rather than public interest - into action.

And this is a great mistake. Quote from the great Peter Drucker,

"Business management must always, in every decision and action, put economic performances first. It can justify its existence and its authority only by the economic results it produces...It has failed if it does not improve, or at least maintain, the wealth-producing capacity of the economic resources entrusted to it. And this, whatever the economic or political structure of ideology of a society, means responsibility for profitability."(1)

Let us never lose sight of that. And so, as my first New Year's Resolution of 2010, I promise NOT to view corporations in the same light as individuals, no matter what the Supreme Court says.

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(1) Drucker, Peter. (1974). "The Dimensions of Management." From Management, Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. New York: Harper Publishing, p. 40.

Happy New Year + Late Jan. Arts Roundup

Just arrived back in Madison after a hectic Holiday break, including the FANTASTIC Inaugural CMS Summit on Music Entrepreneurship! More on that later....for now, I have a list of a few hot events in and around Madison that I don't want you to miss!!

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Emerson String Quartet
Friday, 1/22 8:00pm
Location: Wisconsin Union Theater

Don't miss one of America's greatest string quartets, back in Madison by popular demand!

Check out: http://uniontheater.wisc.edu/season/emerson2.html

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Wisconsin Story Project Presents: Cancer Stories Fundraiser
Saturday, 1/23 7:30pm
Location: Project Lodge

The Wisconsin Story Project will present it's first theatrical project, entitled Cancer Stories, in May 2010 at Overture Center (http://www.wisconsinstory.org/csp.html). Now they need our support! This promises to be a lot of fun and for a very worthy cause. So please try to be there!

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Screening: "Beautiful Losers"
Thursday, 1/28 7:30pm
Location: Memorial Union Play Circle

Here's the word from Alex Wolf, of the Wisconsin Union Film Committee: "In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, "Beautiful Losers" focuses on the telling of personal stories. It speaks to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth."

Sounds like fun!

Check out the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyRAHKTy6hI

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Arts Enterprise Presents - Sustainable Creativity Part III: Financial Management for Aspiring Professionals
Monday, 2/01 6:00pm
Location: Room TBA Humanities Bldg (Check TITU)

Could let this one slip through! This interactive workshop will feature UW Credit Union representatives as they help students deal with issues related to planning for life beyond the institution. This FREE event is a CAN'T MISS opportunity for entrepreneurs and soon-to-be self-employed artists to get a head start on setting up a system for sustainable financial success. Topics to be explored include:

•Saving and budgeting plans
•Planning for retirement now
•Understanding your student loan debt
•Using and building credit wisely

Don't miss this exciting, FREE event. We'll provide light refreshments, as well as our trademark door prize raffle. So you have nothing to lose, and hopefully something to gain!

Check out: http://www.artsenterprise.wisc.edu/student.html

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That's it for now! Looking forward to a great 2010, and many more fun events...