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