A teacher-turned-colleague of mine recently sent out an email to everyone in her network asking for suggestions of courses and seminars they would like to see taught at her newly revamped music studio. Some courses she had already listed included masterclasses, seminars on "the business of singing" role preparation, audition preparation - all useful and necessary classes for a singer to take, and many of us have seminars like those during our undergrad and graduate training.
It got me thinking...there are SO MANY things I wish I had been taught and told a couple of years ago about what "being a singer in the real world" would be like. Such as millions of auditions, ending old relationships with people who didn't respect your career goals, living with 4 roommates, working 3 jobs, finding a new job every other month when you had to quit your old one to do a gig/audition season, having a long distance relationship...the list goes on. I have a feeling that either nobody could have predicted these things..or it's possible that people DID try to tell me these things (maybe not in so many words, but I do recall hearing "if you can ever think of anything else you'd rather be doing, GO DO IT" several hundred times in undergrad). I think what all of these challenges of the young singer's career have in common is "career stability, or lack thereof." If there was a class with this title, I would've signed up. I would STILL sign up. I feel like the thing that young singers are most unprepared for is that there is NO WAY to adequately prepare for all avenues of a career in the music business. And each singer needs to come to terms with that. If they can't, any joy they derive from being onstage will be outweighed by the hardships and realities that many singers our age face. Such as:
-Financial uncertainty - I have worked at no less than 4 jobs in the last year, to make ends meet. I always thought it was better that way...with babysitting, I can mostly set my own hours. With freelance journalism, the same. But I am CONSTANTLY hustling to fill up a work week with enough hours to pay the bills. It is exhausting. If I found a 9-5 job, I wouldn't have that mental strain. But I'd be tied to a job where I can't leave for an audition or gig. One way around this is to get a private studio started. I'm in the beginning stages of building a teaching career in Cincinnati...it feels good to be Using the skills I learned earning my degree, and while it is a commitment to a schedule of students, it offers more flexibility with a decent salary for fewer hours. I know a lot of singers who consider teaching "giving up" on being a performer. I used to think this way a bit, but my views of what constitutes success and a professional singing career have changed astronomically in the past couple of years.
-Emotional strain - this is a career path FILLED with rejection. No matter how good you are, there are too many factors that go into an audition to guarantee you a job. Ever. I am averaging about 30 auditions per year at this time, and I get hired from
maybe 2 out of those. If you don't have a mountain of self confidence and faith in your artistry, you are doomed.
-Relationship strain - I am extremely fortunate to have found a life partner who understands my career. The fact that we have the same job is a double-edged sword - we understand that we have to travel and that our career priorities sometimes top our relationship priorities - but at the same time, that sucks. I'm writing this from a hotel room on OFY tour, and I wish I were home writing it from my room. But then I wouldn't be performing! I have friends in this career in many different situations, relationship-wise. Some find that it is just easier to be single...to not explain to someone all of the baggage that comes with being a musician. Some are my age and divorced already. Some have spouses who have convinced them to NOT keep singing because of the strain it places on their relationship. I imagine it can be this way in any walk of life, but this is what I've seen from mine.
Creativity/Artistic growth and development - If you want to keep performing, you absolutely can, regardless of whether or not people hire you. But you MUST create your own opportunities. I was fortunate enough to graduate from Roosevelt with a group of motivated, talented friends. Through our ambitions, I've seen a few fantastic groups created: Eric Malmquist's S.O.N.G. series, for example, showcases local composers and their new works, performed by young singers and musicians of Chicago. Though I'm no longer in Chicago, I am still in close contact with my colleagues back there and will continue to perform with them whenever I can. My cellist, Kyra Saltman, and I are developing a new recital program this weekend!
One of the challenges of moving to Cincinnati has been cultivating new music contacts. I'm finally starting to develop those...church gigs are starting to come my way, I'm involved in a community show, and a few friends and I are staging and performing Mozart's Impresario in a couple of months. It's important for me to always have a musical project coming up. It's motivation to keep studying with teachers and coaches, research roles, and generally feel as if I am moving forward as an artist. It's another form of hustling, but it's much more satisfying than the financial kind.
That's all I can think of for now on this subject, but I'm sure there's more. I am about to email my colleague and thank her for encouraging this sort of critical thinking! I love it.
I know it's easy for me to say this, but there's also something to be said for living in the moment of a relationship or of being on a stage rather than always having to review or project it in the larger frustrating scheme. That's why I wonder how wise it'd be to stress to the young how frustrating a given career or, say, relationship will be, thereby distracting them from be glad in life's moments. You do, though, seem to know from your own experience that imagining the scheme and knowing the moments of living are simply our "givens." You'll be all right.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I meant to say "show how frustrating the career can be." I think what I'd rather want young singers to take away is the uncertainty and how to accept it. Maybe I need a follow-up post on ways I've learned to cope with the instability. I would have liked to hear suggestions and personal experience stories of routines, inspiration people have turned to, hobbies, and having a personal network as well as a professional one.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if those problems are particular to singers. Anyone who wants to advance in their company has to hustle for opportunities to get a raise/promotion. Several careers that aren't artistic careers require extensive travel, cause relationship strain, and who in this economy ISN'T worried about a steady source of income?
ReplyDeleteMy point isn't to negate anything that you said -- it's all true! However, I want point out that we're not alone, and choosing another career path won't necessarily solve any of those problems! That's just life. Do it because you love it more than not doing it (regardless of if you could do something else)! Don't lose heart! Keep on truckin!