Current Events

After writing for three days consistently, I'm starting to get a nice streak of writing posted here. I want to keep up posting daily for as long as possible. That inevitably means that posts like yesterday's meditation on connections aren't going to be possible daily.

So I figured I'd take today to briefly talk more practically about what I'm spending my time on and what I am pursuing these days.

Back to School

I have about a week and a half before I go back to school. This year, I will have my piano classes separated from each other, plus we are adding after-school rehearsal expectations once per week for the choir. So I'll be getting used to a slightly different work schedule than I've had in the past.

My piano classes will be more structured and more hands-on. I think I've pretty well decided what I want the focus of the class to be, and I'm really excited to begin implementing them.

Piano Work

I've spent a lot of time the last few days exploring new piano repertoire. I'm preparing for a college audition in the fall, so that is at the top of my list. In addition, I want to broaden my horizons in playing accompaniments for both classical and musical theatre styles.

To that end, I'm paging through my various songbooks, piano collections, and vocal scores. I'm discovering different pieces that I'm interested in playing, and finding more of them are approachable than I expected. I hope to post some videos at some point.

Experiencing the Arts

Since I got back from my vacation, I have been thinking more about how little time I spend absorbing artistic material. I spend all of my time working and directing, instead. I want to find an audience for my own work, but that also means I need to have an audience mindset sometimes. Plus I get to meet other artists and performers.

My plan going forward is to try to experience some new artistic work every week from here to the end of the year. Last week I saw a community theatre musical, this week I intend to go to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston for their free admission night. I also want to attend musical performances with venues such as Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Symphony. Watch for reviews and reflections here.

Reflecting and Writing

On the subject of reflecting, I intend to post at least a short post here every day, as a way of focusing my thoughts and reflecting on my experience. I want to improve my writing style, and record my experiences and perspectives. I want to engage with my readers.

To that end, I hope to actually incorporate pictures and video into these posts as well as words.

And finally,

The Woodlands Chamber Music Project

After an intense, but productive board meeting, I am excited to say that we have made the decision to forge ahead with The Woodlands Chamber Music Project. We will continue our monthly performance series, and we will incorporate as a legal nonprofit entity. I will post more information as it develops

Thank you as always to my friends and family for your support, and stay tuned for further developments!

Building an Audience

I've been spending a lot of time this summer reading Drew McManus's blog Adaptistration, after I happened on it just before the end of the school year. Drew is a prolific writer, and has published an article virtually every day since sometime in 2003. I've only made it through 2009 so far, but it's been fascinating reading.

Among the many things that Drew returns to over and over are the questions of how to make an organization socially relevant and financially solvent. That is, how to attract and keep an audience.

Throughout these early archives, Drew emphasizes relationships. He is constantly urging groups to communicate between management and performers, and reach out and genuinely listen to the concerns of stakeholders such as board members, performers, administrators, and the audience.

This has gotten me thinking about some topics that I first approached back in the spring. I work with two organizations that are trying to build an audience and a reputation. One of them, the Players Theatre Company in Conroe, claims a 50+ year heritage of community service through theatre.

And yet it has a vibrant, young competitor right across the street. Shows rarely sell out, despite a relatively small auditorium to fill. This suggests to me that their reputation doesn't speak for itself enough to attract unify the community behind them. How can they improve their standing?

The other company, The Woodlands Chamber Music Project (Facebook) (Instagram), exists in a somewhat untapped market. The northwest Houston area doesn't have any homegrown chamber music ensembles or performances. We want to bring this music to the area and generate some interest in the music, both new and old.

But so far, our three audiences have been made up almost entirely of family and close friends of the performers. How do we attract outsiders and people who aren't already invested in us personally? As we move forward, I want to discuss these things with my fellow organizers.

The live and performing arts are always struggling for their lives. Even artistically adventurous, culturally relevant organizations rely on donations and grants to help make ends meet. I still get calls from professional companies in Houston asking for donation. Is there any way a performing arts company can generate enough interest and find the correct balance of income and expenses to self perpetuate?