Page 9 - Classical Singer magazine Spring Issue 2020
P. 9
We want to hear from you. What are you doing to expand your palette of musical genres? Where did you last sing and get paid? If you have recently performed and were paid for that performance, whether it was
a traditional or nontraditional gig, we’d love to share your story with the CS Music community. Please email Michelle Latour at thelatourvoicestudios.com regarding your experience. And tweet about it at @classicalsinger and @latourstudios. Also #mylastpaidgig, #neversingforfree, and #createopportunities.
How long did it last?
I’m expecting performances from [September] 2019 through June 2020, all by different performers. That’s quite a nice run for a single work.
How did you get the job?
I’ve been fortunate to spend 11 years in composer residencies with different organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and I’ve always felt that artists should give the same level of focus toward their career as they do to perfecting their art.
In my case, what started as commission requests from individual organizations soon evolved into requests from small commissioning consortiums. That led me to taking the next step: why not try out
a completely new template for how a work could be commissioned and presented on a large scale?
What was your overall experience like?
This has been an absolutely wonderful experience. The camaraderie between composer and performer, usually siloed in two separate worlds, has been fantastic. Conversations, suggestions, feedback from singers—this is all incredibly inspiring.
Increased performances create a career momentum that drive other aspects of what we do leading to paid commissions, author and publisher performance royalties, teaching opportunities, and
guest speaking appearances. This project represents an exponential expansion of my outreach and serves as a model that others can use in the future.
Would you do this or a similar gig again?
I’d be foolish not to! As working artists, it is imperative that we embrace a proactive mindset in a professional world that can often be equal parts unforgiving and indifferent.
My project started as a thought experiment—how can I most effectively engage singers from across the globe to perform my music? And how can I normalize the commissioning process so that singers view projects like this as something that can and should be a regular part of their career activities? I believe I’m making some headway.
Anything else you would like to add?
We sometimes forget how unique and special it is to be the first person to help introduce a new work into the repertoire. Benjamin Britten isn’t taking any more commission projects these days. Franz Schubert won’t answer your texts. Hugo Wolf isn’t on Instagram.
Since it’s impossible to collaborate in a meaningful way with a composer no longer in our midst, we
really owe it to ourselves to seek out the exciting new voices of our own generation. Create meaningful partnerships with artists who will influence the next generation of singers and patrons. Help nurture new work for future generations. What could be more exciting than that?
You can learn more about Erickson at www.kurterickson.com.
Michelle Latour is active as a teacher, singer, writer, and adjudicator and lives in Las Vegas. She has been on the full-time faculty at several universities and owns a private studio, the Latour Voice Studios. You can visit her at www.thelatourvoicestudios.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Kurt Erickson
www.csmusic.net 9