<p>Are there any concerto competitions for undergraduate students in the Boston area? (Other than those hosted by college symphony orchestras) I looked online for a bit, but found only opportunities for high school students or younger.</p>
<p>Also, how does one go about looking for performance opportunities?</p>
<p>Thanks! :)</p>
<p>A couple of prior posts here with some suggestions, and the methodology can be applied to any specific geographic area.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/559701-long-island-competitions.html?highlight=competitions[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/559701-long-island-competitions.html?highlight=competitions</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/541925-guitar-competitions.html?highlight=competitions[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/541925-guitar-competitions.html?highlight=competitions</a></p>
<p>Other sources are on line (musical chairs, others), college bulletin boards, general industry and instrument specific publications like Strad.</p>
<p>Added: Also, some useful links in here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/608305-useful-music-links.html?highlight=links[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/608305-useful-music-links.html?highlight=links</a> worth wading through. </p>
<p>As for your gigging question, are you currently in college, or will be matriculating? I’m more willing to disclose “tricks of the trade” to an entering freshman than I am to an upperclassman or degree holder who hasn’t yet had the tenacity to suss this out on their own.</p>
<p>Thanks violadad.
I’ll be a freshman in college in the fall :)</p>
<p>Most of the major music schools, schools with strong music departments maintain some type of service for music majors and talented non majors to list their specialties and obtain jobs. Some call it a gigline, gigpost, music job bank, etc; check with your department once you’re there.
Noted music schools are constantly getting calls for talent for local gigs, mostly one shots, but some can be recurring. </p>
<p>Sometimes musician wanted/instruction wanted jobs are pinned on the bulletin boards within the music building, or the student union or commons, it pays to look and frequently. (Look there for competitions as well, as most notices are sent to the music departments of established programs.) Those with talent or an odd specialty can make a nice sum; it’s not unusual to be in demand or turn gigs down if you’re reputation warrants it.</p>
<p>Look in the musicians section of the local craigslist, or advertise there as well.</p>
<p>Local area businesses, caterers, wedding planners, faith groups, funeral parlors, some clubs and restaurants want and actively support new talent and faces.</p>
<p>Develop and use a network of faculty, peers and upperclassman. Much can be word a mouth. Design and print a simple, effective business card, and leave a small stack where ever and whenever you play; some venues/occasions are easier to do this than others, so be judicious but always have a few available in a purse or pocket.</p>
<p>Boston will be tough. NEC, Longy, BU, BoCO, Harvard, MIT and others host a wealth of hungry high level talent. Good luck.</p>
<p>Yes to everything violadad said. Also, read thoroughly your school’s and or teacher’s rules/preferences for gigs. Some encourage them, some discourage them. Some schools have rules about what happens if you skip class for a gig, or have limits on what you can skip. Most schools would never allow you to miss a rehearsal or concert for a gig. (My S’s school allows you to request at the beginning of the semester to not be in a certain concert for any reason - so if you know far enough ahead of time, you can get out of it. And he can get excused if the gig is high profile. He does accept high paying gigs that require him to skip class, with the full knowledge that his grades may suffer.)</p>
<p>Most of his gigs come through networking - at first via classmates, and then one gig tends to lead to another…</p>
<p>Bay State Concerto Competition</p>
<p>Thanks fiddlefrog!</p>