My daughter’s a string player; she finished her MM degree in 2016. One question for instrumentalists is whether to go for the relative security of an orchestra job, or to try to make it in the freelance world, which means multiple income streams, a hectic and variable schedule, higher taxes (lots of 1099 income), and buying your own health insurance. My daughter has always leaned towards the latter, even though she’s a precise enough player to have a shot at a decent job. (She has won and played principal positions throughout college and grad school.) The summer before she graduated she attended a European summer orchestra festival where she was principal for several cycles and had the opportunity to work with many of the finest conductors in the world; it was a lot of fun, but the experience convinced her that she did not want to pursue an orchestra career. She feels a strong need for musical expression and the kind of self-determination that is not possible if you’re a [highly paid, with great benefits] orchestral musician like many of her friends have become. This was a bittersweet announcement for me because I’d love her to have job security. But, what I want most is for her to be happy and fulfilled. So her whole family has always been 100% behind her decision to be a full-time freelancer.
What’s it look like two years out? She works very hard, always hustling, but luck and connections are always a factor. She has cobbled together some good long-term gigs, and some high level (although not always lucrative) ensemble appointments, along with some solo gigs, chamber gigs, a little bit of part-time orchestral work, plus some private teaching. Here, with somewhat vague descriptors, are what she’s up to:
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She just finished her second year as a teaching artist at an orchestra in her city. This means that she is a trained fellow in a well-developed program that brings music to public schools. She has a permanent assignment at a school where she teaches 4-5 classes every week; with luck, she will be assigned a second school next year. There is also a performance element to the job. It’s a wonderful gig—everything is compensated, including workshops and meetings for professional development. She’s learned a lot about teaching through this job and the workshops and meetings.
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She co-founded a chamber ensemble that fortunately has professional management. They toured various parts of the US several times this year playing on chamber music series; for 2018-19 they have about 30 dates so far and some international tours in the works. The ensemble is time-consuming, as she does most of personnel management. The professional manager handles booking and tour details, but it’s a large ensemble with a lot of moving parts. She plays in several other small chamber groups, somewhat less compensated, but phenomenal, in terms of musicianship. She also does a lot of gigging, ranging from weddings and background music to subs in various orchestras and other chamber groups. She’s a member of a couple full-size orchestras (with small seasons, 3-4 concerts/year) and a chamber orchestra that also tours, with some international dates TBD. She received (by audition) a chamber fellowship that is supported by three institutions in the city–this will effectively double her income for the next two seasons and also provide health insurance. There will be some high profile performances and professional development. The fellowship lasts for two years; then, back to the drawing board, presumably with new connections. As of now, she probably has the most complex working life of anyone I know.
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This year she taught at an arts charter school, which meant daily 1-hour commutes to teach a 1-hour group class to middle-school age beginners. She’s leaving that job, mostly because she will be too busy with her other freelance work.
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She also has private students. Most are preteen kids of well-to-do families who are not particularly serious about music, unfortunately, although there are some notable exceptions–one of her best students did well at YoungArts, won a prestigious concerto competition, and was admitted to almost every top conservatory he auditioned. She is working on strategies to get more high-level students; hopefully at some point she can be faculty at a precollege. This summer she’s teaching at a program for gifted students ages 9-13. It’s a new division of a summer program she attended when she was in high school. She also teaches at a community chamber music program founded with friends several years back in New England. And she’ll be in Europe for 3 weeks at a performance/chamber festival as a student/fellow.
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She continues to seek out lessons from mentors, new and old. There’s nothing wrong with contacting a performer or teacher you admire and asking for an a la carte lesson. The worst think that can happen is they’ll say “no”.
We have not supported her financially since undergrad—but she’s not rolling in money. She lives frugally, in a shared apartment far uptown, without a doorman, central air, gym, and other amenities that some would find necessary. Even with two degrees from a famous conservatory and a resume that seems quite full, she is earning less than the average US college 2018 college grad. She’ll probably play 60-70 concerts next year, with a lot of traveling and several international tours, on top of teaching and admin work holding all this together. And of course continual rehearsing and practicing—and that is exhausting. I’m curious how sustainable this life is. Over the past two years she’s had a tendency to accept most offers, except when there is a time conflict. She is slowly learning not to take on everything, even though it is hard to give up an opportunity. And she’s beginning to understand that she needs to take some time to recharge. She turned down an offer from a wonderful festival in early summer because she realized she needed to come home and relax with family for a couple of weeks, just to get her wind back.
Another thing—most of her best opportunities have come from a combination of hard work and the connections she made from being in the same city for the past 8 years. (As well as from the web of connections at festivals, etc.) I can’t stress enough the importance of connections for freelancers. If she were an orchestral player, the connections and location would be far less critical. You win an audition by playing with a phenomenal technique, but you succeed as a freelancer by being known in the circle where you want to be hired. Several of the opportunities that have come to her were offered directly because she was recommended by a colleague or mentor, not through an application process. One of her teachers told her that there are three important qualities for a freelancer: 1) being a good player; 2) showing up on time (which means early); 3) being easy to work with. He said if you have two of these three qualities you will always have work. I talked to a friend of hers who does a lot of (very lucrative) playing with Broadway shows. (This is the kind of playing my daughter would not enjoy, but many of her friends love it.) I asked what her audition process was, and she told me she did not audition; she was called directly because of connections.
