Crushing Classical

Today on the show I have Aubrey Bergauer, Executive Director of the California Symphony. What you'll hear: Allowing concert goers to use their PHONES ON SILENT… the reaction from people inside the orchestra business and how people handle it in real life The shocking marketing figure about social media… and what orchestras are MISSING when it comes to marketing. This one surprised me! The phen...

What you'll hear: How Amy Beth grew hers/her daughter’s Instagram account to over 28,000 followers How she self-created her own career as a soloist How she navigated an extremely difficult time in her life that put her solo career on hold - and how she jump-started it again How being TRUE to YOURSELF, while sometimes scary - WORKS in creating a career you love Some great ideas for creating MO...

What you'll hear: The realization that Kate had about her career that caused her to immediately begin pursuing a solo concert career The actual steps she did to start The game-changer that people don’t realize makes this career path much more palatable Management: the pros and cons Keeping it all organized… her solid and do-able method The key to managing yourself and your organization Great...

What you'll hear: Choosing a college to support YOU, who you are and putting your unique self and needs first in that choice How doing a different major led Ingrid back to music The importance of independence in creating your own career How she found a full-ride to music - something to consider! The benefits of *not* going to a big name conservatory How Ingrid realized she *could* make singin...

What you'll hear: What his first job in the record industry taught him How the dark period after Tower Records closed led him to creating his own business The biggest mistakes people make in PR How much does it cost? Real talk about WHEN you need a PR firm The importance of STORYTELLING and how you do it The best time to hire a publicist To find out more about Andrew, Unison Media, Crypt and...

How a hobby can become a big part of what you do… and a potential career facet and income stream How Sarah grew her Instagram following from a personal page with some posts about violin to a 13,000 following connected to her food blog How her large following on Instagram led to *delicious* brand partnerships A look outside the box on this podcast showed Sarah some other options for her food facet...

What you'll hear: The benefits and challenges of being in a category on ONE How to navigate a music education when you have more than one musical interest and focus How to forge relationships for collaboration The project he did which showed him a whole world with regards for what creating your own musical business can look like To hear Jodie with WildUP Friday, 2/8 at 8:00 https://www.caroli...

What you'll hear: The UNIQUE programs Cory found that led him to finding his voice The benefits of repeat performances - how doing something a lot transforms what you’re doing The benefactor who changed Cory’s path - and led him to creating the business model he has today How Cory found his true audience - the gut feeling and the actions he took to follow that knowingness How the happenstance...

What you'll hear: Coming of age with streaming - how Spotify influenced his entrepreneurial venture The true mindset needed for *actual* entrepreneurship (hint: it’s likely not taught in any class) The reactions from the publishing industry - this answer surprised me How a digital music app can actually help the paper music publishing companies - something I hadn’t thought of The most importa...

What you'll hear: Negotiating a job for yourself that may not be offered - the things Suzanne noticed that made it a “win-win” for everyone How her job gave her a *new* way of performing in addition to playing flute Unusual performing opportunities through radio stations that you may not have thought of yourself The enthusiasm that inherently exists in the public radio audience - and ways she...

What you'll hear: Real talk on how difficult AND JOYFUL it can be to start your own ensemble The classical musician dilemma: JOB SECURITY and how Patrick redefines it The importance in finding prestige and status through partnering with an established, well-known organization The importance of MATH (and the trade-offs) in figuring out when to say YES to gigs The key to developing an audience…...

What you'll hear: A youth orchestra contributing to students’ music skills - and life skills. Hear how Kevin creates this learning opportunity The difference between the audience for a normal youth orchestra and a rock orchestra - and what that does for the students’ confidence The typical reaction from the classical community toward musicians who go into other genres - and how Kevin sees thi...

What you'll hear: The importance of being proactive and speaking up for what you want in your career - no matter what your age. The value of going for a career in your youth - and not believing or listening to that “you’re too young” The value of *mentorship* and having a mentor you trust in the professional field you aim for guiding you in your next career move The mindset about success that...

What you'll hear: How to use artist residencies to travel and explore the world while exploring your own creativity How this duo created a remote lifestyle as a musical duo - saving money on rent, seeing the world and building a career all at once The motivation behind Chris and Nicoletta’s choice to opt for a non-traditional career… and the key component in your mindset necessary to do it Wh...

What you'll hear: “Branding” and “Marketing” and what that all MEANS ANYWAY Why branding matters even to the Joe Schmoe Average Classical Musician. Hear a *real life* example of a musician and the platform they built using social media What building your online presence *actually* is - it’s pretty old school actually… The unfortunate truth about orchestras’ budgets where social media marketin...

What you'll hear: The experiment that led to more performing opportunities What classical music audiences are ACTUALLY craving - *hint* - it’s not what people think How growth can lead to hiring more help - and how help can help you grow: hear how Jacomo has been navigating a growing team and some great tips on accepting help REAL talk on the hard work of running your own orchestra day to day...

Welcome back to Season 3 of Crushing Classical! I'm starting this season out with a highlights episode of some moments that really stood out in my mind in the last 2 years of Crushing Classical. It was hard to narrow it down to just a few - I chose excerpts from several episodes that stood out to me such as: - Good solid career and LIFE advice - Great money advice in a nutshell - Clips from m...

What you'll hear: The commonly given advice she DID NOT take - and why that was the best decision she ever made What she learned from the start-up orchestras she worked with and how that shaped her vision for her own orchestra start-up The most important thing she looks at when choosing personnel for her orchestra - it’s actually *not* based entirely on how you play Her unique point of view o...

What you'll hear: How Sarah reverse-engineered the method of figuring out her career possibilities while still in college The notion that you’re selling out by doing covers or other genres? Sarah’s answer to that commonly held belief The excuse she hears often that DOES NOT fly in her book regarding networking… hear what she has to say about that Her career "funk" - even when she wa...

What you'll hear on this episode: His NOT well-thought-out first plan, and the best tip he got about how to do it right the next time The advice he got that revolutionized how he ultimately set up this business side of his ensemble Why the RIGHT space for your concert is so important. How he reframes his mindset for the necessary - but less enjoyable tasks to keep himself working joyfully His...

What you'll hear: Starting your own concert series: where do you find the concept, adding your own touches The MOST important thing to consider and the FIRST place you should start when designing your concert series The fundraising dilemma - Laura’s plan for fundraising for the first season The importance of relationships and how they play a role in building a concert series The biggest chall...

What you'll hear: The fork in the road after music school - and the unusual choice Murray made after all those years studying music His personal story of tragedy, an unconventional method of deep healing and the way he figured out how to share it on a large scale His drastic career change after age 40 - and the bold steps he took to navigate the change The unconventional way he thinks about a...

What you’ll hear: Drew tells the KEY to great Instagramming Find out what it takes to grow to over 160,000 followers His opinion on current social media marketing for orchestras - and what’s missing on those teams and his ideas for how they could change What he thinks is the reason people go to concerts… hint: it’s not only for the music What he understands that makes him understand this platform...

What you'll hear: How Robert’s characteristic spirit - or ETHOS - guided him, and what people thought of that kind of thinking in music school How his “Plan B” after not getting into any summer festivals ended up showing him a whole other world The conversation that changed Robert’s point of view about his career in music How a DIY move toward the unknown changed the course of his career The...

What you'll hear: A great idea for keeping adult students excited and motivated to take lessons The seemingly obvious barriers that would stop anyone - solved in real time The true reason parents bail on programs for their kids. Hint: It’s not cost The secret to getting an audience right NOW - you’ll be surprised you didn’t think of it AND… The way to KEEP that audience. This one gets forgott...