Traditionally, summer is the time of year
when composers have “down time.” There aren’t as many concerts to attend, sheet
music orders to fill, or grant/awards applications to assemble. Although composers
can explore a good number of national and international summer festivals (as a
participant or audience member), they generally have fewer professional
opportunities during this season than in any other.
While you should take a break to soak in some
summer rays, it can be very beneficial for your career if you utilize these
months to get a number of business items done that you might have been putting
off during the year. It is equally valuable to use the time to expand your
current portfolio and consider future opportunities. Here are my top seven suggestions:
1. Update your biography, C.V. or résumé, and
works list. Add in all of your recent achievements and pieces.
2. Revise your scores and get your notation
in great shape. Throughout the year, I make notes in pieces about possible
revisions or notation issues. I dedicate a few weeks every summer to adding
these edits to scores. You never know when someone is going to want to perform
one of your works; having all of your materials ready to go makes you appear
far more professional than if you have to tell a potential performer that you
need to make revisions first.
3. Update your website. Nothing makes your
career look worse than a website that hasn’t been updated in a year or two
(particularly if you have an “upcoming performances” section that ends in 2012!).
If you don’t have a website yet, now is the time to do it. There are a number
of do-it-yourself web programs that you can master yourself without (hopefully)
too much frustration. I use Rapidweaver, which is very customizable with
inexpensive add-on elements that allow you to build a site that suits your
needs. If you prefer to hand this off to a professional, you can hire a website
developer to do this for you; however, be aware that you’ll probably need to
pay the developer to handle future updates.
4. Register recent pieces with your
performing rights organization (ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC), and then report the past
year’s performances of your works. Reporting performances results in getting
royalty payments. While this process can
be time-consuming, it is completely worth getting paid.
5. Could you arrange any of your works for a
different instrumentation? For instance, do you have a brass quintet that you
could expand into an arrangement for wind ensemble? Or a violin and piano piece
you can rework for flute and piano? Many
composers get more mileage out of their catalog by creating new versions of
existing pieces. Aaron Kernis has arranged a few of his works with great
results. For example, Aaron originally composed Colored Field for English horn and orchestra; he later created a
version for cello and orchestra, which subsequently won the Grawemeyer Award.
6. Brainstorm proposals for upcoming grant
applications. Annual deadlines for Guggenheim Fellowships, the Rome Prize, and Fromm
Foundation commissions can sneak up on you during the year, and a
well-conceived proposal can take some time to craft. You might also utilize
this time to get fellow collaborators on board for your proposal should you
need (or want) to apply with their support.
7. Make a list of your “dream” projects. I
find this to be very important, as it is very easy for others to
control our composing agenda. If you have specific projects in mind that you’d
like to pursue, then you’ll be ready to suggest ideas if someone is interested
in doing something with you. For instance, do you want to write a chamber
opera? Would you like to organize a consortium commission for you to work with
saxophone quartets? Once you make your list of dream projects, brainstorm what
the next steps are to make each of these projects happen.
Basically, between your barbeques and pool
parties, schedule some time to tackle some items from this list. Your career
will be in better shape once fall returns.
