Perspectives on music education, college admissions, performing arts entrepreneurship, and building a life in the arts.
How I Built a Luxury Performance Brand While Teaching Full Time…The Brutally Honest Version
I want to start this with something I think is important: I am not going to tell you it was easy. I am not going to tell you there was a clear roadmap, or that every decision I made was the right one, or that building a business on the side of a full-time teaching career is something anyone can do if they just want it badly enough.
What I am going to tell you is the truth. Which is messier and more interesting and, I think, more useful.
The Real Reason Music Teachers Burn Out In Their First Five Years, And Nobody Is Talking About It
After mentoring over 40 early-career music educators, the pattern is always the same. It is not difficult students or unsupportive administrators. The number one cause of burnout is something nobody talks about openly in the profession.
Your Musical Talent Is Your Secret Weapon in College Admissions. Most Students Never Use It.
I have spent 28 years in music education and over a decade helping student musicians navigate the college admissions process. I have seen talented, dedicated young musicians get rejected from programs they were more than qualified for, and I have watched students who seemed like long shots walk away with acceptance letters and scholarship packages their families never imagined possible.
The difference almost always comes down to one thing: whether or not the student understood how to use their musical talent strategically.