Andrew Cooperstock is Robert Glenn Rapp Presidential Professor of Piano at the University of Oklahoma and a member of the summer Artist-Faculty at North Carolina's Brevard Music Center. Winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs Competition and the United States Information Agency's Artistic Ambassador Auditions, he has performed in most of the fifty states as well as across Europe and Latin America. His recording, with William Terwilliger, of the complete works for piano and violin by Aaron Copland will be released this year. This Fall Dr. Cooperstock will join the faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Andrew Cooperstock
School of Music
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73019
405.325.2670
acooperstock@ou.edu
One day, nearly twenty years ago, while I was a student at Juilliard, I attended an eye-opening guest seminar, given not, as one might think, by a famous performer or recording artist - we had those too, to be sure - but by an unassuming, yet dynamic woman named Janice Papolos. Author of a wonderful, though now out-of-print guide called The Performing Artist's Handbook (Reader's Digest Books), Janice spoke to us not of how to play our instruments, but of how to begin making a career at playing our instruments once we had graduated and left the protective cocoon of our school environment. Sure, we could all play; and some, with seemingly little effort, would go on to stunning international solo careers, but for most of us, Janice delivered some surprising - and even discouraging - news. The world would not come knocking at our doors, begging us to perform that concerto at Carnegie Hall, to accept that teaching post at the Paris Conservatory, or to make that recording for Deutsche Grammophon.
Yet, there was hope... If we were willing - in addition to practicing diligently - to take personal responsibility for our own career paths, we could dare to dream of success. She went on to talk about professional-looking materials, and my friends and I immediately set about creating resumes, press bios, publicity photographs, and demo tapes. The results of our naive, yet energetic efforts seem all but quaint now, particularly coming from a time, not that long ago, when "cut and paste" referred to something more literal and less technological than it does today.
Years later, another dynamic young woman made an equally great impression. I met Ellen Highstein at a piano pedagogy conference in Chicago. I had known her name as executive director of New York's Concert Artists Guild innovative international competition and management agency and was excited now to have the opportunity to speak with her in person. Author of Making Music in Looking-Glass Land: A Guide to Survival and Business Skills for the Classical Performer (available from Concert Artists Guild, 850 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10019), she regularly toured the U. S., giving workshops on career management. We were fortunate to have her for a few days at the University of Oklahoma and the response was so great that I felt encouraged to develop a seminar course, which we called "Career Strategies," based on Ellen's teachings. (I must also credit my friend Martha Hilley, who years ago created a similar course at the University of Texas and whose guidance was invaluable.) Not only was Ellen's advice extremely practical and insightful, but her own career served and continues to serve as a wonderful model. A fledgling composer from Juilliard, Ellen went on to her great work at CAG and now serves as Director of Tanglewood Music Center.
A marketing course for musicians? Isn't that contrary to the art? The truth is that music is not a solitary profession. We can certainly study by ourselves, and indeed spend a great deal of our time alone in the practice room. But a performer needs an audience and a teacher needs students. In order to attract attention in a professional manner, we need to be represented by professional-looking materials.
With undergraduate and graduate students enrolled from a variety of majors, the content of our OU course necessarily covered a broad range of subjects. Indeed, a knowledge of business skills is vital for the orchestral player, the recitalist, the independent teacher, and the college faculty member alike. Advertising an independent studio, interviewing for a college teaching position, and announcing an upcoming concert can all benefit from a knowledge of professional skills.
Scheduled for one jam-packed hour a week, our course included a wide variety of lectures and guest speakers. First, we took inventory of our skills and goals and assessed the career market. Could we determine specific jobs that suited our interests and talents?
Next, for what would prove to be one of the most popular components of the course, we took a look at publicity materials, designing press kits filled with publicity photos (made in class), concert fliers, teaching policies, sample programs and the like. We also composed publicity biographies and exchanged newly created business cards.
Following, we were visited by a speaker from the University Office of Career Planning and Placement Services, and we practiced creating resumes and application letters for a typical college teaching job opening.
A tour of the internet was next. Still new to this technology, the students enjoyed surfing the 'net (and getting credit for it!). Brian Shepard, our multitalented professor of media technology served not only as a clearly understandable "tour guide," but as an ideal example of the "Renaissance musician" at the end of this millennium. In addition to his teaching role at OU, Brian is principal percussionist of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and a composer/arranger, (as well as a helicopter pilot and scuba diving instructor!)
A trip to our campus National Public Radio affiliate for a discussion of classical programming was next. We also learned about recording professional-quality demonstration audio and video cassettes.
John Steinmetz, a free thinker and faculty member at UCLA, spoke next about the responsibility of the Artist at the conclusion of the millennium. Students were asked to consider the role of the future-day teacher and performer as well as the future of the traditional classical recital. Have attention spans of current concert goers grown too short or does sitting and listening to a full-length program provide an antidote to lives that are too fast paced?
A financial planner reminded us all of the importance of setting fiscally responsible goals and of planning for our retirement years. Information on investments and insurance was particularly invaluable to those interested in being self-employed, either as teachers or performers.
David Woods, our former dean and now head of Indiana University, spoke to us about interviewing for a college job and about the significant role of the College Music Society.
A trio of speakers, including representatives from our local newspaper and our university communications services department, as well as Scott Price, who at the time served as our School of Music publicity coordinator, taught us about alerting the media to our upcoming events. We composed press releases to announce approaching concerts and to advertise for studio recitals, and we then wrote mock "reviews" of our recent performances.
Representatives from our proposal services department spoke next, and we learned about Fulbright grants, as well as how to locate possible sources of funding for our various projects.
E. L. Lancaster, now vice president of Alfred Publishing and editor of Clavier magazine, introduced us to the publishing industry and made suggestions on how to submit compositions and journal articles for consideration.
The ever delightful and entertaining Martha Hilley shared her many insights on the careers matter in general. A director of our state arts council spoke about the future and significance of governmental support of the arts. And we visited a local independent piano studio to get a close-up view of a successful private teacher. The course wound up with a visit from our director of international programs, who stressed the importance of traveling, teaching, and performing abroad, in order to learn about different cultures as well as to teach about our own.
Additional topics could have included, among many others, the pros and cons of competitions, how to take an audition, how to handle performance anxiety, the ins and outs of concert management versus self-promotion, and the art of networking.
In a May/June 1995 Chamber Music Magazine article Ellen Highstein notes the absolute necessity of sharing career information with students, whether by way of specially dedicated courses and seminars or in the private teaching studio. She suggests that not only can private teachers serve as role models, but that it is their responsibility to look out for the professional, as well as musical, well-being of their students. Are our students' goals realistic? Are they aware of the practical aspects of making a career in music? Do we help them to form individual identities as performers? Do we foster a curiosity about the musical world outside of the classroom? Do we encourage them to try adventurous and interesting programs? These are vital questions for teachers to ask themselves.
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