What am I waiting for?

Has there ever been a time when someone comes to you with a proposal, an opportunity, and you thought, "That's not really my gig."? A fine proposal, but it's just not something you're real comfortable doing, and maybe you haven't had a lot of experience in that specific area.

My answer: Yes. And I'd imagine your answer is the same.

I am in a place professionally where I am looking for opportunities to broaden horizons, deepen and expand friendships and connections, garner valuable performance experiences, compose new and marketable works, and build a stronger resumé. So of course I am always waiting for someone to bring a proposal to me. I'd love that opportunity.

But what I'm finding is that I seem to only want the opportunities for the things I already know how to do. To perform in a setting I'm comfortable. To write a piece for instruments I've already written. To teach courses and ensembles I have experience teaching. I've gotten pretty good at a few things, so naturally I want to keep doing those things.

But how did I get good at those things? By saying yes to an opportunity that seemed uncomfortable and outside my comfort zone. By stepping into a new experience.


There are some things I find as I try new things and dive into the unknown:

1) I often know more than I think. For example, I was offered a position to teach the front ensemble at Center Grove H.S. last spring for this year's marching seasons. I've never exclusively taught a pit before, and I was quite uncomfortable stepping into such a high-profile, relatively high-pressure situation with such little experience. However, I have been involved with drum corps for 7 years, and high school marching band for 14 years, and it's not like I was ignoring the pit all those years. I picked up on some things even thought I wasn't in a pit and hadn't taught one. And I have a masters degree in percussion performance, and a great deal of experience playing in percussion ensembles. And I have taught keyboard percussion privately for several years. So, when I thought about what knowledge and experience I do have, I realized it was a pretty good starting point.

2) Whether or not you "succeed" (whatever that means in each scenario) at your new endeavor, the experience of being stretched, pushed, pulled, and often failing is worth every effort made. We can gain knowledge, resilience, patience, persistence, and more when we say yes to a new opportunity.

A couple weeks ago, I was asked to play marimba at a my in-laws' church for their Christmas Eve services. I had nothing in the repertoire that worked for Christmas, and it was less than 3 weeks till December 24. My initial reaction was to say no. Not gonna happen. Doesn't she realize I can't just throw something together on such short notice? 

Then I thought further, If I am going to say no to opportunities like this, what am I waiting for? Don't I want to be a performer? Don't I want opportunities to play percussion in public? Why sell myself short?

I said yes, and immediately started working on a couple of arrangements. And it might just turn out okay. :-) Who knows, maybe I'll wind up doing a Christmas album sometime, and this will have been the catalyst.

So when an opportunity arises that seems a little outside your comfort zone or area of previous experience, don't immediately dismiss it because "It's not really my gig." It might not be, and that's okay, too, but we don't want to pass up opportunities that can really enrich our lives, and in my case, advance a career. Think about it. You might be more prepared than you think. And be sure to ask, "If not this, what am I waiting for?"

What's the Difference?

This past week I had the privilege of spending 3 days in Chicago at the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic. I got to accompany the Center Grove H.S. Percussion Ensemble on their trip that culminated in an outstanding performance on Saturday morning for several hundred educators, students, family, and friends.

What a performance! I was so impressed, start to finish, with not only the quality of playing, but with the professionalism of the 32 students who performed a very wide variety of music. The demand was extremely high (especially for a high school group!) and it was met with extremely high levels of ability and preparation. I was proud to see them play my piece, Alarm!, with such precision and excitement, and it truly is an honor to work with such a great group of students.

L to R: Kevin Bobo (soloist), David Reeves (composer), Jim Casella (composer), Josh Torres (director), me
at the Midwest Clinic after CG's performance.

Though I might be a bit biased (I do work at CG after all), I was not alone in my high opinion of the group's performance. I talked with several other percussionists and educators after the performance who shared similar thoughts. One said, "I sat there shaking my head, and thinking, 'This is a high school!'" Another said he laughed out loud at one point in complete amazement at what the group was doing.

All this discussion brought up questions I have to ask myself when I'm teaching a group at this level. And questions that are important as I consider how to teach future ensembles.


What is it that speaks professionalism? What separates a high level percussion ensemble from the rest? What are specifics in the playing that give a percussion ensemble a mature sound? 

These must be things that can be taught/learned, right? How else do some teachers have consistently mature/excellent groups when others don't? If someone asks you, "What do I need to do with my group to help them sound mature?" or "How do I teach professionalism" what do you say? If a student asks how to take the step into the next level, will you know how to answer?

So often we think, That group/person is just naturally good. Or, I/my group could never do anything like that.

Now, I understand that there are many factors out of an educator's control that play a role in the level of a group, but many are not. Somewhere along the line, certain things must be learned and practiced in order to come across as a professional/mature ensemble, and I'm asking, What are those things? If you are not an educator, but a performer, these questions can still apply and must be considered at some point. Even if you're not a musician, taking time to think about the very specific details that separate the best from the rest is never a waste of time.

Honorable or Irresponsible?

The video posted below has been making its way around several media circles, and it's pretty hilarious. It's also quite relevant and a little unsettling for some because of its truth.



In response to this video, the website/forum DrumChattr has opened up some discussion on the topic. One commenter brought up the idea that maybe we shouldn't focus so much on money and status, as long as we are pursuing a passion and enjoy what we're doing. Some have no problem encouraging a student to study music in college even if they don't make a career of it. Is it honorable to pursue what you love doing? Or is it irresponsible to blindly "do what I want to do"? My response:

While I completely agree that far too much emphasis is placed on money, status, appearance, etc. in this country/world, and that there is a great deal of value in simply enjoying what you do (in this case, being a musician), I am afraid that a lack of responsibility and real-world understanding is what often comes out of students who major in performance. 


I do not feel comfortable encouraging a student to choose a field of study in which they likely won't get a job after school, unless that student has a good understanding what they're getting into and how to begin to overcome some of those obstacles. We too often say, "Go! Pursue what you want!" and that student ends up paying the price in huge student loan debt, poor financial decisions, and others have to foot the bills for the starving artist. This certainly isn't every music student, but I argue that it's far too many. 


And while money certainly isn't the most important thing, it is still important. My family and I must eat, be clothed, and have a roof over our heads. And it is my responsibility to provide those things. Not my parents' or the government's.

With bachelors and masters degrees in performance from a pretty high-level music school, I slid through several years without much training regarding real-world job situations. Thankfully, this is something David Cutler and others are addressing well, and many schools are taking it more seriously. 

However, I often see attitudes like this: "I got my degree(s), now where's that job that's waiting for me? Oh, you mean there's not a job just waiting for me? I have to create work? My degree/skillset/experience doesn't automatically get me a job?" But most will agree, a degree does not equal career success. I admit I had some thoughts along these lines, and now I'm fighting to make a living as a musician. I love what I do, but I want future students to have as realistic a picture as possible of what it's like in the real world, so they have an easier time than me once they get here. 

A Thought from Colin Currie

World-renowned percussionist Colin Currie recently wrote of some highlights from his autumn experiences around the world, and he closed with such kind and sincere praise of the TROMP competition, its jury members, and its 30 percussionists, especially the 3 finalists. The closing paragraph from his blog is reproduced below.

For all this, what truly sticks in my mind are thirty young percussionists from across the world who all traveled to Eindhoven for the TROMP Percussion Festival and competition. There I sat on the jury(with splendid new friends Nancy, Momoko, Terry, Arnold, Andrei and Emmanuel!) utterly AGOG as candidate after candidate would roll on and literally shock us with their artistry, emotion and aplomb. Each player had something to offer, and it was a humbling thing to give the world premiere of the test-piece, Michael Torke’s gorgeous “Mojave” to such an assembly. What a superb result, that the art of percussion is being upheld by these bright young players!! I was very moved and highly encouraged. Let me pay tribute briefly to the three finalists; Vassilena, you are fearless and brilliant and utterly embrace performing…Mike, you are a poet and the thinking musician’s percussionist – a maverick with grace and subtlety…Alexej, your musicianship fills a room no matter its size and your results have only come through your astonishing commitment and hard work. Congratulations to you all – this was an astounding collective victory for percussion!!

Happy December times and best wishes for the new year,

Colin.