Inspiring conference! 

And conservatory teaching — how it should change — was a key subject. I gave the keynote talk, but other presentations seemed more important.

Sarah Robinson and Mike Block talked about becoming better musicians and happier people, because they shed the rigidities of standard conservatory teaching. Didn't obsess with the standard music for their instruments, but instead played in clubs, played world music, improvised. (You can read my blog post about them, and about the gathering.)

And — straight from the conference — you can watch David Wallace (chair of the string department at the Berklee College of Music) talk about turning a school into a joyful community. All the teachers and students working and playing together, doing music in many genres. A lesson in how to be happy!

Helping you

I'm humbled by the response I've gotten from my consulting clients. I've been working with musicians, helping them build their careers, especially by focusing their branding, the ways they describe and promote themselves. And how they pitch themselves for gigs.

I love doing this work, and I've felt that I've been helping. But then when Paul Haas — a unique meld of conductor, composer, and installation artist — sent me a testimonial, I almost fell down:

If you’re willing to put in some hard work and serious thinking about what makes you who you are as an artist, I can imagine no better partner in rebranding than Greg Sandow. He guided me through a process that transformed what I knew about myself into materials that made it easy for others to get to know me. His comments, buttressed by years of work in the field, were unerring and straightforward to implement. Our arrangement required that I do most of the actual writing of materials, but anytime he rewrote something it was pure gold. Greg understands music, people, and writing — that’s a rare combination, and it certainly made all the difference in our project together. I couldn’t recommend him more highly. 

Thanks so much Greg — it's been great working with you. I finally see the possibility that I can be myself in the classical music world and have some success.

And this from Misha Penton, a new music voice artist and performance creator in Houston:

Greg’s insight is uncanny — he “got” my work immediately, and helped me rework my written communication in an way that truly reflected my artistic vision.

As I said, I'm humbled by all this. And grateful. 

Plus…I love to work with conservatories. I can visit your school, help students with the future of classical music, help them plan their careers in the new world that’s dawning. And I can help faculty and administration with curriculum change.

One other thought — if there's an orchestra, or some other mainstream classical music institution, that really wants change…I'm here.

"How to Speak and Write About Music" is the name of my fall semester Juilliard course, now in full swing. We all — me included! — get better at describing music we hear. And we explore the best ways to write artist bios, program notes, and press releases. Here’s a description of the course, and here’s the week by week schedule, with links to all assignments. 

I can help you, as a consultant, to speak and write about the music you make. Contact me!