This past Friday was our last day in NYC. We started our day with a "Hustle" class given by actor Logan Tracey. Several points she made struck home with me, one being that I am the CEO of my own company, and that I need to spend some time every day working on my career. Also, it's ok to change your mind and make a different choice at any point in your journey. I think this was a liberating piece of information for all of us in the room. Too often we feel trapped by our field of study, by our choices, by everyone else's expectations... Ms. Tracey reminded us that WE DON'T HAVE TO BE!!! We can make another choice. Also, we don't have to apologize for who we are! Just say, "I am a singer." Don't say, "I'm trying to be a singer." Just be who you are. It was such a simple message, but at the same time, it came across as very profound. There was an incredible amount of information given during the three hour session, from using social media to promote yourself to tax information for performing artists. I took a lot of notes, and I'm still processing all of the information.
After the session, I was able to catch up some more with jazz musician, Amanda Brecker. We had a wonderful lunch, an even better conversation about being both a teacher and performer, and walked around the west side, enjoying the beautiful Spring weather.
I then made another trip to the Julliard bookstore before meeting up with Dr. Sadeghpour and some other members of the group where we met Dr. Sadeghpour's college friend, dancer Rob Kleinendorst. Rob is a dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and it was wonderful to hear his story. Like many of our other guest speakers this week, Rob talked about the importance of "perseverance" and always being willing to learn and improve throughout your career.
After our meeting with Rob, Dr. Sadeghpour, Leisa and I went to hear a wonderful recital given by tenor Paul Appleby and pianist Natalia Katyukova. What a performance! Mr. Appleby sang beautifully with incredible nuance and commitment to the text. I am both inspired and challenged by his abilities as a recitalist.
After the recital, we all rushed down to the Stephen Sondheim theatre where we went to see Cole Porter's delightful musical comedy, "Anything Goes." The cast was excellent, and I greatly enjoyed the performance. I really loved watching Joel Grey and John McMartin perform. These seasoned performers stole the show, and gave us all a master class in comedic timing. It was very fun for me to see this show, since I performed the male lead, Billy Crocker, back in undergrad when I was around the age of the students on this trip! (I remembered all of the song lyrics and most of the lines! But don't worry, I didn't sing along!) After the show, we had the unique opportunity to have a q & a with several members of the cast... their message to the students: "perseverance."
After we returned to the hotel, we had our last group meeting. It was wonderful to hear everyone share what they discovered about themselves during the week. As I listened to each person, I was reminded why I love teaching - seeing people discover/realize something they didn't know about themselves. I think that everyone left NYC with a new sense of direction, and even if some don't quite know which direction they're going to choose, they at least have the comfort in knowing that they can forge their own path in a life in music, the important thing is to just keep going.
I am extremely honored to have been a part of this experience. Thank you Dr. Sadeghpour for writing the grant to make this immersion experience possible, and for allowing me to be a part of it. I'm excited to see the ways in which this group of students apply the information they learned this past week in their own lives and careers. I hope they will stay positive, and through hard work and perseverance, create and maintain a wonderful life in music!
Mr. P
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