2010 Career Planning Seminar
Breakthrough Skills for the Modern-Day Artist: A career seminar presented by Impulse Artist Series and Spacetaker
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Each year, several thousand classically trained musicians finish their studies and enter the workplace. With a limited number of orchestral jobs available and presenters are booking fewer recitalists than ever before, many of these “emerging artists” are creating work for themselves by becoming more entrepreneurial in their endeavors. While the demise of the major record labels is eminent, the new technological ease of “self-made” recordings and the rise of social media offer many exciting tools to musicians who want to break out and make a career for themselves. All of these factors create a wealth of opportunities and dilemmas for up-and-coming artists.
Spacetaker and Impulse Artist Series host a unique seminar to address some of the challenges and opportunities that musical artists are facing in this new era of musical endeavors. The seminar will include insight from an expert panel of successful musical industry entrepreneurs and music promoters, an open forum to discuss current issues at hand, and recommendations of tools and actions one can take to emerge with confidence and make significant breakthroughs in his/her career as a working artist.
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WHEN: Saturday, November 6, 10AM – 6PM
WHERE: Spacetaker ARC @ Winter Street Studios (2101 Winter Street, Studio B11, Houston, TX 77007)
COST: FREE, but registration is required.
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- Marketing: branding and media relations
- Fiscal sponsorship, commissions & grant writing
- Copyright laws & licensing your work
- Creative programming & audience engagement
- Packaging a program for presenters
- What a modern-day manager is looking for in a modern-day artist
Hosted by Chris Johnson of KUHF Houston Public Radio
Speakers include:
- Monica Danna, the Cosmopolitician
- Maria Guralnik, Arts Management, Purchase College
- Michael Remson, Moores School of Music & American Festival for the Arts
- K.C. Scharnberg, Spacetaker
- Jade Simmons, Impulse Artist Series
- Al Staehely, Jr., Music Lawyer
- Jenni Rebecca Stephenson, Spacetaker
DOWNLOAD DETAILED SCHEDULED HERE: Seminar Schedule
MONICA DANNA is a Marketing & Public Relations Consultant who specializes in New Media strategies for small businesses. Monica has spent much of her career in the Energy industry as a software marketing specialist. Before beginning her consultantcy, colab, in 2009 she held the position of Social Media Manager for Halliburton and its various subsidiaries.
Focusing on Social Media consulting and Public Relations strategies for small businesses and non-profit organizations , Monica uses tools such as blogging, Facebook, and Twitter to add new media tactics to traditional marketing methods to achieve the optimal marketing mix for a client.
She enjoys playing an active role in the Houston arts community and is a freelance writer for various print and online publications. You can find her blogging at www.cosmopolitician.net or Twittering away as @cosmopolitician.
AURELIE DESMARAIS is the Senior Director of Artistic Planning for the Houston Symphony. She has worked with directors such as Hans Graf and Christoph Eschenbach.
Previously, she was Artistic Administrator for the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada.
In addition to her work with orchestras, she has served as guest host on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s national classical music program, MOSTLY MUSIC.
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As General Manager of the Van Cliburn Foundation for sixteen years, MARIA GURALNIK oversaw career development for the winners of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition including the contracting and servicing of all U.S. engagements and coordination of international tours following each quadrennial competition. She also served as artistic administrator for the Foundation, responsible for contracting and producing the regionally acclaimed Cliburn Concerts series. Ms. Guralnik began her professional career at Columbia Artists Management where she assisted in the management of such artists/attractions as Anne-Sophie Mutter, the Empire Brass Quintet, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
She is a past president of the North American Performing Arts Managers Association and was an Arts Management Fellow at the National Endowment for the Arts. Currently, Ms. Guralnik is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Purchase College in White Plains, New York where she also coordinates an undergraduate degree program in arts management.
MICHAEL REMSON is a composer, author, educator and is proud to have been part of the AFA since its inaugural season. Dr. Remson has been Exectuive Director since the 2005 season. Prior to his appointment to AFA, Dr. Remson served as Assistant Director of the Carnegie Mellon University Pre-College Program and as CFO/Senior Consultant with Downey Associates International.
In addition to his service to AFA, Dr. Remson maintains an active schedule as a composer and librettist. He has received numerous grants, commissions and fellowships and his works have been performed throughout the United States and in Europe. Dr. Remson serves as an Affiliate Artist at the Moores School of Music and is on faculty of the Houston Ballet Academy. He received his training at New York University, the University of Houston and Carnegie Mellon University and his primary mentors include Carlisle Floyd and Edward Albee. He is active in Houston’s arts community through his board service with Dragon’s Gate, Houston Youth Symphony, Houston Boychoir and The Lone Star Lyric Theatre Festival.
K.C. SCHARNBERG is the Program & Marketing Manager at Spacetaker. While earning her B.A. in Humanities at The University of Texas at Austin, K.C. developed her professional skills with internships in arts management at the UT Performing Arts Center and at the Arts Management Institute at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Upon graduation, K.C. took a development position at the Department of Theatre & Dance and soon shifted her role into one of marketing and communications based on her enthusiasm towards promoting the department’s unique stories.
Upon moving to Houston in late 2008, K.C. joined Elmore Public Relations, where she developed strong media relations, marketing, and project management skills. In 2008, K.C. co-founded Horse Head Theatre Co., a non-profit theatre company dedicated to re-energizing Houston audiences and artists with theatrically designed experiences using local talent and non-traditional methods.
Founder of the Impulse Artist Series, pianist JADE SIMMONS is committed to expanding the boundaries of Classical music. Known for her musical creativity and electrifying stage presence, Jade offers a diverse mix of repertoire from the classics to the cutting edge. As the first New Music, New Places Fellow for the esteemed Concert Artists Guild organization, she builds new audiences and generates interest in concert music by bringing traditional and new works to non-traditional and alternative venues.
In the summer of 2009, the world got to know her as the face of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition where she served as their inaugural host for the competition’s live webcast, offering musical commentary and interviewing leading figures in the arts as well as legends like Van Cliburn himself and esteemed journalist Bob Schieffer. An advocate for emerging artists, Simmons has created a video series, blog and forthcoming book called Emerge Already!: Tips to Lessen the Plight of the Aspiring Concert Artist.
AL STAEHELY, Jr. has practiced law in Houston, Texas since 1979 and specializes in Entertainment Law, including all matters pertaining to the music and film business. His clientele of artists and producers has included Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons, Blue October, Doug Sahm, Paul Kantner, co-founder of Jefferson Airplane, Foghat, Johnny Nash, Andy Johns, King’s X, Tejano musical groups La Mafia, Fama, and Mazz, as well as music and film companies including Bluewater Music, Windswept Pacific, Voltage Discos, Inc., NewMarket Films, Apollo Associates, Fantasy Records, Warner Brothers Records, Warner Chappell Music, Power Records and many others. Mr. Staehely has represented clients in negotiations with major label record, publishing, and distribution companies, as well as overseas companies with regard to record, publishing, sub-publishing, and licensing deals. He has represented film production companies, optioned life story rights, and cleared music rights for films including the Academy Award nominated documentary film “For All Of Mankind”.
JENNI REBECCA STEPHENSON is the Executive director of Spacetaker. A native of Houston, Jenni Rebecca Stephenson has been a student of dance and theatre, as well as vocal and instrumental music. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Houston, Jenni Rebecca studied vocal performance with Katherine Ciesinski and received her bachelors of music from the Moores School of Music.
In 2006, Jenni Rebecca co-founded Nova Arts Project, a nonprofit theatre company dedicated to recreating classics and inspiring new works in a fearlessly theatrical way. In January 2009, Nova’s founders won one of the first annual Houston Press MasterMind Awards for the company’s work. Jenni Rebecca joined the board of Spacetaker in September 2007 and became Managing Director in July 2008 and Executive Director in January 2010. Along with her Spacetaker responsibilities, she regularly contributes to 002 Magazine and Absolutely in the Loop, as well as blogs with the Houston Chronicle (Chron.com) City Brights.
ABOUT SPACETAKER
Spacetaker is a 501(c)3 professional organization and Artist Resource Center located in Houston’s First Ward whose mission it to provide artists and small non-profits access to economic development, continuing education, and networking opportunities to support their professional growth. Spacetaker is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.
