This Happiest Musician Minisode builds off my last minisode, on getting clarity on the money part of your business, and assumes that you DO have some clarity around how much money you need to make and where you want it to be coming from.  You might want to hop back to that one first if…

Today you’ll hear my interview with Jeffrey Biegel: Pianist, composer, arranger, professor and entrepreneur. We talked about what it takes to create a major project and find buy-in from EVERYWHERE. About the importance of bringing new music into the world. About sharing the legacy of those who have come before and creating your own. This…

I’ve had a few conversations recently with people about pricing, about raising the prices that you’re charging for your teaching or for your reads, or for the coaching that you offer. And I’ve had conversations with people recently about choosing to monetize or not to monetize a skill or passion, a hobby that they have….

Lullabies For Piano And Cello is a collection of instrumental works inspired by Icelandic folk songs. Accompanied by cellist Steiney Sigurðardóttir, the duo tracked the album in Reykjavik’s Eldborg Concert Hall. Following the implementation of choir, orchestra, and cinematic heft on 2022’s Solon Islandus, Gabríel made a conscious decision to strip the sound down to…

Do you ever feel like you are at the mercy of your work, or your teaching studio, or your business, and like the only time you can have for yourself is just IN THE CRACKS?  You can do better than that. In today’s minisode, we talk about taking agency in your schedule! This episode is…

Composer and educator Dr. Joseph Sowa writes music that revels in vivid colors and rich textures. His music has been performed by a wide spectrum of groups, from prestigious ensembles like the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Dal Niente, and the PRISM Quartet, to schools and churches across North America. His talent has earned him accolades…

Really, this minisode is musings about communication – and how our speech and language influence our musical performances and how our musical skills influence our spoken and wrtten words, and how we can lean into ALL of it!  Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review!  You can join…

The Michigan City Chamber Music Festival (MCCMF) had its inaugural season in August of 2002. It was founded by husband/wife team Nicolas Orbovich and Sunny Gardner-Orbovich. The MCCMF operates under several guiding principals. The first priority is always artistic quality. The MCCMF attains this through the presence of world class musicians. Each of them has…

Musings about summer camp –  My first music camp was where I found my PEOPLE. The camp I taught at last week reminded me how astonishingly fast learning can happen when you are IMMERSED. And this is why I’m so bought in on group learning for my own programs!  If you are an oboist, and…

Many young musicians dream of making a comfortable living as a solo artist playing recitals, appearing with orchestras, selling CDs. Frederick Moyer has been doing that for 40 years, making a living entirely on performances and record sales. The last teaching job he had was in 1983. What makes Fred particularly interesting to speak to…

As I come up toward the publication of the AUDIOBOOK (stay tuned) of The Happiest Musician, I find myself revisiting its concepts too.  Today I consider the lessons of the 2008 recession for musicians of today!  Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review!  You can join my email list HERE,…

Today on the podcast, you’ll hear violinist Kerstin Tenney talk about her upcoming debut album, LIGHT. We spent a lot of time talking about the long arc of her project – and if you have a project, a concept, an album in your heart that is not yet in the world, you will love this conversation. …

I hosted a conversation on this topic a week or two ago – and now I’m offering my thoughts again, for you!  Our pace changes in the summer. Things slow down, stretch out. We can catch up on our rest, we can disappear into a haze of sunscreen and tequila – AND we can maybe…

Peg Luke has been Emmy and Grammy nominated, and is an 11 time Carnegie Hall solo artist. She’s the creator of “Psalm Space”.  She currently has over 200 thousand Spotify streams, and has professional distribution, radio promotion,has professional producers around the country and is professionally media managed and sync licensed. Peg  Is a Christian Meditative…

Some musicians seem to like pretending that they are artists with no GROUNDING in the world of business. Guess what? If you are trying to live on your artistry, you ARE in business, and you are in CHARGE.  How can you think more like the CEO of your business?  I have some advice.  This episode…

Today on Crushing Classical, you’ll hear my interview with Ariel Grossman, Founder & Artistic Director of Ariel Rivka Dance. I’ve never talked with a choreographer before and I just loved finding all of the parallels between our worlds.  This episode is brought to you today by Happiest Musician Coaching. You are amazing, and I believe in…

We are taught not to brag. We are taught to be modest about our accomplishments, we are taught to work on our weaknesses.  But if you are hesitating or struggling to take on your next project? If you are not sure you have what it takes to move forward and make the next step?  There’s…

Julian Loida is a Boston-based composer percussionist, composer, educator, and producer. His range of sound and genre exploration is largely a product of his synesthesia – music is a literal full-body experience for him, with sounds often invoking involuntary sensations of color, texture, or even taste. For Julian, music is a visual art. In all…

Christine Smith is co-founder and co-owner of Frosted Lens Entertainment, an entertainment and informational content development company.  Prior to her work at Frosted Lens, she held the position of Music & Sound Director/Composer-in-Residence for RPR Studios for 10 years. Her work has been heard in award-winning films, commercials, and promotional videos. She is currently the…

You are not going to want to miss this one. Helida is an amazing example of an evolving creative career in action, and she’s also SUCH a beautiful and inspiring conversationalist. I could have talked to her all day! Helida Dodd is a Perfumer for lovers of beautiful fragrances who can’t tolerate traditional perfumes. Through…

I found myself musing today about timeframes and focus and how PRODUCTIVITY interacts with CREATIVITY. There are ways to PUSH your projects forward, but perhaps there are also benefits to letting them EVOLVE and allowing yourself to be the whole rich being that you are.  It’s going to sound at first like I’m just talking…

Today on the podcast, I talk with Alecia Lawyer, Founder, Artistic Director, Principal oboist of ROCO. She’s got the most exciting ideas about orchestral possibilities in the 21st century, and I wish more people were as innovative as she.  Named by Musical America as one of classical music’s Top 30 Influencers for 2015 and a…

I gave a talk a couple of weeks ago that I’ll share here – No Limits: How the Portfolio Career Expands Your Possibilities.  I also want to point out that if you don’t know how to do a thing, there’s almost certainly someone out there who DOES, and who can HELP you.  Make sure you…

Canadian violinist Mary-Elizabeth Brown enjoys parallel careers as a performer, pedagogue, entrepreneur and researcher. In recent seasons, she has appeared as an invited soloist with orchestra more than forty times in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as numerous chamber music festivals. Her recording of the last 3 Mozart Violin Concerti for Mozart…

Ashley Killam (she/her) has built a multifaceted career as a passionate entrepreneur, non-profit director, freelancer, trumpet player, advocate, and researcher. Killam is the founder of AK Artist Management and is on a lifelong mission to create a more inclusive artistic space. A champion for creating change within musical programming, Killam launched the first-ever open-source resource…