Learn survival skills from successful performers in the industry

Listen to this free podcast series

Christine Davis’ No-Nonsense Podcasts consists of a four-part series that aims to explore crucial practical knowledge as well as strategies to better prepare music students for life after college. Some topics that will be covered include freelancing challenges, creating and maintaining a functioning studio, budgeting unpredictable and inconsistent paychecks, dealing with student loans and other debts, working with difficult people, and handling rejection. Five professional musicians will speak with care, candor, and honesty about their careers and the paths they took to get there. The level of transparency that these musicians will bring to the table to students and young professionals is nothing short of remarkable and is greatly lacking in the accepted collegiate curriculum today. This series hopes to bring these stressful, and very real topics into the light and tackle the issues head on, No-Nonsense style.

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate

A No-Nonsense Guide to Freelance Composing

Unless you want to teach composition at a college, there are very few full-time jobs for composers. For this reason, the world of the professional composer is a difficult one to break into. In addition to being a gifted composer, one also needs business savvy, creativity, and a lot of determination and courage. Jerod will take us on the musical as well as life journey that brought him to the successful full-time freelance composer that he is today.
Heidi Williams

A No-Nonsense Guide to Establishing and Running a Private Studio

For more than twenty years, Heidi Williams has run one of Cleveland’s premiere piano studios. She is in such demand that her waiting list is years long! She will talk about how she got started, the policies she has in place to help her studio run smoothly and efficiently and the practical aspects of running one's own business.
Karen Bogardus

A No-Nonsense Guide to Making a Living as a Freelancer in a Large Metropolitan Area

Is it scary to think about making a living as a freelance musician? What if you get out of school and have not yet won an orchestral audition? (Fact: Most college graduates majoring in music performance leave school without having secured full-time employment!) What steps can one take to have a life in music that is fulfilling and pays the bills at the same time? Karen Bogardus will tell us about her life as a freelancer and how she was able to do just that. She will tell us about how she learned to network, how she started getting work, and how she lives her life as one of New York’s busiest freelancers.
Linda Greene

A No-Nonsense Guide to Making a Living as a Freelancer in a Small Market

Prior to becoming the piccoloist for the Syracuse Symphony and then the second flutist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Linda Greene was one of Upstate New York’s most successful freelancers. She will talk candidly about the steps she took to earn that reputation and the ups and downs she experienced along the way. She will discuss the traveling she had to do, the networking skills she learned, and how she became so valuable to so many flute sections and contractors.