One of the realities of the collaborative piano profession is that people tend to wear several hats at once, and the pianists that genuinely make a go of this field are ones that can integrate working in several related fields. Following is a list of many of the related fields and job descriptions that I have encountered with various people throughout my travels in the profession. Making a career often requires having one's professional network encompass more than one of these fields.
Schools, Colleges, and Universities
-Graduate Assistant in Teaching, Accompanying
-Staff Accompanist
-Classroom Teacher of Piano, History, Theory, Opera Repertoire, Song Repertoire, Lyric Diction, Collaborative Piano
-Opera Coach
-Private Teacher of Piano, both solo and collaborative
-Private Teacher of Voice
-Undergraduate Piano Accompanying Co-ordinator
-Audition Pianist Co-ordinator
-Faculty Executive Committee member
-Department Head
-High School Music Teacher
-Elementary Music Teacher-Early Childhood Music Educator-Dean
Opera Company
-Audition Pianist
-Program Co-ordinator
-Prompter
-Surtitle Operator
-Singer on Chorus Contract
-Singer on Small Role Contract
-Musical Dramaturg
-Administrator, all levels
-Musical Director
-Artistic Director
-Conductor
Musical Theatre
-Rehearsal Pianist
-Audition Pianist
-Performance Pianist/Keyboardist
-Administrator
-Conductor
Dance
-Ballet Accompanist
-Modern Dance Accompanist
-Gymnastics Accompanist
-Pianist for Performance, with or without Ensemble
-Collaborator with Dancer
Choral
-Choral Accompanist
-Choral Singer
-Administrator
Large Ensemble
-Orchestral Pianist
-Wind Ensemble Pianist
-Pianist in New Music Ensemble
-Harpsichordist in Early Music Ensemble
-Contractor for Ensemble (Fixer in UK)
-Steward for Ensemble
Religious Institution
-Pianist/Organist for Church
-Pianist/Organist for Temple/Synagogue
Freelance
-Piano Teacher
-Voice Teacher
-Pianist for Vocal Studio
-Pianist for Instrumental Studio
-Pianist for Artist Agency
-Vocal Coach
-Audition Pianist
-Permanent or Semi-Permanent Pianist for Soloist
-Founder/Artistic Director of Company/Series-Official Competition Pianist-Official Symposium Pianist
Media
-Arranger-Web Designer
-Broadcaster
-Journalist
-Writer
-Blogger
-Podcaster
-Multimedia Artist
-Pianist for TV show
-Stage Actor
-Television Actor
-Model
Other
-Pianist in Musical Groups for Armed Forces-Composer
-Piano Technician
And last but not least,
Solo Pianist
Since the field of Collaborative Piano is a constantly evolving field, the types of work that we are engaged in are also changing. If you are doing or know of anyone that is doing anything interesting or out of the ordinary, write a comment below and it can be added to the list.
7 comments:
Gotta say Chris, I'm more than a little dismayed at how you list some variets of "singer" as a career options to be done part time to fill the gaps in playing piano. As I'm sure you know, getting a contract to even be a chorus singer (let alone a small role!) in a company that pays enough to make it even a little financially worth while is a pretty tall order. I notice you didn't put "ballet dancer" or "professional cellist" down, despite listing the accompanying of these. I'm sure there are a number of pianists out there who can sing just fine, as I'm sure there are those that can dance, but to suggest that a small role with a company that pays any decent amount of money is so easy to come by for one trained only in a related industry is akin to suggesting that my dog's vet perform my appendectomy. I would have hoped that one who works with singers so often (and so well) would have a little more respect for the amount of work behind it.
Thank you for your comment. Here is my response.
These career options are based not on my own ideas, but on what I have found collaborative pianists historically do in various facets of the profession.
The fact is, I have known two and only two singers that have accomplished the feat of being a repetiteur for an opera company and subsequently being offered a singing contract. In both cases, these were either chorus or small roles, and in both cases, the repetiteurs sang at a very high level and had degrees in voice performance. In addition, I attended the premiere of an opera in California where the repetiteur for the production also had an acting role.
I mean no offense to the profession of singing, to the years of hard work, or the difficulty of finding work in a market saturated with trained singers. However, my Career Options list was compiled based on real-life instances of what people have actually done.
And I'm more than a little dismayed at trained singers getting work as repetiteurs, but hey, if they're good enough, they deserve it and they're welcome to work in our field.
P.S. I am not aware of any collaborative pianists who have worked as dancers.
Continued response to anonymous poster...
The list has been amended to reflect what is generally required for a pianist to be hired as a singer.
There is no suggestion in the list that a pianist working as a singer (or for that matter any of the options in the list) was easy--only that it was an option.
Furthermore, I draw your attention to the success of Two Pianos, Four Hands by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, one of the most successful Canadian plays ever written, which requires two pianists to both sing and act.
What a great and informative site!
My mother is a collaborative pianist with 30 years of experience in the field and she is going to be very excited about my discovery of your blog.
Do you have any suggestions on how one may be looking for the job resources as a collaborative pianist and a newcomer in Toronto?
My parents are in the process of immigration to come and live in Canada,and I imagine that it is going to be very difficult for them, as they are in their 50s, to look for music job opportunities in a new place.
Thanks for your comment. I'm glad your parents are relocating to Toronto and hope they have a speedy path to resident status and eventual citizenship. There is currently a huge shortage of collaborative pianists/accompanists in Toronto, so if your mother has experience in the field she can send me a CV right away--I currently turn away 2-3 people per day for auditions, recitals, etc.
As for getting employment at music schools, I can't really help with that. I'm currently not that bullish with the level of employment standards at most private music schools in Toronto, with the exception of larger institutions such as the RCM. If your parents are still up for a little footwork, I recommend networking with other teachers through ORMTA, NATS, and other organizations, as well as getting the word out through ads and flyers when they have a studio set up. There's always a market for high-quality teachers in these parts.
I have a friend who plays piano wonderfully, but her training is being a soloist. Will it be too late for training her to be a rehearsal pianist since she is 30+?
Anonymous commenter, there are lots of graduate students in collaborative piano in their 30's and her age may even be an asset in a profession where maturity and quality of judgement are often valued above sheer youth. This summer, I met a pianist in her 60's who had just finished a doctorate in collaborative piano!
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