Thanks to Hugh Sung, there is now a collaborative pianist group on Myspace.com. We collaborative pianists are generally not an organized bunch, and there are few online resources and communities (although there is a fine list of Piano Accompanists in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).
I heartily recommend all collaborative pianists/accompanists in the profession, whether student or pro, to join this group and see where it will go, whether it be a recommendation service, an exchange of ideas and concepts, or just a place to go and bitch about things. Note that anti-spamming measures mean that new Myspace members cannot post to the site until 7 days after registering, so there will be a lag between when you sign up and when you can actually participate. 33 members and counting as of tonight!
Thanks so much for mentioning this - i'm hoping that as more pianists sign up and participate in this new forum (66 members as of this writing! Growing fast!), we'll also be able to attract more instrumentalists and vocalists who are always looking for good pianists to collaborate with all over the country. At some point, i'd really love to develop a more sophisticated online database to refer folks and network by specific repertoire (can anyone jump in to play the Bartok 2 piano/percussion sonata tomorrow morning? I would do this myself, but i have a lecture to give that conflicts...) Take care, and hope your summer is going well!
ReplyDeleteBTW, do you have a MySpace profile yourself?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, Hugh, but you're assuming that everyone listed on such a site could actually play at a certain level. My referral list is deliberately rather small (you're on it and I recommended a horn player to you that's going to Curtis next year) but I'm always a bit afraid that I may look like a dork if I send a singer/instrumentalist to certain people that aren't reliable or can't play.
ReplyDeleteThe process by which pianists are admitted to such a referral list is the key to it being a success. Perhaps we could hold an audition tour...
The best way I have found that referral lists work is when pianist A sends calls to pianists B and C also receives calls sent from pianists B and C. That way a network of freelance collaborators can co-exist with at least a modicum of job security in an uncertain world.
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And yes, I have a MySpace account, although I can't post for another 5 days. I hope that your Collaborative Pianist MySpace community will develop into something akin to what nfcs.net is for singers.