Free Tickets and CD Giveaway: Jonathan Estabrooks CD Launch at Toronto's Drake Hotel on April 4

Last July I mentioned University of Toronto and Juilliard graduate Jonathan Estabrooks' Kickstarter campaign to create a crossover first album with Oran Elder, Jonathan Antoine, and Jennifer Thomas. Well, the campaign was successful, and Jonathan's album These Miles was expanded to include 5-time Grammy Award winning producer Dave Reitzas, the Macedonian Radio Orchestra, and production at LA's Westlake Studios. The release date is fast approaching and Jonathan has chosen to release the CD here in Toronto, with a release concert at 8pm this Friday at the Drake Hotel in Toronto.

To thank the Collaborative Piano Blog community for its support last summer, Jonathan has graciously offered two tickets and a CD to one lucky CPB reader.

To determine the winner, there will once again be a contest....

Competition Rules and Regulations

1. Answer the following question: In which televised opera did Jonathan Estabrooks and I work together in 2004? (Hint: the answer to this question can be found in one of the links above...)

2. Email the answer to me at collaborativepiano [at] gmail dot com with "First Miles CD Giveaway" as the subject.

3. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, April 2 at 10pm EDT. After that I'll randomly draw one entry from the pool of correct answers and announce the winner on the morning of Thursday April 3.

Here's Jonathan talking about his vision for These Miles:




A SoundCloud playlist with a few of the tracks from the album:




Edit: Congratulations to Amanda Samad for winning the free tickets and CD!

$5 Lattes, $0.99 Downloads, and the Quest for Fairer Pay in the Musical Field

This Winnie Zhang photo shows that songs need to be
pretty amazing these days in order to compete with the
elegant awesomeness of a matcha latte. 

The discussion on how to make a living in the musical field is becoming the biggest game in town, especially as more and more music graduates are entering the profession at a time when the ground is increasingly unstable, and established companies (Hamilton Opera and San Diego come to mind in just the last few months) are finding that traditional ways of doing business just don't work any more.

Aaron Gervais' article on why musicians aren't paid more fairly provides a detailed and nuanced look at why music as a creative field is unique and why established ways of looking at entrepreneurship don't always fit into its artistic model. Aaron's observation on why the price of a latte is more justified than the price of a download:

Art-making lacks certain fundamental elements that define typical professions and businesses. Unfortunately for artists, its accoutrements suffer no such handicap. When you couple technological change with art-making, you begin to see why people will pay $5.00 for a latte but not $0.99 for a song download.

They’re not wrong: $0.99 for a song is too expensive when there’s no value in owning recorded music because you only ever stream it. You can argue that the cost of recording the music justifies a higher price, but that’s irrelevant. In capitalism, the value of something is determined by what people are willing to pay, not by what it costs to produce. If your production costs are too high to turn a profit, you go out of business—that’s how it’s supposed to work. Records and radio hurt the 19th-century sheet music industry. Then amplified music hurt big bands. Then movies hurt opera companies and orchestras, drum machines and sequencers hurt studio musicians, DJs hurt bar and wedding bands, and online streaming is hurting record labels—to the point that Lady Gaga’s recent SXSW performance was sponsored by Doritos, not her label. Meanwhile, music is still music. It’s not like you can enjoy it twice as efficiently by listening to two pieces at once.

Aaron's solutions are open-ended and emphasize the importance of not blaming the venue (after all, you can always walk away), but looking for opportunities through collaboration and finding your market.

Jason Doell is the Recipient of the 2014 Toronto Emerging Composer Award

Congratulations go to Jason Doell, who has just won the Canadian Music Centre's 2014 Toronto Emerging Composer Award (full press release here).

Jason's multi-location chamber work Delicate Triangles:



Warheads for piano, double bass, and percussion played by the Toy Piano Composers' Ensemble:



Finally, the charming Two Music Box Pieces from a recent Soundstreams Salon 21 performance:

WTO's Winterreise Podcast

Kim Witman at the Wolf Trap Opera blog has created an illuminating 5-part podcast of Schubert's Winterreise that gives a quick 37-minute walk-through of the cycle, its poetics, and musical journey. The recording that Kim uses is a 2010 Sydney Festival performance of bass-baritone Ryan McKinny and pianist Sharolyn Kimmorley.

Kim's assertion that "winter still has many beautiful things to teach us" will fall on many deaf ears at this time of year. I'm ready for spring to come to southern Ontario and its late arrival is completely unacceptable.

Pamela Frank on Practicing

Wise words on practicing from Pamela Frank: it's about quality, not quantity.



(Via Elaine Fine)

Cheryl Duvall at the Canadian Music Centre's A Composer's Canvas

This was a solo recital I was very sorry to have missed - Cheryl Duvall at the Canadian Music Centre on March 13. The full program is below on three videos.

Phobos & Deimos, Circling by Jocelyn Morlock:




Gregory Lee Newsome's Ourobouros:




Yarilo by Nikolai Korndorf:



My goodness, that's a lovely Steingraeber at the Canadian Music Centre.

Academic Position: Full-Time Staff Accompanist, The University of Texas at Brownsville

The following information about a staff accompanist opening has been sent by Dr. Tom Nevill, Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Texas at Brownsville:

Accompanist - Music
Position Number: FY 14-74
Classification: Exempt
Reports to: Chairperson of the Department of Music
Scope: The University of Texas at Brownsville has an opening for a full-time staff accompanist position beginning in Fall 2014. Accompanying duties will include vocal and instrumental accompanying for bachelor level students in recitals, seminars, lessons, auditions, and rehearsals. The assignment will also include accompanying choral ensembles as well as opera rehearsals and performances. The successful applicant must demonstrate a wide knowledge of vocal and instrumental literature as well as excellent sight reading and performance skills. The ability to communicate effectively with faculty and students is essential. This is a security-sensitive position subject to Texas Education Code 51.215 which allows the employer to obtain criminal history record information.
Education: Master’s degree required.
Experience: Professional level experience as a collaborative pianist.
Salary: Commensurate with experience and qualifications and in accordance with UTB Pay Plan.
Deadline: Applications will be reviewed upon receipt and continue until the position is filled.
Application Procedure: Download and complete a faculty application from: www.utb.edu/ba/hr/employment. Candidates should submit a letter of application; CV; a 30 minute DVD of a representative collaborative performance or a link to online videos; and three letters of recommendation. Submit application materials to: Office of Human Resources

The University of Texas at Brownsville
451 East Alton Gloor - Brownsville, Texas 78526
(956) 882-8205 – Fax (956) 882-7476

Academic Posting: Assistant/Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano, University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Dr. Karen Beres sends along the following information regarding an Assistant/Associate Professor opening at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts:

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is accepting applications for an Assistant/Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano. The School of Music prepares students for professional careers and has a twofold goal: to enable them to attain their highest musical aspirations and to prepare them to succeed in a highly competitive profession. This full-time and multi-year contract position will begin August 1, 2014. Starting rank will be determined based on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

Responsibilities will include recruiting and teaching graduate collaborative piano majors; teaching undergraduate collaborative piano courses; providing leadership in the collaborative piano area, which includes managing staff and student collaborative pianists; performing with faculty and students; and engaging in research/creative activities. Other duties will be assigned by the Dean based on the candidate’s interests and areas of expertise.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Two years of experience teaching collaborative piano at the graduate and/or undergraduate level, or significant professional experience 
• Earned doctorate/terminal degree in music OR an equivalent combination of professional experience and education

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated ability to serve as an active recruiter of qualified students for the School of Music 
• Significant accomplishment as a professional performing artist and clinician • Demonstrated effectiveness as a teacher of students of varying backgrounds from high school through graduate levels 
• Expertise in other areas that support the mission of the School of Music

About the UNC School of the Arts:
A constituent campus of the University of North Carolina, The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established as the North Carolina School of the Arts by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, UNCSA opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100 students from high school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. UNCSA is the state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated entirely to the professional training of talented students in the performing, visual and moving image arts.

Review of applications will begin April 1, 2014 and will continue until position is filled. To apply, please visit employment.uncsa.edu to file electronic application and upload letter of intent, CV, repertoire list, and names and contact information for three references. Further materials may be requested at a later date.

Criminal background check and transcripts of final degree required as a condition of employment. UNCSA is an AA/EO employer.