Career and Artistic Development Committee

The NFA's Career and Artistic Development Committee presents its Second Annual Mini-Conference:

Second Annual Mini-Conference Flyer (PDF)
Mini-Conference Schedule and Mentorship Program Flyer (PDF)

 

MISSION

The Career and Artistic Development Committee has been created by the NFA with the mandate to provide artistic and professional guidance as well as to facilitate access to information about career resources for all NFA members.

ACTIVITIES

This committee brings together the entrepreneurial experience of several flutists:

  • Alberto Almarza, Carnegie Mellon University Professor and Artistic Director of Encuentro de Flautas Del Sur Del Mundo, Chile, South America.
  • Eva Amsler, Florida State University Professor, Founder and Artistic Director of the Syrinx Flute Festival in Feldkirch, Austria; Founding member of THE DORIAN CONSORT; Founder and Artistic Director of FSU Flute Days.
  • Laura Barron, Founder of Forbidden Flutes and the Painted Sky Music Festival; formerly University of Oregon, Wisconsin and Northern Arizona Professor; and Executive Director of Instruments of Change, an Art for Social Change non-profit.
  • Morgann Davis, Maranatha College Adjunct Professor and co-founder of Dual Reveries Flute Duo.
  • Jill Felber, University of California – Santa Barbara Professor and Founder of the flute duo, ZAWA! and Founder of WHOLE FLUTES® seminars.
  • Ellen C. Johnson, CAD Committee Chair, Public Relations Director for the Delano Chamber Orchestra, and Adjunct Professor of Flute at Butler Community College.
  • Stephanie Jutt, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor and Artistic Director of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.

Since fall 2009, they have been discussing and developing career and artistic resources intended to meet the NFA members' needs.  This has been in response to needs that were identified by the NFA Strategic Planning as follows:

As convention workshops on grant-writing, arts management, and career development have been well-attended, this new committee will find ways to make these services available to members year-round. Planned to begin 2009-2010, it will encourage dialogue and raise awareness of the need for arts education advocacy.

Collectively, the CAD committee has agreed that it will best serve the NFA by offering both career and artistic development guidance, because it recognizes the dynamic interdependence between the artistic and business aspects of a flutist's career. To serve its mission, the committee launched a mini-conference of workshops, Think Like an Enterpreneur, at the 2010 Anaheim Convention. And due to the resoundingly positive response to these workshops, the mini-conference will continue, in Charlotte, at the 2011 convention.  Details about participant submission requirements and mini-conference offerings will follow shortly.

 

LINKS

Following is a list of websites designed to help aspiring artists gain the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills needed to establish and maintain a career as an independent artist.

General Arts Entrepreneurship Sites

http://www.artsenterprise.wisc.edu/ - University of Wisconsin's comprehensive website for entrepreneurs in all artistic disciplines, including useful links, answers to FAQs, and informative videos with business professionals.
http://www.selfemploymentinthearts.com/ - An educational resource with a monthly column, numerous informative articles, and an interactive forum for professionals to share ideas.
http://blog.entrepreneurthearts.com/ - A Chicago-based blog with hundreds of entries covering a variety of business of art topics including legal, accounting, and marketing issues, as well links to related books, websites, and conferences.
http://www.ae2n.net/ - a thorough listing of entrepreneurial programs, courses, and activities for artists.
http://www.artsjournal.com/artfulmanager/- The Artful Manager seeks a new set of metaphors for the administrative leaders of arts and culture. While still recognizing that business thinking has some value for the arts, Andrew Taylor also demonstrates how there is also an energy beyond money and markets that the artful manager must channel.
http://music.yale.edu/norfolk/blog/

Flute-Specific Sites

http://larrykrantz.com/ The most thorough flute-related site on the web, including teaching tips, repertoire lists, audition info, a flute events calendar, recordings, fingering charts, performance health articles, and much more.
http://www.flutes.tk/A list of links to every other flute-related site on the net that one would ever need.

Music-Specific Sites

http://www.savvymusician.com/ David Cutler's website companion to his book by the same name. The Saavy Musician helps people build careers, earn a living, and make a difference by examining critical elements often overlooked or misunderstood by musicians, such as entrepreneurship, product development, branding, marketing, networking, the new recording paradigm, personal finance, funding, relevance, and legacy.
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~navmusic/choosing/index.html The Sheppard School of Music at Rice University offers audio files that provide valuable tools for choosing and pursuing specific career paths in music.
www.MusicBizAcademy.com Straight-talking advice for independent musicians in the business of selling, promoting, or doing Music on the internet.
http://www.artistshousemusic.org/ a non-profit website where musicians can receive informational support, guidance, and expert resources (including several video interviews with entrepreneurial experts) to help them navigate the challenges and maximize the opportunities available to them within the music industry.

Sites from New England Conservatory, the University of California in San Diego, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of South Carolina, which include downloadable career guides; resume, CV and cover letter writing documents; and helpful links to other sites with job listings:

http://www.necmusic.edu/career
http://www.sc.edu/career/music.html
http://career.sdsu.edu/MAJORS/links/music.htm
http://www.utexas.edu/finearts/careers/online_resources/music

Other Useful Sites

harryfox.com music licensing site
sivers.org music marketing guru's site (cd baby founder)
discmakers.com cd manufactuer/distributor
mailchimp.com great list serve manager (short runs are free)
google.com/analytic excellent way to track website traffic
meetingwizard.com usueful meeting planning tool (also free)