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Hey! You there! Yes you! Are you past your prime, a self-proclaimed business mogul, considerably wealthy, yet still chasing that American dream as if you aren’t? Well, I have the perfect business proposition for you!  Allow me to introduce The Corrupt Institute of Money-Making! A place where spry senior citizen business majors can make their millions and win accolades while they're at it. At the institute, we pride ourselves on providing an unobstructed path for true leaders to live up to their fullest potential… Profit potential, that is! With thousands of offices across the USA, we’re never out of reach, and by utilizing the cutting (emphasis on cutting) edge of financial investments, we can guarantee the success of every one of our members. What is this investment? Higher education of course! You see, higher education is quickly becoming the time investment for prospective CEOs, Presidents, and Imperators. This is especially the case in our arts-focused ventures. A stigma already exists around these areas that a career is next to impossible. This stigma protects us from being held liable for failing to deliver on any perceived value. By promising value that is not easily qualifiable, we can charge exorbitant fees with no way of being held accountable by our customers. It’s a winning sales strategy! Our members see an immense accumulation of wealth during their time here, and can expect an energizing and brief tenure before moving to one of our other offices. Oh, what’s that? You’ve never taught at a school before? No? You’ve never been at a school before? Ah, not to worry! The actual running of the school has very little to do with what you’ll be up to! And as much as we offer superficial input from our students and staff, the board is actually who is responsible for hiring you. Look around, and I think you’ll find there’s many familiar faces ; ) shouldn’t give you any trouble. So, what will you be up to? Upon joining our lovely institute, the first thing you’ll want to do is get the money flowing! Did you know that many of the faculty members at this school actually make a living off this? Off teaching? I know, ridiculous! Some of them teach music theory, some composition, and even others teach piano! You might be thinking, piano?! That’s not even an orchestral instrument! What an astute eye and brain for business you have, you’re clearly in the right place! Long story short, these are incredibly costly positions, a real drain on our resources. Easy way to generate a lot of revenue quickly is to cut them. Done! Look at that, the school is doing great now! Once you’ve cut away all the unnecessary teaching/staff positions from the school (it’s really just fat anyways) feel free to take a little cash for yourself! Think of it as a bonus for all the hard decisions you’ve been making! After all, without you, that surplus would never have existed, and we can’t have people thinking we have enough to hire some new teachers, or even worse, offer raises. You see now? This is profitable!  I will admit, the job’s not all sunshine and rainbows. At times it can be a profound struggle. Sometimes staff members don’t want to leave, they have a family to support, they have a mortgage, need to pay bills, they come up with the wildest excuses. You may find that administrative holes will open up in the school where students' needs “aren’t being met sufficiently,” I wouldn’t call it that, but fair enough. Let’s say you want to solve that problem for some reason. How do you go about it? It’s kind of a trick question. Do nothing.
Let me explain. The beauty of our model is that once we have attracted a customer, otherwise known as a student, we have attracted an investor. The students, drawn in by our wonderful marketing, have now invested a considerable sum into their education with us. This means they have a vested interest in the functionality of the school, because that’s what they’ve paid thousands for. They can’t leave because they’ll have wasted their money, and they can’t let the school collapse for the same reason. So if nothing is done to fix whatever problems occur, what will happen? The students will fix and fill these holes themselves. Best part? We don’t have to pay them for this work. They pay us. If any teachers choose to help out their students, we don’t have any obligation to compensate them for that. Brilliant, isn’t it? What’s wrong? You look worried. What if teachers and students get upset? Oh, such a pessimist! Very well, in that case the best policy is to ignore them too. Other than talking to you, they have no way of politically or legally addressing their concerns with you, so it’s best not to listen. If you never apologize, you never did anything wrong. Ignoring can be done by simply never answering them--this can often be enough. Or, point them to someone else for answers. Should you find yourself in a position where students and staff are pestering you incessantly with the nitty-gritty of running or leading the school, you can hire an administrative assistant. Assistants are superbly adept at soaking up any issues that are distracting you from your goals here. The best part is that they cost a fraction of what a faculty position would. The only down-side is that they need to be replaced rather frequently. They have a habit of breaking down. Worst case, most of the faculty and staff, excluding you of course, are on single year contracts. This makes removing the more stubborn problems very simple. We pay our courier handsomely for this explicit purpose! One last thing before you take your new position, I want to make clear that you should only be coming to our institute with the intention of making money. School stopped being about education a long time ago.
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Well, it’s that time again! Time to see if you’ve been keeping track of all the documents you needed amidst a whirlwind of a year. It’s tax season. I realize this might not be the most interesting topic for a blog, but I figured I’d lay out my process for filing taxes as a musician/composer in case anyone is trying this process out for the first time! Ideally this would be something every music curriculum would cover… but here we are. Before we begin, I'd like to just clarify that I am not a tax professional. This post is intended to be a starting point in your taxation endeavors, a way to connect you to resources. I hope you find it helpful! The centerpiece of a self-employed composer or musician’s taxes is the Schedule C, a form that you will need to fill out to report your income and business expenses. In this post, I’ll walk through what you’ll need to do this successfully, and explore some options for where to do it.  What to Keep Track of:The most important thing to do is to keep track of all the money you made over the course of the year. Any time you get paid, record the amount somewhere. You should include a description of who paid you for what services and the date you received the money. This will make your life incredibly easy by the time tax season rolls around. I promise without this list you will not remember what happened last month, let alone last year. This should also include any prizes or award amounts (yes, you have to pay taxes on that too!) and royalties paid to you by your PRO (this is specific to composers). Oftentimes you will receive tax forms, especially if you’re playing gigs. You should still record the income from these, but make sure to mark on your list that you have an accompanying form. Put these forms into a safe place to return to when it’s time to file. I keep a physical folder marked with the tax year. In addition to income, you’ll want to keep track of all the money you spent in the process of carrying out your musical business. These will make up your “business expenses” which you can play against your income to hopefully reduce the amount of taxes you are expected to pay. Just like the income, make sure to add a descriptor of the payment and the date you made it, and make sure you keep all of these receipts. You could simply toss them into the same folder you put your other tax forms. Many people are surprised by what they can classify as an expense. If it was something that helped you in the process of making music, it can often be counted. Anything from gas mileage to a gig, to music you purchased from a composer, to cane for reed making, to even concert tickets (technically research for your craft!) can be counted as a business expense! If you want to do the math, you could even claim a portion of your rental expenses if you use a portion of your apartment for business (definitely run this by a tax preparer to ensure it is calculated correctly). If you do this right, you should be asked to pay next to nothing when you’re just starting out, and will most likely be eligible for a refund (yay!). If you have any questions about a specific scenario, feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly. I’m happy to help to the best of my ability! How to Keep Track: Ultimately this is up to personal preference, but I’ll give you a run down of how I do it–it’s pretty simple. I use two methods in conjunction. The first is a simple list on the notes app on my phone. I have a different one for each year, which is laid out like this: 2023 Business Income: Paid: (List of all paid income along with descriptors and dates) Planned: (List of all contracted work that hasn’t been paid yet) Business Expenses: (List of all money I spent in the process of running my business, again including a descriptor and the date I paid it) Donations: (Any donations I made to organizations over the course of the year, yes this is often a write-off too!) Royalties: (Any money I made from my PRO (ASCAP)--this is more for me to not forget to pull the 1099-MISC from their website or grab it out of my physical file) Year Summary: (This is where I total up my income and my expenses to get an idea of how I did for the year) In addition to the list, I also use a spreadsheet to help with budgeting throughout the year. This can be helpful to double check your numbers too. Google has an amazing budget template that I use and highly recommend, complete with a fancy line graph to make your terrifying deficit at least look pretty! You can find it if you go to “My Drive”, “+ New”, and then hover over the arrow next to “Google Sheets” and click “From a template”. You’ll find it in there labeled “Annual budget”. There’s lots of options so feel free to peruse the others! Where to File:Filing can be daunting the first time you do it. That is by design, as big companies like TurboTax make a lot of money through the horror stories of paying taxes. You probably have heard some of these legends of the great test of paying taxes, even good ol’ Benjamin Franklin compared it to death in its inevitability… I promise it isn’t as bad as you think. First mistake to avoid is using TurboTax. It’s stupid expensive for no reason–even worse for a musician like you, they charge extra for those of us who are self-employed. Diabolical. I’ve recently been exploring low cost options and decided to use FreeTaxUSA. It’s almost honest with its name, you still need to pay $15 to file state taxes, but that’s much better than the hundreds they try to get out of you with TurboTax. If you end up with a tax refund like myself, you can use it to mitigate the cost. I enjoyed using it. It was simple and had a good layout for reporting specific expenses. One take away I would add from the experience is that you should break down your itemized list of expenses and organize what you can into the larger categories they provide on their site. This will let you keep track of what expenses you counted as part of “Travel”, “Office Supplies”, etc. MyFreeTaxes also seems like a great option that I’m looking to try next year. It is completely free. As always, I’ll report back! Another free option is available with VITA or TCE sites. These are centers in place to assist people with filing their taxes. They often provide in person assistance, and sometimes offer drop off sites where they will file on your behalf. They are intended for people who make less than $64,000 per year, have disabilities, or are limited-english speaking. You can find one by either looking for it on the IRS website (irs.gov), or you can dial 211 on your phone and ask, "where can I get my taxes done for free?". Filing:Quick aside about filing quarterly: You’ll hear a lot of people recommend that you file quarterly if you run your own business. This is good advice. It’s important to file quarterly if you are self-employed (especially if most of your income comes from gig work, commissions, or teaching). I’ve already made a post that goes in depth on this, you can find it here.
Okay back to the yearly file: Before you get to the Schedule C, you’ll be asked to enter other personal information, and input information from any W-2s or 1099s you received from all the work you did/gigs you played. For composers, this is where you’ll put your 1099-MISCs from your PRO (ASCAP/BMI/SESAC). If you’re self-published, you’ll receive two of these, one as a writer/composer, and one as a publisher. You should report these two separately here. Once you get to the Schedule C, some sites will prompt you to connect some of those 1099s you submitted earlier to your business income, if it does, do this. Royalties for composers and musicians go here. Then proceed to input all the other info you will have hopefully saved in your list and spreadsheet. There will be one section for income and one for expenses. Before you know it, the hard part will be over. After answering a few more questions and filing state taxes, you’ll be done! Again, feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Good luck, Godspeed, thanks for reading, and happy jamming!
I was engaging in the wonderful (soul sucking) world of Instagram the other day, and I scrolled to a disturbing piece of news. An account by the name of @laura_horowitz_narrator was claiming that Spotify had just updated its terms of service on its audiobook distribution platform, Findaway Voices. After looking into it more, I was shocked to find that it was true. The terms, "required authors using Findaway's services to grant Findaway and Spotify rights to 'translate, modify, [and] create derivative works' from submitted audiobooks. The terms further stipulated that Spotify could use the audiobooks (termed 'user content') in 'training' and 'modeling' in connection with Spotify services." (authorsguild.org) Scary.
Luckily, Spotify has since decided to revise these terms. However, I believe this has very much to do with the backlash more than anything else. Had people not spotted the change, I think it would still be in place. "The new terms remove the rights to 'translate' and 'creative derivative works' from the grant of rights, make the grant of rights revocable by the authors, and further make it explicit that the grant of rights does not authorize Spotify to use user content to create new ebooks, audiobooks, or use it for voice narration AI training." (authorsguild.org)
The thing that really scared me most about this prospect is the potential for this rights abuse to be complimented through the use of AI. The generative process that AI uses is still notorious for its often comical flaws and inability to create complicated original ideas that hold water. However, imagine if it was able to be fed existing works to base its creations off of? In the case of fiction writing, it could be provided with a fully flushed out world, and even entire plot lines. In that case, all the AI would need to do is to create something derivative--a much more manageable task. This could essentially cut the writer fully out of the creation process. With the terms they had originally stipulated, it would be legal. Imagine the horror of spending years crafting an entire world only to have it stolen by a faceless corporation. Reading words that wouldn't exist without you, but that you have no control over. You could watch your own work rise to prominence with absolutely nothing to show for it. Yikes!
Now it's true that this ended up not being the case, and there is an argument to be made that something like this could be contested in higher courts, even if it is stipulated in terms of service. For musicians, this might even seem like a distant issue, we don't do audiobooks, we make music! Yet, I think it's important to think of the arts as a collective whole. When a portion of us suffers, we all suffer. Such a potential loss of rights in the writing field sets a precedent that would surely come to haunt us shortly after. It's by standing together that we have a chance to prevent abuses like this. Even so, this fiasco isn't so important in terms of its direct impact, but more for its spotlight on the psyche of the folks running Spotify. This platform is currently not here to help us. As much as they insist otherwise, it's here to profit off us and cut us out at the first chance it gets. I want to dig into just how harmful it is, and how helpful it could be. Streaming Royalties:
If you look up how Spotify decides what artists get paid, you'll be pointed to a couple of very neat and polished looking videos. They feature that loveable AI DJ voice we all care for so much, describing how the sausage gets made amidst a collage of colorful and creative animations. Except, this doesn't actually tell you how things get calculated. It leaves the question of why royalties are so low for streaming to the vague notion of distributors and publishers impacting this. In fact, they really throw them under the bus quite a bit. While yes, this can definitely impact the royalties that an artist might receive, it isn't the full story.
The video above is missing a little term called "streamshare" which is used by Spotify to describe the amount of streams that a given distributor received through their artists over the duration of the month. When Spotify looks to pay musicians, it looks at the total number of streams and then the total number of artists and divies up a percentage of the total amount of revenue earned (Spotify claims this is 2/3rds of every dollar of revenue) amongst their rights holders (distributors, publishers, etc.). This essentially creates a system in which only artists with a massive following who can take up the biggest percentage of the total stream pie will see any kind of substantial income through streaming royalties. For example, because Taylor Swift might be getting millions of the billions of total streams while smaller artists may only be getting in the hundreds, Swift could get over $100 million in streaming royalties for her massive percentage of streams, leaving the smaller artist with pennies, if that. This rubs me the wrong way, especially because hundreds of streams is nothing to scoff at!
Another Way?:
I've been contemplating solutions to this problem over the last few months. After discussing with friends and colleagues (special thank you to Immanuel Mellis and Finn Penzo), I think the best system we've been able to dream up is one in which royalties are paid on an individual consumer basis rather than a percentage of total streams. Here's an example comparing the current system with the proposed solution:
Willy pays $10.99 every month for Spotify Premium. A fan of Taylor Swift, they streamed her music 76 times over the course of the month. Willy also streamed the music of their struggling musician friend, Sean, 24 times. Under the current system, that $10.99 would be collected, a portion would be used to pay taxes and expenses, and then 2/3rds would be put into a pool of revenue to be distributed to artists based on a percentage of the total streams that month. This means that it doesn't really matter that Willy was only a Swiftie for 76 percent of the month and a good friend (I'm kidding) the remaining 24 percent. The total streams Taylor Swift received would drown out Sean's considerably smaller audience and that would be reflected in the royalty distribution. But what if that wasn't the case?
Under this proposed concept, Willy would pay their $10.99 every month, but instead of that money being thrown into a pool after expenses are paid, it instead stays with Willy's listening stats and is distributed that way. After taking that 1/3rd out for taxes and expenses, we're left with $7.32. 76 percent of that goes to Taylor, so $5.56. Then 24 percent goes to Sean, $1.75! You might be thinking, that's barely $2, so what? But I'm thinking that's almost $2! For 24 streams! What?!
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I love this concept for two reasons: it would increase small artist revenue considerably (which would actually benefit their distributors and publishers as well, as they'd be the first to see that money--something I might want to discuss in a later post), and it would create a direct way for fans of an artist to support them, just by listening! Whenever I'd stream my favorite artists, I would know exactly where my money was going. It'd let me support them in a way that was tangible for both myself and them. Powerful stuff. Yes, this would cut into the millions that Swift and other big artists make off Spotify, but I think it's a small price to pay to ensure another revenue stream for aspiring artists.
What are your thoughts? Would this system work? Why or Why not? I'd love to hear from you! Thank you for reading, and happy jamming! 
As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve recently been making my way through Mutual Aid by Dean Spade. The book focuses on discussing the ways that people can help each other mutually without having to abide by rules and regulations maintained through traditional not-for-profit or for profit business models. I thought I’d start a series discussing the book, almost like a book club of sorts, but focus specifically on how the ideas of the book can be applied to the music industry. If you’d like to follow along, you can pick up a copy through the affiliate link I’ll put towards the end of this post.
The first chunk of the book discusses what exactly mutual aid is. Spade describes it as the following, “mutual aid is collective coordination to meet each other’s needs, usually from an awareness that the systems we have in place are not going to meet them.” Before being introduced to this book, I had never heard of mutual aid. I figured the extent of social programs ended with not-for-profits. However the thing that sets mutual aid apart from these well known models is the underlying understanding that the current social and economic circumstances we live in, are flawed. Recognizing this, and addressing it, is what I believe can lead us to a better place for all. 
Before I discuss exactly how I think mutual aid can benefit musicians, in this first blog, I think it’s important to point out the applicable systemic issues we’re facing. As is the case in other industries, workers are necessarily paid only a fraction of the value they contribute. This is inherent in a system which prioritizes ownership of lucrative property rather than the individual value of labor. From Spotify to Record Labels to Jingle Writing, we see owners profiting greatly off of labor they do not do themselves. The saddest part of this is that the only way to engage in this kind of ownership is to acquire the wealth to purchase it in the first place. To make matters worse, these big owners often position themselves as the only avenue to get a shot at it, and even then, it’s no guarantee.
As the value of work and collective action is continuously undercut, the rickety rope bridge of opportunity for workers to become owners of their own labor is becoming more and more perilous. This is exceptionally troublesome in an industry like music, which often requires substantial investment of time and money in order to achieve success. This is a kind of flexibility that essentially gates off the arts to many with the financial circumstances who need to start as laborers first. Rather than an open environment of collaboration, which is the best place to foster artistry, we have been forced to compete with each other for the chance to cross that bridge. This is not the way across. 
Despite these systems being well practiced and seemingly immovable, I think there is hope in changing them. However, it all starts with the recognition that they are flawed in the first place. After that, all it takes is enough of us to start moving in a new direction, and I think we can, we’re a creative bunch, afterall.
Whenever we end up returning to this series, I’ll get more into applying mutual aid itself to music, finding solutions, and discussing ways we can help each other through the current climate. In the meantime, I highly recommend picking up the book and diving in yourself! You can pick it up through my affiliate link below: Thank you for reading, and happy jamming! I want to spend a little time this week expanding a topic I briefly mentioned in my last blog. In observing some recent programming from my local orchestra, I started contemplating where the issue of dwindling audiences for orchestras is coming from. It’s not bad programming or a lack of understanding about what the word concerto means. I believe the problem is a lot more widespread, and it encompasses more fields than just music. The following are just some thoughts I’ve been mulling over. If you have any ideas about solutions or other causes, I’m always happy to discuss and learn.  The rapid shift towards an “orchestra as a business” model has brought temporary relief to the industry, but does not complement the heart of an artistic medium. It’s true that it’s one of the few models that is allowed to succeed at the moment, but I can’t help but see how opposed it is to what music should be. Rather than centering around collaboration and community, the business model often focuses on how to convince a hard pressed consumer-base to pay them. There's no relationship, it's purely transactional. Art shouldn’t be only accessible to those of considerable means, it shouldn’t be callously guarded by a select few who can “understand it”, and it shouldn’t be beholden to the influences of any single perspective. Yes, different attempts at marketing and newer fresher programming can help significantly–simply compare the turnout numbers of a program of film music to one of the typical classical concerts. Programming that the audience relates to, by artists of today, is a huge plus. However, and it hurts my biased “I want my pieces to get played” composer heart to say this, these are only surface-level solutions to a deeper problem. The fundamental issue is that our current economic and political system runs contrary to the idea of allowing the average person time and money to enjoy the “luxury” of classical music. We are currently in an economic crisis, and making music in a system antithetical to our art form. We can’t expect people struggling to meet bills to shell out money for a ticket. Ergo why our main benefactors are solely the people who don’t.  You might be thinking that nothing can be done to solve this problem. There’s nothing orchestras can do, especially with their being beholden to the very people who often don’t see this system as a problem. However, I disagree. I think that the power to change the current model is in each of us as individual musicians. We can apply considerable political pressure if we work together, and it’s time we start fighting–if not for the sake of basic human rights, then for the selfish desire to give our audience the time and money they need to enjoy a concert in peace. I’m hoping to explore exact ways to do that in coming blogs: drafting messages you can simply copy and paste to representatives or read out over the phone, finding specific organizations working towards this end and showing how you can support them, and giving a run down on certain political positions that could help us in our goals. Imagine how much the arts would flourish if political policy changed from protecting the status quo to supporting the well-being of the average person? If the average music lover (basically everyone… on earth) had access to more disposable income? If they didn’t need to spend every second working? I would bet everything that concert halls would be filled. People would be out searching for things to do with their time, finally having a chance to enjoy the life we all deserve. Okay, okay, so in the meantime, before we fix this mess, what can be done? Well, that’s one of the main reasons I got the idea to write this  The PSO (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) has recently introduced a program in which they tried to take this problem on directly. The “Courage to Stand” program tried a different approach for selling tickets. They designated a night which opened up the entire hall to audiences. Prices were set at a low minimum and people could pay however much they wanted above that amount. A pay-what-you-can model. The result? The hall was no more filled than at any other classical concert, if not a little more empty. However, I left the concert considering it a success! Why?
I stopped looking at the number of people in attendance and started to look at who was in attendance. Almost everyone walking in the door had never stepped foot in the hall before. Many had never heard an orchestra live. A great majority of attendees were people who had never felt welcomed in a hall like this. Entire families from all different walks of life discovering this music for the first time. That’s why it was a success. It was reaching a group of people that venues like this have had their back on for a long time. The audience of the future. The one we should be focused on inviting more often. I think many orchestras would do well to follow this example. Thank you again for reading, please share any thoughts you may have, and as always, happy jamming!  As promised, this is the return of musician coop for 2024. If you’re new here, thanks for clicking and giving this a shot. If you’re returning, welcome back! I thought I’d start the year off with a little discussion on some of the posts coming up this year. This little break has definitely been a time of contemplation, and I’m returning with lots of ideas. (Bear with me!) One of the most significant developments has been my acquisition of a lovely book called, “Mutual Aid” by Dean Spade. In addition to a rhyming title and author name (I’m a sucker for a good rhyme), the book is full of really interesting and eye opening information about the systemic problems facing us, and what we can do about it directly without necessarily having to follow the “rules” set aside for helping people. That alone has been an interesting thought to me, even the way we can help each other is regulated–there’s places where it’s illegal to give people money on the street. What?!  Finding ways to help people with no strings attached has had me thinking of how this could be applied to the music world. Much like workers in any other industry at the moment, we’ve been conditioned to isolate ourselves and struggle in solitude. Are there ways we could support each other more directly as artists, rather than depending on occasional non-profit or wealthy patron handouts? The current system hates it when we re-examine what might be profitable or good business sense and prioritize the community as a whole instead. It despises collaboration for mutual benefit, and prizes competition above all else. I’d love to find ways to do exactly what they don’t want, successfully. If you do too, stick around! I believe the current problem with the arts is far deeper than just bad marketing or advertising, which is the usual explanation that I find people making. The problem is with the broader system we live in. This way of life we all currently participate in is antithetical to the needs of a flourishing artistic community. It is dominated by those fortunate enough to be born into positions of power and wealth, and kept that way by institutions that parade around and celebrate inclusivity while doing nothing to actually address the deeper systemic issues. People want to go see the orchestra, but they don’t have disposable income and they work three jobs so they don’t have the time or energy to get there. We’re offering beautiful art to people who have bigger fish to fry. Given the current political and economic climate, I’m honestly astonished to find that there’s an audience at all! It’s a testament to how much people value what we do, despite the challenges in doing so. So again, I don’t think it’s a marketing problem. It’s a political problem, and if we truly want the arts to flourish, it’s time for musicians to become a force for political change.  Photo by Zeynep Sümer on Unsplash This coming year, I’m going to use this blog as an excuse to research problems in our industry and share everything I discover. We’ll take a look at streaming royalties, working conditions and worker co-ops, musicians as a voting block, and many other concepts. I’m going to use these rambling rants as a way to brainstorm solutions out loud, and I want to encourage anyone reading to reach out with their own ideas. Let’s discuss a better future! It’s about time we saw change in the world for the betterment of all people’s lives. There’s a big, greasy, bloated veil between us and our audiences. It’s time to do the dirty work of weakening the veil instead of shouting through it.
2023 is coming to a close! With the end of the year around the corner, I want to make a short post reflecting on everything (maybe not literally) that has happened, and looking ahead towards the hopefully wonderful year to come.  I know I’m not the only one thinking that this past year has been quite difficult. It seems that leadership across all sectors, politics, and society has been failing over the last few years, if not much, much longer. The result is the same as it always is, with every day people bearing the brunt of the consequences, suffering, and experiencing terrible loss. All the while, those at fault line their pockets and accept comically oversized golden medallions. Those granted the privilege and responsibility of guiding us towards better times have sadly decided to turn their backs on our best interest in favor of their own. I can’t remember a day that’s gone by without feeling completely disgusted and dejected. Knowing that I’m far better off than most people facing hardship currently just makes the feeling even worse. In the face of all this, I’ve found strength in the response I’ve seen from my colleagues--rallying support for each other, discussing solutions, and working to tear parasites from their strongholds. I’ve seen beautiful art created out of a backdrop of horrible ugliness. In searching for the leadership I’ve been missing for so long from our presidents and CEOs, I’ve found it in my friends and colleagues who fill the gaps left open by incompetence. I see it in the teachers who strive to provide students with a remarkable education despite an often unworkable environment, and in activists who manage to push progress forward despite it being the opposite of what this ugly old machine was built for. For me, this coming year marks a turning point. Although I’ve been trying to do my part for the arts since the start of this blog, 2024 will mark the beginning of a new goal of mine to do everything in my power to help. I believe in the flourishing of an industry which is by and for the artists who make it. It exists right now inside the budding work of these inspiring colleagues of ours. I can’t wait to see it bloom.  Photo by Theodor Sykes on Unsplash If you’re reading this, first of all thank you, the fact that anyone reads these rambles is one of the biggest compliments I could ever receive. Second of all, I know you’re likely already on board with this initiative, in fact you might have already been fighting for a long time. I also want to thank you for that too. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming this new year with the promise of continuing our work. That bloom will be worth it. Thank you again for reading, and as always, happy jamming! See you next year.
This week’s blog was supposed to be about sharing some of the music from the first album I ever owned. An album that I credit for much of my later developments into music. However, as I started to do the research for the post, I realized that this post was growing into a much larger topic. Grab some tea/coffee and get ready for a geek to talk about some really obscure, but incredible music…
My first album was also the first CD that I owned personally. Not one that my parents owned and I borrowed, but one that I kept in my room and played constantly on my half broken radio/alarm/CD player. Nobody else wanted it, it was mine. I remember listening to the music as I fell asleep and imagined stories to suit the tunes–a habit I ended up stopping when I realized it prevented me from sleeping at all. As a budding cellist, there was nothing cooler than a cello ensemble, and this album is chock-full of that magic.
As I sat down to write this post, I pulled up my iTunes account and listened through the whole thing; a trip down memory lane. It was when I started searching for ways to link it to all of you when the depressing truth revealed itself. If you take a look at the link to the cover art above, you can see the issue that I ran into… This album is virtually nonexistent, left behind by the digital age. As a person now well accustomed to the wonderful internet privilege of having every bit of information and music at my fingertips, it was a jarring revelation to have nothing come up. A quick post about one of my favorite album's quickly turned into an extensive archival mission. Although the quality of many of the recordings I found are nowhere near that of the recordings available on the CD, I hope they can do some justice towards showcasing the beautiful eclectic mix that this CD provided me growing up. The following is a walkthrough of my first album, Portland Cello Project. Danza Del Fuego:
Starting off the album is an all cello arrangement of Manuel de Falla’s, “Danza ritual del fuego” from his ballet, El amor brujo. The performance on the CD is so expressive and deliberate. Snapping pizzicato, ritualistically mechanical bow strokes, and the clack of bows, immerse the listener into an inferno of sound. I can hear my love of over-the-top playing and con legno first emerging from this track. The recording above is not as good as the album, but the grittiness gets closer than most other performances I’ve found.
Power (Featuring Nick Jaina):
This track not only spurred me to create one of the first arrangements I would ever create, but also introduced me to one of my favorite artists, Nick Jaina. I hope to do a post featuring him at some point, so stay tuned. The recording I’ve linked above is the exact recording from the album, which is more than I can offer for most of the other tracks on this list. The cryptic lyrics, haunting voice, and lush, driving cello made me fall in love with this tune.
Robin Hood Changes His Oil:
Next on the docket is a track that is not only a blast to listen to but also to play! The echoing delay effect of staggering the parts was such a huge inspiration for me when I first listened to it. It was a technique I borrowed when I got the opportunity to write my own cello work, I cavalieri. I credit Gideon Freudmann (the composer of this beautiful work) with inspiring me to make my earliest attempts at cello ensemble music.
There are a bunch of recordings of this track available on YouTube since Portland Cello Project makes a bunch of the music available for purchase on their website (I’ll include more info about them below). Sadly, none of these recordings are the one from the album. However, it is interesting to see how different the interpretations of this one song are, including one where the ensemble starts shuffling their feet back and forth under their instruments… Gold (Featuring Weinland):
An interesting trend with this album that you might be picking up, is the sheer number of collaborations it features. I adore how all over the place it is, with a little bit of music for everyone. Personally, being the ever odder listener, I found something in every tune to enjoy.
“Gold”, features some of the most epic and soaring cello solos I had ever heard at the time. I remember whipping out my cello many times to play along, so satisfying! The light and folk-like sound of the voice also started to bring my attention towards a later love of folk music and bluegrass; yet another aspect of my musical identity that I credit to this album. Divertissements for Performing Bears (Featuring 3 Leg Torso):
After much searching, I was ready to give up on this one. However, my brother was able to locate a different recording of the piece. Although not as good as the recording on the album, this is definitely the piece. To give you a rough description, imagine a wild amalgamation of mixed meter, clapping, accordion, violin, and cello. The listener is transported into a bustling tavern filled to the brim with drinking customers cheering on a trio of bears absolutely shredding. Does that help? Probably not, but the imagery always puts a smile on my face.
For Misty (Featuring Heather Broderick):
After the energy and liveliness of the last track comes a solemn and simple tune which never fails to bring a tear to my eye. The repeating progression to me portrays a process of grieving, finding beauty in the loss through the memories left by someone who has passed on. The recording linked above struggles to do it justice, just because of the sheer amount of audience noise in the background. However, I will say that to hear a restless crowd brought into silence and awe can speak volumes to the power of the work.
Livin’ On the Side of the Why? (Featuring Hurtbird):
This might have been one of the most “out there” tracks on the album… An environmentalist rap over cello choir and snare drum—you had to be there, but I promise it was good.
Hands in Pockets (Featuring Laura Gibson):
The folk sound returns with this beautifully intimate song by Laura Gibson. It follows a character letting their love know that they’ll stick with them through the coldest and most uncertain of seasons. A warm and shimmering cello arrangement embraces the tune in a cozy hug as steady pizzicato adds a certain affectionate bumbling to top off an adorable love song.
Toxic (Featuring John Brophy):
Yes, it’s the Toxic that you know… with bass drum and cello choir added. I warned you, this is an eclectic bunch. I wonder if Britney Spears ever thought her music would end up on a cello ensemble album. This is the sole recording I could find. The live performance elements are rather funny to watch, but I find it pales in comparison to the original, especially with the missing electric cello solo. : (
Under Glass (Featuring Musee Mecanique):
"Under Glass" is beautiful, an airy folk sound with glorious countermelodies in the cello. The story follows a regretful lover wishing they could take back something they said.
Stay (Featuring Anna Fritz):
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AuthorSean Penzo is a composer, cellist, and writer currently based in Pittsburgh, PA Archives
March 2025
CategoriesHeader photo by Peter Kleinau on Unsplash
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