CLICKCOACH, An Online Nonprofit Artist Support System and Collective of Videos From Industry Pros, Set to Launch

CLICKCOACH - a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created and operated for the relief of classical, jazz, and musical theater artists in financial need worldwide - launches Friday, January 15, 2021. Founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by French-American conductor Christopher Ocasek, the online resource gives professional musical artists a platform to upload videos and generate revenue while also providing colleagues, young artists, students, and music lovers worldwide direct access to professional advice and opinions, demonstrations, and distilled discussions organized by work and topic from top classical, jazz, and musical theater musicians - all to support artists.

The initial launch features community-driven artists including mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton, Briana Hunter, and Sasha Cooke; conductors James Gaffigan, Bill Eddins, Viswa Subbaraman, Amy Acklin, and Daniela Candillari; sopranos Lise Lindstrom, Leah Crocetto, Amanda Majeski, Janai Brugger, Sheri Greenawald, Irini Kyriakidou, Elena Tsallagova, and Indra Thomas; baritone Christopher Maltman; violinist Myroslava Khomik; horn player Claire Hellweg; stage directors E. Loren Meeker, Susan Stone Li, Corinne Hayes, Maria Todaro, Sara E. Widzer, and Matthew Ozawa; coach-conductors Martin Katz, Dan K. Kurland, Anthony Manoli, Alden Gatt, and Warren Jones; flutist Sarah Ouakrat; composers Jake Heggie, Christopher Theofanidis, and Ellen Taaffe-Zwilich; educator Rebecca Shorstein; tenors Nicholas Phan, Arturo Chacón-Cruz, Andres Acosta, and James Kryshak; diction coaches Nils Neubert and Hemdi Kfir; jazz bassist Barry Stephenson; jazz trumpeter Alphonso Horne; jazz pianist Dave Linard; international musicologists Jean-Pascal Vachon and James Helgeson; and dramaturg Gretl Satorius among others. With its hosting partner Uscreen, CLICKCOACH provides a space for artists to create revenue, support other artists financially, and both share and access vital educational and informational resources.

Conductor and founder of CLICKCOACH, Christopher Ocasek says, "It's part of our fabric to hold each other up both on and off the stage. I forged CLICKCOACH to give us - the artists - a chance to be part of a community again, to support each other as we do when we're face-to-face, and to help struggling artists through an unprecedented period of instability. With CLICKCOACH my hope is to create a trusted space to help each other not only financially, but also through sharing great information that's never been brought together like this."

CLICKCOACH is a resource for professional artists to upload 10-15 minute musical discussions in video form to share their unique perspectives and real-world experience with musical advice, tips and tricks, and demonstrations on topics such as repertoire, musicology, technique and warm-ups, music history and composition, educational outreach, audition advice, mindful practice, improvisation, and much more. Artists also create bundles of videos that allow users to delve fully into a work or area of study. By bringing together professional artists to create a community collective of accessible musical discussions, CLICKCOACH is looking to the future of musical research and educational tools.

The videos are offered at an accessible price point of $1.99 plus fees per video with no subscription obligation and artists can choose to either receive nearly 75% of the video revenue for themselves as a much-needed income stream or to forward 100% of video revenue to support other artists and to make CLICKCOACH possible. The organization allocates 1% of all video sales towards low-income, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and underprivileged groups as well as funding other nonprofit organizations working to support artists.

Renowned mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton says "CLICKCOACH is an amazing artist resource for an amazing cause that everyone needs to check out. I'm thrilled to be a part of this nonprofit project. Go! Support artists by donating, uploading, or watching!"

James Gaffigan, international conductor shares, "As a young musician I craved access to great musicians - I wanted to know their process, how they thought - but of course, getting access to busy and successful artists wasn't easy. CLICKCOACH opens a world of possibilities to many: One can now gain access to the workings and insight of musicians worldwide on a personal and intimate level. The potential of CLICKCOACH into the future is limitless."

E. Loren Meeker, General and Artistic Director of OPERA San Antonio and independent stage director shares, "CLICKCOACH is an amazing resource that brings together the best minds in the music world in one, easy-to-use platform. As a young artist, I wished for something as comprehensive and accessible as CLICKCOACH. Now artists can learn together, support each other, and build towards a bright future!"