CMA Offers Free Monthly Professional-Development Series for Musicians, Presenters

Chamber Music America (CMA), in partnership with St. Peter's Jazz Ministry and the Midtown Arts Commons, announces the start of its eighth annual First Tuesdays series, free professional-development seminars for musicians and presenters that focus on a wide range of practical issues.

Seminars take place on the first Tuesday of the month, from 3:00-5:00 p.m., beginning in October at St. Peter's Church at 609 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street in New York City. Seating is limited. Reservations required; first-come, first-served. Contact Caitlin Murphy, Program Assistant, cmurphy@chamber-music.org <http://68.167.87.146/exchange/MLioi/Inbox/combo%20PJ%20RFP.EML/PR%2011FAJE-PJ%20rpf.draft1.doc/C58EA28C-18C0-4a97-9AF2-036E93DDAFB3/cmurphy@chamber-music.org> , (212) 242-2022, x16.

2010 Schedule

October 5
Talking Business: A Conversation with Mariah Wilkins and Luis Bonilla
Learn how to take the initiative in managing your career--whether you are seeking out your first manager, looking for a change of management, or have decided to do it yourself. In this session, an artist and manager team up to discuss tips, concerns, misconceptions, and possibilities.

Luis Bonilla <http://www.trombonilla.com/> is a Grammy Award-winning jazz trombonist, composer, and a professor in the Jazz Arts division at the Manhattan School of Music. Mariah Wilkins <http://www.mariahwilkins.com/> is the founder of Mariah Wilkins Artist Management, LLC. She represents Luis Bonilla, as well as such artists as Ambrose Akinmusire, Miguel Zenón, Fly, Perdomo, and Guillermo Klein. Wilkins teaches the History of Jazz at the Manhattan School of Music.

November 2
You Are the Art, You Are the Product: Making Your Music Available to the World

Alex Shapiro leads a broad discussion of the business, digital, and psychological tools a composer needs in order to create a viable, income-producing career. Topics will include promoting what you offer, rejecting the notion of competition, creating a compelling Web presence, copyright and publishing basics, and getting others to perform your music.
Composer Alex Shapiro <http://www.alexshapiro.org/> 's acoustic and electro-acoustic works-published by her company, Activist Music-are performed and broadcast internationally and have been recorded on more than twenty commercially released CDs. Shapiro serves on the board of directors of the American Music Center and The MacDowell Colony.

December 7
History is Your Own Heartbeat: An Overview for Archiving Your Work
How do you go about documenting your own history as an artist? As an active musician, why should you bother? How has the revolution in technology impacted the cataloging and organization of personal records and changed the nature of access, rights, and intellectual property? Join ReuBen Jackson as he entertains your questions, and discusses the art of organizing and preserving your materials.

ReuBen Jackson <http://www.coffeehousetv.org/tchhosts.html#reuben> , writer, poet, and music archivist, was the Associate Curator and Archivist with the Smithsonian Institution's Duke Ellington Collection from 1989 through 2009. There he also collected and processed collections donated by the estates of Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman, Ralph Burns, as well as materials from the Apollo Theater and Ramsey Lewis.

Upcoming in 2011

February 1
Mission, Money and Models: When to Lead and When to Follow in Changing Times
With Adrian Ellis, Executive Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center

March 1
Meet the Music Press
With Nate Chinen and Steve Smith

April 5
Writing Workshop: Crafting Your Bio
With Elizabeth Dworkin and Susan Thames, Dworkin and Associates

May 3
Teaching Artistry: Involving Audiences in Your Creative Process
With Eli Yamin, jazz pianist and teaching artist

June 7
Mapping Professional Development: A Bird's Eye-View of Group Management
With Howard Robinson, D.S.W., Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work, Fordham University

First Tuesdays is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

The Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter's Church <http://www.saintpeters.org/jazz/index.html> is a home for diverse individuals and communities that celebrate the dignity and vitality of jazz, provides vibrant worship and pastoral care, and, through intersecting partnerships, offers jazz programs, education and services.

Chamber Music America <http://www.chamber-music.org/> , the national service organization for the ensemble music profession, was founded in 1977 to develop and strengthen an evolving chamber music community. With a membership of over 6,000, including musicians, ensembles, presenters, artists' managers, educators, music businesses, and advocates of ensemble music, CMA welcomes members representing a wide range of musical styles and traditions. In addition to its funding programs, CMA provides its members with consulting services, access to health and instrument insurance, conferences, seminars and several publications, including Chamber Music magazine.