If there is any way to jump back into the music scene at Kenyon after Thanksgiving break, it’s sharing an afternoon with artists just like you. On Monday, composer, singer and performer Andrea Daly ’06 made her way back to the Hill for part two of the Department of Music’s Conversations in Music & the Arts series. This time, however, Daly brought reinforcements to showcase differing perspectives and answer students’ questions.
As audience members sat down in Brandi Recital Hall with copies of the panelists’ biographies, Daly taped a rolled-up poster to the wall beside the panelists’ table (more on that later). She then began promptly by introducing each of the panelists: Annemarie Rosano, a New York City-based artist who notably performed on the CATS National Tour; Justin Goldner, a musician who has worked on pieces with dozens of popular artists like Cynthia Erivo and Lin-Manuel Miranda; and Michael “whatever mike” Blume (who joined over Google Meet), a Los Angeles-based singer with a deep connection to spirituality and mysticism.
Daly first asked the three artists about their lives after college, mirroring her October panel’s approach. “I feel like I stepped on a lot of different stones along the way,” Rosano answered brightly. “I’ve done all kinds of interesting things that have kind of just popped up; I’ve kind of made it a habit to just say yes to any opportunity that came along.” Students sitting at the front row of the audience nodded along as Goldner and Blume echoed the same passionate sentiment. “When we first start [careers in music], there’s an excitement to the novelty. There’s certain things that fizzle and then change and evolve,” Blume added. Many of Goldner’s answers leaned toward unbridled curiosity and an eagerness to learn in his career, while Rosano reflected on her experience holding a part-time office job while touring with CATS and on a Royal Caribbean cruise for Hairspray.
One of the panelists’ most important suggestions arose from a discussion of all of the “lily pads” that the musicians had moved across during their lives: “If there was anything that I learned from learning music, it was how to learn things. … Just acquiring skills is a transferable skill in and of itself,” Goldner shared. “At a certain point, it’s like, ‘Well, okay, I don’t really know how to do this, but I’m going to spend some time figuring it out.’”
Of course, while it was lovely to hear about the benefits of gratitude and days off as a struggling performer in the entertainment industry, what students really wanted to learn about were the practical hurdles that the panelists faced. “One of the biggest logistical challenges that I’ve always faced is how to make something out of nothing, because the resources are often so scarce,” Daly noted. Rosano told a story about how she’d once made ends meet by dancing at bar mitzvahs, while Blume recalled tutoring students for the SAT while living in New York City. Overall, financial problems seem to lord over the lives of the invited artists, echoing some of Daly’s conclusions during her own talk.
Still, Daly was determined to encourage every audience member to follow their passion. Remember that rolled-up poster? As Blume discussed the importance of finding community in the industry, Rosano and Goldner assisted Daly in unfolding a large poster that Daly affectionately titled “Andrea’s Non-Comprehensive Wheel of Music-Related Arts Jobs.” Audience members craned their heads to try and read the job titles on the tiny slips of paper arranged in concentric circles. After getting the go-ahead from Daly, excited students sat in front of the poster and looked closer. In the smallest and most central circle were “Generative Roles” like composer, lyricist and songwriter. As the circle expanded outward, students read from dozens of other positions in categories listed as “Collaborative Roles” and “Supportive and/or Monetizing Roles.” In each of the four corners lay more comprehensive groups like “Pop Music,” “Classical Music,” “Education” and “Theater.” Daly assigned each panelist a color of confetti that she’d brought and encouraged the musicians to put the slips of paper next to each job they’d ever done, highlighting the panelists’ impressive sets of skills. “We know there are performers,” Daly explained as Rosano and Goldner taped confetti in a dozen different places. “We know there are composers. But there are just so many roles that you could possibly have. … I want you to have a sense of the scope of different possible directions that you can go. I don’t want you to think that only one thing is where you can be.”
Daly’s panel not only allowed audience members to hear from real performers and self-starters in the industry, but provided students with a sense of excitement for their futures. After hearing from a handful of prolific artists, students can continue to work toward fulfilling careers in the music industry.