When I fill out a form and have to check a box to describe my employment, I always check “full-time,” since this most closely reflects my job situation. But if I needed to be more precise, I would have to say that I work multiple part-time jobs in addition to being self-employed. In other words, I am a freelance singer and voice teacher.
My father would have preferred that I get a broad-based liberal arts education, or major in something like English or philosophy. He was a talented amateur musician—but he felt that music was something best pursued as a hobby rather than a vocation. I am sure he also worried about my ability to make a living, and about the chance that I would miss out on other academic pursuits if I focused on music.
Eleven years after starting college, I began making a living completely from my art. It hasn’t been easy, but I feel it has been worthwhile.
I have always loved music. I was exposed to a lot of classical music from a young age, but I didn’t consider it as a career until I was almost out of high school. I had enjoyed taking dance (but was not very good at it), and loved drama (for which I showed some talent)—but when I moved into voice lessons, I fell in love with singing.
When I decided to audition for the North Carolina School of the Arts, I was still telling myself that maybe, after a while, I would transfer and do something “serious.” My voice teacher said, “Oh, you’ll get in—probably will graduate in three years.”
She was right on both counts. And for anyone who thinks an arts education is all fun and games—that you sing and dance all day like the characters in Fame—I can tell you that I worked harder during those three years, and during my subsequent graduate schooling, than I ever worked in my life. In high school, I had a mixed record. I got high grades in the subjects I enjoyed and had some natural talent for—but I didn’t do as well in the classes (such as algebra) that were more of an effort. I was really more interested in having fun.
In college, I knew that music theory, like math, was not my strong point—but I worked hard at it because, unlike math, I could see that it was important to my development as a musician. I learned to sing opera and interpret songs. I suspect I wouldn’t have worked so hard if I had halfheartedly majored in something I did not enjoy so much.
After a few months at NCSA, I was hooked. There was no chance I would transfer out and do something “serious.” I was working hard, but it was because I was willing to work for something I loved.
After my graduate studies at the New England Conservatory, I was not in a financial position to travel to various auditions for opera apprenticeship programs, which would have been the next step in my opera training. I also felt that with my student-loan debt, I could not live on the pittance those jobs paid. I had become a bit disillusioned with the idea that I could actually make a living from music, since I saw that many of my colleagues enjoyed the advantage of being bankrolled by wealthy families.
I moved back to my home state of North Carolina and took a full-time administrative position while continuing to work as a performing and teaching musician on the side. I taught beginning singing classes at the local arts center, had private students, and was a soloist in church services and oratorios at Duke University Chapel and with the Durham Savoyards, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta company. I wasn’t really happy about not being able to spend as much time on the career I loved, but I had it ingrained in my head that it was just too hard to make a living at music, and that freelancing without a steady job was too risky.
In the summer of 1995, I was contemplating a move to Indianapolis to be with the man I would later marry—and I found that this large Midwestern city offered more opportunities in the arts. I decided right then that I would not take another full-time desk job, but search for teaching and performing opportunities and look for a part-time “day job.”
Before long, I had secured a studio teaching position for one afternoon a week, a job singing in a church, and a part-time administrative job in the mornings that left the afternoons and evenings free for music.
I was lucky that my morning job allowed me to further some important skills. I was one of two paid employees of a statewide organization of real estate appraisers. Later, due to cutbacks, I became the sole employee, responsible to the officers and board. My duties included computerized bookkeeping, which I use now to track my income from all my various sources. I also got experience managing the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit organization, which is always helpful for someone in the arts.
Eventually, my teaching and performing schedule became so full that I was able to leave my morning job and concentrate solely on music. I was worried about the money, but ironically, I am making more than I would have as a full-time administrative assistant or comparable position. It is no picnic, though, because no part of my income is guaranteed. In the summer, I teach fewer students, which means less income. During the school year, I often work seven days a week, though not all day on each day. I get no sick or vacation pay, and my health insurance is through my husband’s employer. Barring any catastrophes, I am financially sound and independent.
My schedule now looks something like this. During the school year, I teach 25-30 hours a week at a combination of three different locations. I am a part-time member of the music faculty at Earlham College and teach voice as part of the music magnet curriculum at a local high school. Several evenings a week I also teach in a private studio. I have a wide range of students, from beginning to advanced, and children to adults. I enjoy the diversity, because I get to think on my feet and can tailor my approach to the needs of the student.
I am the cantor at a large downtown Catholic church, where I usually sing three masses per week, on Saturday evenings and Sundays. Frequently, I also sing at a synagogue for Shabbat services and bar/bat mitzvahs on Fridays and Saturdays.
I perform frequently with the Indianapolis Opera Chorus, and cover and perform roles for the Indianapolis Opera Ensemble, the touring company that does school performances. My other performing includes singing at weddings, and oratorio gigs at various churches. I was recently a soprano soloist in Bach and Handel choral works with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra. From these musical odd jobs, I am able to patch together a career that I hope will continue to grow.
All this means that on many days I work a second shift schedule—and I’m almost never home at a normal dinner hour. Some Saturdays during the summer, I go straight from a bar/bat mitzvah to a wedding, then to a church service in the evening. In any type of freelancing, one has to take the opportunities when they arise. I do arrange for a Saturday off occasionally, so I can take day trips with my family.
I am glad to be making a living from music and wouldn’t trade it for a 9-to-5 desk job, even though I would like the more regular hours. I am never completely satisfied, of course, because I always want more. More from myself as a teacher, as I encourage my students to develop their voices to their fullest potential and expose them to challenging works they may not be exposed to in any other way. More interesting and visible performing opportunities, for which purpose I continue to take voice lessons, driving for an hour to Bloomington, Ind. More recognition within the community as a professional with something to offer, in a climate where classical music is unappreciated by many, where if you tell someone you are a musician, they assume that you are piddling around for a few hours a week and being supported by someone else’s money.
The thing I like best about being a performing and teaching musician is getting to share what I love with others. I don’t believe the arts are a frill in our society—they are a necessity. Everyone needs a form of self-expression, regardless of whether they make it a profession. It is satisfying to watch the shy students come out of their shells, to hear their parents talk about how singing has improved their confidence. I enjoy those moments when one of my students has finally hit that note they kept saying was impossible even when I knew they could do it. When a stranger compliments me after a performance, I feel glad that something I did touched that person in some way.
Free-lancing in music is a mixed blessing, and sometimes I wish I had other talents more suitable for financial gain or regular hours. I sometimes complain jokingly that I would do something else, only there is nothing else I am good at. Closer to the truth, I think, is that I am only willing to put forth this much effort for something I enjoy.
