Sometimes we don’t find what we are best suited to do until it finds us. Sometimes we struggle toward one goal only to discover that we succeed at another, related, and possibly more fulfilling endeavor. Along the artistic journey, it is nice to look at other artist’s lives and the choices and opportunities that led them to success. They usually found it in a place they might never have predicted.
Let me tell you about Gino Francesconi. He started out by working as an usher at Carnegie Hall, biding time until he could pursue a conducting career. He eventually apprenticed himself to a maestro, but interrupted his studies when another, better job came up at Carnegie Hall. In celebration of the grand hall’s centennial, he was asked to assemble an exhibit about its history. The job entailed collecting and curating a hundred years worth of programs, posters, photos, and ephemera that tell the story of the institution. Francesconi became the first archivist and museum director of Carnegie Hall, and his efforts have meant that one of the most important venues in the world keeps a good record of its history and shares its riches. Thanks to Francesconi, treasures from Carnegie’s history are now displayed to concertgoers today, including gems like Benny Goodman’s clarinet and Toscanini’s batons.
Days spent with acid-free paper and Dewey decimal archiving are a far cry from a conducting career, but Francesconi feels he made the best choice. A few years into the job, wondering if he should give a performing life a second try, he asked his teacher about it. “How many people have conducted at Carnegie Hall?” His teacher asked. Francesconi guessed up to 4,000 or 5,000. “And how many people have put together the archives?” Francesconi chose to be unique in one field instead of anonymous in another. You could say that he put down his baton but picked up Toscanini’s.
Now let me introduce you to Ludwig Bemelmans. Does that name sound familiar? Probably not. How about the name Madeline? Or maybe the first line of a book: “In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines”? The Austrian-born American children’s book author and illustrator struggled at first to build a career as a painter—until fatherhood gave him the inspiration to create his beloved Madeline books.
It truly worked out for the best. While Bemelman’s artwork is charming by the standards of children’s book illustrations, it probably would not have earned him a place among the great painters of history. Instead of laboring in obscurity, Bemelmans found immortality as an author and illustrator that he would likely never have achieved as a painter. His renown for the Madeline books also furthered his writing career, and he was commissioned to illustrate numerous covers for the New Yorker and other magazines, and even was invited to paint murals at New York’s Carlyle Hotel.
Or think about Arthur Sullivan, as in Gilbert and Sullivan. It is a little known fact that he wrote plenty of concert music, oratorios, and opera and longed to be considered a serious composer, beyond his reputation for patter songs and memorable melodies. But the voracious public and his profiteering producers were crazy for his clever collaborations with Gilbert. Sullivan might not have found the acceptance he had imagined in the concert hall, but he enjoyed a successful career as a wildly popular composer. His inimitable style eventually served as the touchstone for all the comic opera and musical theatre styles that followed, and still has a cult following today.
You don’t even have to look to far back into history to find creative artists forging new paths. Take Claire Chase, for example. After studying flute at Oberlin, Chase could have led the typical life of a talented instrumentalist, freelancing, working odd jobs, and hoping to eventually land an orchestra gig. Instead, with $603 in tips from her career moonlighting as a caterer, in 2001 she founded the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), an artist-led company committed to the music of today. Under her leadership, ICE has expanded from a flexible chamber ensemble known for electrifying concerts to an incubator for innovative ideas about composition, collaboration, music education, and audience engagement.
Chase never hung up her instrument to step into the role of an administrator. She maintains a busy schedule with ICE, performs as a guest soloist with other ensembles, and released her second solo album last year. She has also contributed to the field by commissioning and premiering hundreds of new solo and chamber works for flute. Along the way, she won first prize at the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, and in 2012, she was recognized with a coveted MacArthur “Genius” award. Instead of pursuing a career on her own, Chase surrounded herself with great colleagues to make music on their own terms—and the musical world took notice.
These are just some examples of creative artists finding their way through persistence and ingenuity. It is interesting to note that in each case, the artist does not painstakingly plan, but works his or her way toward an unexpected version of success. If you ever wonder where you are headed on your path, these experiences offer promising lessons. Keep on doing the best, most creative work you can, and your strengths will lead you to where you are meant to be.
