Fueling My Creative Desire: Concert Programming

One of my favorite things that I love to do as a musician is to develop recital programs. Chamber music friends and partners that have worked with me know that I have a tendency to plan for future repertoire even before we have even performed our current program! But to me, there is something inherently fun about this.

In a way, curating concert programs is very similar to how prix-fixe menus are designed in a restaurant. Consumers are relying on the executive chef's knowledge and expertise to construct a balanced and appealing menu for hungry diners. Understandably, we focus on how the food tastes and looks (especially for those Instagram photos!), but often times, menu creation tends to be overshadowed when recognizing a chef's greatness. But, I believe that this thoughtful and time-consuming activity is truly a creative process.

One of the major differences (and challenges) between concert programs and prix-fixe menus is that music cannot be served à la carte, so this is where we, as musicians, need to figure out through our programming how to attract audiences to come hear us play. To learn more about my specific thoughts on what we can do, please subscribe here for monthly email updates and to receive an exclusive blog post on innovative recital programming.

This summer, I spent quite a bit of time planning for the next few years on what repertoire I would like to learn and perform. It was exciting because many of these pieces have been on my "bucket list." But the process was also challenging because I wanted the program to "say" something––whether it was an overarching message or for audiences to enjoy a certain experience pertaining to the music. In any case, I want people to be able to relate to my performances and classical music in general. That's my goal. If you are interested, check out my new projects: Odyssey of Dissent, Bon Voyage, and Celestial Visions. I hope you enjoy them! In the coming weeks, I will talk more about each program, but for now, I just wanted to share what I have been up to lately.

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