Brandon Nelson

IMAGO DEI

Who Do You Think You Are?

February 27, 2012

Here’s how my income sources broke down last year:

The Day Gig: 57%
Composing (commissions, sales): 18%
Conducting: 23%
Performance: 2%

My “day gig” was working part time at a preschool. It was fun, interesting work and I even occasionally got to use some of my music training, but it hardly qualified as a “music job.”

So did I self-identify as a preschool classroom aide or as a musician?

Read the rest (and much more) in my book Writing and Living in the Real World: Advice for Young Composers

Posted in Philosophy

3 responses to “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Anita

September 7, 2013

Admirable philosophy and very articulate article. I just shared it on my FB page where artists and musicians hang out because I thought it said something we need to hear.

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1. bnelsonmusic
  
  September 7, 2013
  
  It does help to put things into perspective sometimes. Music careers are as individual as we are.
  
  Thanks for sharing!
  
  Reply
Dana Everson

November 12, 2019

Brandon: When I went off to college to prepare for a music degree, I was urged by my dad to go into music education. I wanted to compose, arrange, orchestrate… but he said I could get “a job” in teaching. He was right, of course, and that’s how I invested 43 years: Teaching music, conducting school ensembles, accompanying, teaching private lessons. I had almost no time to take courses like Orchestration, Choral Arranging, Instrumental Arranging, Advanced Counterpoint, Advanced Composition….HOWEVER…..spending a lot of time learning to teach woodwinds, brass, and strings. It was enlightening…I composed and arranged in my spare time. Now I would like to get into the learning/growing mode again. Listening, imitating, and finding the best books on these topics. I’m looking for suggestions, bibliographies, and connections with other composers and would-be-composers. I hope to be able to chat with you soon. Thank you.

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