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Hello everyone

If someone is looking to play in Michigan, what places do you suggest to look for a recital? Is it easy to go do different cities in the same state through bus system?

Thanks

There is no official bus system in Michigan, although services like Greyhound and MegaBus may be available. There's also an Amtrak line.

The major cities include Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit (and surrounding communities), Flint, and Traverse City (which is known more as a summer resort location.)

One nice venue in Ann Arbor is the Kerrytown Concert House:

http://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com

It's used by a variety of different groups, and individuals can rent the space to promote their own concerts. There are also a lot of universities and colleges in the state who may be interested in hosting guest artists (you would need to contact the piano departments directly.) Be aware that they typically do not offer much in the way of compensation and usually book guest artists 6-18 months in advance.

Hi,

Foreign visitors to the United States are often amazed to discover this, but ground-based public transportation barely exists in much of the country. Americans are accustomed to driving or being driven where they need to go.

Michigan is one of the states with extremely limited public transportation.

Sorry!

I'm wondering, based on a question that the OP raised in an earlier thread, if this is an indirect request about how a foreign student might earn some money to cover living expenses while studying in the United States.

As Kreisler hints, if one is not a known entity in the music world, one may have to rent a performance space in which to perform; the rental fee would be required in order to at least cover the cost of heat and electricity for the performance. Neither the performer nor the audience would want to perform/listen in a cold hall and, in the winter in Michigan, it may take a good deal of heat to warm up a space for a concert recital.

It may also mean that the performer might have to bear the cost of his own advertising, because an unadvertised performance might not draw much of a crowd. These costs, added to those of accommodation and meals, might well exceed what returns one might get for ticket sales, given that admission would have to be low-cost, if not free.

Regards,

I'm in Michigan now going to university. If my classmates (graduate students) want to give a recital outside of school, it is often done at a local church. I don't remember any of them charging for admission to their recital, and recital attendance is limited to other classmates, friends, and church members if they play regularly in a church.

You mean they offer ANY?
I'm serious. I would have thought it's usually just that you're lucky if you yourself don't have to pick up the hall's expenses.

It didn't occur to me that the question might have been anything about trying to make money, because (I think) hardly anyone does.

I suggested that only because the OP had raised this question as a serious concern in an earlier thread. He's planning on studying music in the U.S., he said that he needs to earn money to help cover his living expenses and, as a foreign student, he is severely limited in what he legally can do to earn money. This question seemed a logical sequitur to his previous one. However, I am only surmising, and I may be totally off base - or is that off bass?

Regards,

It just depends on the department's budget. Most recitals I've played at academic institutions were for free, but a couple of them provided an honorarium. (I've gotten anywhere from $250-750, and it tends to depend more on the department's budget than how good and famous you are.) A lot of guest artist recitals at universities are exchanges - it's a way for faculty to network, recruit students, and beef up their resumes for review/tenure.

If our OP is looking to perform recitals as a means of finding income, he will likely be disappointed in the prospects. (You could make more accompanying a bad childrens' choir at a big church.) But if our OP is looking to gain experience and exposure, then it might be worth his time.

A ton easier than giving recitals, too!

Hey guys

Really thanks for your help. What I am really looking for is to play every place I can get to get more experience and exposure. In my country ( Portugal) I played for free or really small budgets. Now with the financial crisis they just don't accept any recital propose. Do you think I can get more performance opportunities in your country?

If you're good, easy to work with, and spend some time making the right connections, then yes, but it takes a while to get established.

And it can be a lot more fun!

For money, if you could find a church or voice studio to accompany for, that would be a great opportunity. Also, with a church, often if you are working there, they will provide facility rentals for free or at a discounted rate, so you can use their space to put on your own recitals.

Most smaller churches across the US and Canada would be delighted to have you play a free recital, if you can figure out a way to get there. Chances are good someone might even house you for a night, and feed you, and drive you to and from a bus station.

There probably won't be more than 5-10 people at the recital, chances are the piano is lousy, and you might have to provide your own printed program, but you will indeed be performing, gaining experience, and sharing music. Could lead to other things, too.

If you network among Portuguese communities in N. America, things might be easier.