Securing lots of dates is not easy, but the more you have, the more likely you are to increase your income.
While there are certainly fewer opportunities for concert pianists and classical musicians in general than there once was, there are still lots out there. You just need to look in the right places. Countries, states, provinces, cities and towns all have Arts Councils that usually have funding and support for classical music.
There are opportunities to secure funding to bring high-level music to small towns around the world. There are lots of gigs that can pay a good guarantee. You just need to be able to find them and get booked. When you start playing a lot or getting offers to play for more substantial amounts of money, it may be time to hire an agent.
Agents are the middle men between promoters people booking shows and the artist. They will play a key role in your team. A rare few make it further than this and can pull in the kind of money that celebrated musicians across genres make. There are many opportunities available to concert pianists.
Here are a few potential gigs and what they pay. Solo recitals are solo piano performances and many pianists dream of playing these types of gigs full time. Solo recitals are high-pressure and high reward.
The spotlight is all on you, for better or worse. But this will depend on how many tickets are sold. The more tickets you can sell, the more money you will make. If you get paid directly from the tickets, the more you sell, the more you make. If you are getting a guarantee, the same rule applies; the more tickets you are expected to sell, the more the promoter will pay.
Chamber music is performed by a group of musicians — usually two to eight. These groups consistently rehearse, play and curate shows. There is potential for negotiating depending on how many tickets the group can sell and how many performances the group will be playing. Then, individuals are paid out of the lump sum. Concerto engagements involve performing a to minute piece with an orchestra.
These are usually invite-only performances. Smaller orchestras and local groups may pay a few hundred dollars per performance. Concert pianists commonly compete in piano competitions.
These competitions offer large performance prizes and cash prizes to the winners. Corporate performances are usually booked through an agent, so if you do not have representation, you may not have access to these opportunities.
These gigs will pay thousands of dollars. Playing for churches is a common way for professional pianists to earn an income. The money is regular, and there is the potential for work outside of regular Sunday services. There are many types of church gigs available, and pay scale varies. Here are a few types of church gigs and what they pay. These numbers were taken from the American Guild of Organists. Pianists and organists often end up directing the church choir in addition to accompanying them.
In large, wealthy churches, you may be paid by the hour, but in most cases you will be paid per rehearsal. Typically, you will only be required to perform standard hymns at the beginning and the end of the funeral. You may be asked to accompany a singer as well. Hymns and piano music are an integral part of many weddings. Pay at churches can vary widely. The above numbers are probably high for some churches and low for others. Many pianists practice their faith by volunteer their time.
These are pianists playing as hired musicians, pit band musicians, background musicians and so on. And the truth is, even getting to the 20k mark is hard. I play about 60 of these shows every year. The rest comes from other gigs and freelance side hustles. As with concert and church pianists, there are many types of gigs available for the working pianist.
And, sometimes thinking outside the box can help you tap into opportunities others struggle to find. There are a lot of things that determine that amount. Factors such as the popularity of the pianist, ticket sales, size of the venue and their overall budget.
The length of the recital also factors into this cost as well. Generally, solo recitals are a great place to start, but concert pianists seeking more income will want to move into chamber and concerto engagements instead. I consider chamber music recitals to be between 2 to 4 musicians. For pianists, this consists of a violin, oboe, cello, bass, or even a combination of brass instruments as well.
Duo piano is also a very popular form of collaborative music; check out Anderson and Roe here for example. Chamber ensembles work well for concert pianists because as a whole, the entire group can demand more pay.
This ensures every musician in the group can get a substantial payment for their work. How the funds are divided up depends largely on the leader of the ensemble, contractual agreements and other factors. Chamber recitals are generally more popular than solo piano recitals.
The group is able to draw a much larger audience as well because each group member presents a unique skill set. Also, each group member can use their connections to spread the word about the performance through their professional contacts, which helps drive more revenue through ticket sales. More and more concert pianists are moving towards the concerto engagements.
This is because these performances pay enormous amounts of money for the time required. The time requirement on stage is also quite minimal, often with 25 to minute pieces being performed with the group. Compare that to a minute solo recital where much more is demanded of the pianist.
Simply finding an orchestra is difficult though, and these performances are often on an invite-only basis. There are many opportunities to play with local orchestras and even community bands that will provide excellent accompaniment for pianists. While the pay may not be nearly the same working with a smaller group, the audience exposure and marketing potential are very much there. A neat avenue for concert pianists to make money is through Broadway musicals.
You might be surprised how many local broadway style productions are happening in your area. These small theater productions are always looking for fill-in musicians to perform shows. Usually, the shows are contracted on a pay per play basis. Bigger groups that go on tour will pay significantly more money.
Much larger productions will pay double that. Most concert pianists compete in piano competitions. Most competitions offer performance prizes and cash prizes to the winners. In addition to the cash prizes, piano competitions also offer exclusive recording contracts and free management for 3 to 5 years.
The value of these contracts should not be understated. Also with management, the bookings a concert pianist will receive moving forward is huge because they can keep all of that revenue without giving a percentage to the agent. Corporate performances are those reserved for some of the worlds, elite pianists.
These performances are often great networking opportunities and excellent brand builders for the pianist. While pay for these events varies, the value of performing these is immeasurable. A concert pianist is a much broader term than most people think. This does not just include pianists who perform concerts, but pianists who invest in recording projects, teaching, and other forms of consulting.
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