The Rise of the Artistic Project

Artistic "projects" are fast-becoming a hallmark of the 21st-century artist. There are so many examples that I hesitate to provide a list. But the following crossed my desk in the past five days: Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project; Anne-Sophie Mutter's The Mozart Project; Providence String Quartet's Community Musicworks; the Chiara Quartet's Mestizaje: Harmony Of Differences; the Kronos Quartet's Under 30 Project/#4, and Michael Tilson Thomas's Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music.

This past year, I've been privy to several Juilliard faculty projects as they have moved toward fruition. The two I will highlight here are Hypersuite, by cello faculty member Darrett Adkins, and New Triad for Collaborative Arts, by vocal arts faculty member Arlene Shrut. Both of these projects exemplify some of the creative thinking employed by 21st-century performing artists.

Darrett's Hypersuite is an ambitious six-CD recording project featuring all the Bach Solo Cello Suites. But rather than simply making another recorded interpretation of these masterpieces, Darrett decided to cast a larger net around his interest in contemporary music and the recent surge of solo compositions for cello in the last 20 years. Darrett's design interpolates 20th-century cello masterpieces by Sessions, Carter, Golijov, Berio, and others between the movements of each Bach suite. Essentially, each suite becomes a disc in itself.

"There is something very intimate and beautiful about the solo cello," writes Darrett. "Maybe the consistency of a solo cello recital will help us to better hear the influences, cross-pollinations, and radical differences of composers' notions about how to make music—and especially about how important Bach's music continues to be." He also explains that "online music marketing works in that people are choosing 'songs' to download and listen to, rather than 'albums' of music. I wanted to make a record of short works (and longer ones made up of several short pieces) that would have a compelling reason to be experienced as an 'album.' I wanted to make an argument for the artistic experience of listening for an hour or so, to one artist making a case for something that would be greater than the sum of its parts."

Arlene's project has a very different aim. Challenging today's performing artists to think about creating more dynamic and interactive performances and becoming more effective arts advocates, she founded the nonprofit company New Triad for Collaborative Arts. "As artistic development consultants to classical musicians," she explains, "we provide essential communication skills to enhance artists' expressiveness on and off stage. Musicians are empowered to transform their performances beyond the world of sound alone." Her core team consists of coaches in drama, speech, movement, public speaking, musical collaboration, programming, and psychology. In her words: "If we don't 'wake up' classical performers to access their full scope of sensory expression in the music and tell their individual stories, we will continue to lose audiences. It is not enough in today's culture to be 'right' as intellectuals and technicians if, in the process, we lack the ability to offer entry points for new audiences to come to our performances and identify with the performers."

Artistic projects require creative thinking, lots of time, and enormous support from friends and colleagues—but they’re an excellent way to expand your career.

While both of these projects have very different purposes, the task of developing, networking, and promoting them is remarkably similar. For one thing, most of the initial footwork can only be done by the artists themselves. It's rare indeed that someone else will agree to take your idea and run with it. Most projects, as these two do, consume lots of time. In addition, projects generally require enormous support from friends and colleagues. Asking for favors is standard practice in the arts business, and if you haven't spent much time making friends or volunteering your services to other projects, it's going to be tough making something happen on your own steam.

After formulating his idea, Darrett wasted no time dipping into the safe-deposit box of favors he had established within his own network. He managed to secure a recording studio, calling on favors from engineers he'd worked with in the past. He even asked a colleague who is also a filmmaker to document the project for archival and promotional purposes.

Arlene's company wouldn't exist without the generous commitment of time and spirit from her board and faculty. Getting people to take notice of the work she is advocating—through demonstrations of workshops and seminars—is part and parcel of securing engagements from the schools, institutions, and organizations who are likely to use her company's services. Asking her consultants to offer certain work pro bono was not easy—but it's necessary in the early stages of an organization, if the program is to be seen. Arlene's network of colleagues, friends, and associates is part of what enables New Triad to succeed.

Finally—as do most celebrity artists like Yo-Yo Ma or Michael Tilson Thomas—both Arlene and Darrett feature their projects prominently in their press kits. When sending information out to a presenter who has engaged them for other purposes, they include pieces on their respective projects for added interest and possible engagement consideration, exclusive of their initial contract. The projects also give interviewers another dimension to explore in conversation. In this regard, projects are nearly always a win-win situation.

Interested in seeing these two projects first-hand? Visit their Web sites at www.darrettadkins.com and www.newtriad.org.

Derek Mithaug, director of career development, is a Juilliard faculty member and alumnus.