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Transition from Elementary School Teaching to Freelance Performance

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In 2012, I decided to make a big transition from teaching elementary school music to becoming a freelance performer and private music instructor.  Looking back, how would I advise others entering the world of performance and entrepreneurship?  First of all, I took every opportunity to gain performance experience.  Not every performance venue was a perfect fit, but I learned more about myself and what my strengths were as a performer.  Two excellent places to gain performance experience are at open mics and in churches.  Both settings are a great way to bring your music to a large cross-section of people.  Secondly, I participated in local networking business groups.  The transition to entrepreneurship can be a lonely one in comparison to a standard 40-hour week job.  Networking provides the opportunity to make connections and get to know your local community.  Thirdly, I familiarized myself with business basics by enrolling in a start-up class at a local Chamber of Commerce.  From this
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Performing at a Brighton Hospital

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In the winter of 2017, my flute duo partner Jennifer Pauley and I performed at Platte Valley Medical Center , a hospital located in Brighton, Colorado.  We set up in the lobby adjacent to a coffee shop and lounge area as patients, doctors, and patient visitors came and went.  Jennifer and I chose to play an hour-long set of classical pieces.  As people filtered through, a few people stopped to listen for a piece or two before they went on to their various destinations.  The lobby was brightly lit by the morning sunshine coming in through the large windows of the building.  Although Jennifer and I perform for standard special events such as weddings, we also perform in community-based settings that give people the chance to enjoy the sounds of music in their everyday lives.
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Performing at Senior Living Communities

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Over the years, I have performed at numerous senior living communities in the Denver area.  Senior living communities are frequently divided up into four sections that house residents with separate needs: independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care.  At some facilities, I have performed at the separate living quarters and at others for residents who come from various living facilities.  I am frequently astonished at the retention of memory elderly people have for the music they grew up with, even those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  I have built up my music playlist based on customer requests and have added fantastic music dating from the 1940's and 50's.  As time marches on with new residents moving into senior living communities, I have started to look at music dating from the 1960's, a rich period of acoustic guitar music and live performance.  In my teaching studio, I have enjoyed teaching retirees who find themselves in the enviable
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Wedding Ceremony at the Butterfly Pavilion

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This past July, my flute duo partner Jennifer Pauley and I performed a wedding ceremony at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, CO.  This was an unorthodox, but beautiful location for a wedding to take place.  Having traveled to Costa Rica before, I felt as if I had been transported back to Central America when I stepped into the warm, humid Wings of the Tropic room to set up for the ceremony.  Butterflies I had not seen since my Costa Rica trip fluttered languidly by.  During the ceremony itself, I felt a tickle on my arm where a butterfly had no doubt landed briefly as Jennifer and I serenaded the bride and groom down the aisle.  Upon exiting the butterfly room, I entered a small room surrounded by mirrors where I was requested to examine my clothing and music supply bags to ensure that the butterflies did not inadvertently leave their tropical rain forest home.  For the bridal couple looking for a tropical wedding venue without having to leave Colorado, the Butterfly Pavilion off
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Third Annual FMTA Farmers' Market Festival

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This past August marked the third annual Farmers' Market Festival I organized as Community Outreach Chair for the Foothills Music Teacher Association .  The festival takes place at the Four Seasons Farmers and Artisans Market in Wheat Ridge, a beautiful indoor farmer's market that sells hand-crafted artisan goods.  This year, piano, guitar, and flute students and teachers performed throughout the morning and early afternoon.  The annual event gives FMTA students and teachers the opportunity to share their musical talents in a non-competitive, community-based environment.  In addition to having my students perform their repertoire, my duo partner and I performed flute/guitar arrangements of "Trumpet Tune" and "Trumpet Voluntary" by Henry Purcell.  I am looking forward to organizing future Farmers' Market Festival events in years to come in collaboration with Four Seasons Farmers & Artisans Market.
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