Author: adamschumaker

Adam is a composer, administrator, educator, and a generalist.
Written by adamschumaker

dried tobacco & concert promotion

It’s been a while since I have blogged. Well, in a few days I have a concert to produce, and it’s not my own! On January 11 at 7:30 pm, anyone in or near Kalamazoo can come hear the Michigan premier of the Dried Tobacco Project at the Kalamazoo College Arcus Center for Social Justice and Leadership. The […]

Written by adamschumaker

money transparency

On October 9, 9pm EST, I am hosting a #musochat titled “Money Transparency.” First, a #musochat is a real-time chat on Twitter and it’s loads of fun. @Musochat has a great following of creative musicians from all over with fantastic thoughts. But what is money transparency? “Money transparency” is the idea that our conversations about money, […]

Written by adamschumaker

put yourself out there

As a professor of music composition and arts entrepreneurship, I relentlessly push my students to “get themselves out there” and submit to competitions, network within their disciplines. During a lesson, I don’t just talk music-I ask who will hear the piece, what my student will do with it, and how they are pushing themselves to gain […]

Written by adamschumaker

how to be a composer: 1) pencil and paper

To be a composer, you need a place to write. It needs to have a mood, lighting you like, a good drink, and the materials that are both fashionable and useful. Here is my comprehensive list. Pencil and Paper Let’s start with the essentials. You need to actually write music, so you need the best […]

Written by adamschumaker

Tax write-offs for the musician

It’s tax season and you should be thinking “Yes! how many ways can I find to reduce my taxable income?” As a musician, there are PILES of ways to reduce your taxable income. First, let’s look at two types of working scenarios. The Freelancer If you gig/perform a lot, chances are you are paid on a […]

Written by adamschumaker

Composing “shorts”

As a student composer, my favorite compositions were short duets. Out of necessity, I wrote these duets for trumpet and bassoon. I played trumpet, and my roommate played bassoon. Performers guaranteed! What started as an exercise, the Duet in Three Parts became a very important piece for me compositionally and artistically. It may have been the […]

Written by adamschumaker

media coverage part 2 & 3

Tonight I heard myself on the radio. That’s part 2. You can listen to it tomorrow (Thursday January 14th) at 10:00 am EST here: http://wmuk.org/ . If you listen, you get to hear me talk, with my pianist and friend Cassandra Kaczor, and you get to listen to three movements of six inspirations and another piano solo that […]