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About Steven L. Rosenhaus
Expertise
Areas of interest: Classical composition, writing musical theater (including music, lyrics, libretti), songwriting (pop, rock, blues, folk, etc.); music theory; orchestration; arranging. Also: music publishing and related topics.
Experience
Composer/arranger with over 100 original works and arrangements in currently in print; publishers include E.F. Kalmus, Masters Music, Music-Print Productions, Theodore Presser, etc. Works have been performed throughout the U.S. and Europe by the United States Navy Band, the U.S. Naval Academy Band, violinist Florian Meyer, the Dresden Sinfonietta conducted by Milko Kersten, pianist Laura Leon, the Meridian String Quartet, the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, clarinetist Guido Arbonelli, etc. Off-Broadway musical "Critic" (1988) ran 41 performances to good reviews. Co-author, with Allen Cohen, "Writing Musical Theater" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). Also performing singer/songwriter: was in the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, 1997-2000 (CD:"Blues Spoken Here" available at CDBaby); solo performer since 2000 (CD:"A Man Like Me" available at CDBaby, iTunes, etc.). Classical works and songs recorded on the Capstone, Richarson, Music for a G'Day, and MPP labels; available through CDBaby and/or iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Composition at New York University; have taught composition and other subjects at NYU since 1992, including "Introduction to Music Publishing and Printing" (which I created for NYU's Music Business program). Also Adjunct Assistant Professor at Nassau Community College, teaching songwriting, folk music, history of rock, and other subjects. Currently creating a series of performance etudes for the U.S. Navy School of Music, coordinating them with the School's music theory, ear training, and performance instruction programs.
Organizations
ASCAP, MENC, NARAS, Music Theory Society, College Music Society, plus several others in music education, composition, and theory.
Publications
"Writing Musical Theater" by Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). Article in Strings Magazine, May 2007, on my string quartet "Strange Loops."
Education/Credentials
Ph.D.- New York University
M.A. - Queens College (CUNY)
B.A. - Queens College (CUNY)
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You are here: Experts > Music/Performing Arts > Musicians' Exchange > Musical Composition, Theory, Songwriting, and Singing > How can a young violinist find work?
Expert: Steven L. Rosenhaus - 10/27/2009
Question
My son has a master's degree in violin performance from a major conservatory. He has worked in various orchestras and had private students, but nothing permanent with a decent income has come along. He taught in a private school, but did not take the education courses to be able to teach in the public school system and colleges are requiring doctorates. He has been moving to different cities to accommodate his girlfriend's career opportunities and keeps having to start over. He transcribed original compositions using sibelius on the computer for a major composer and has ambition and drive. The problem is finding a job. How can he make himself more competitive and find out available opportunities. Thank you for your time.
Answer
Dear Dot,
First of all, I wish your son good luck in his endeavors. It sounds like he's doing much of what all of us free-lancing musicians are trying to do---make the most of a bad economic climate. Personally, my saying that I have "about 17 jobs at any one time" is only a half-joke. And that =is= with a Ph.D. and a B.A. in Secondary Education. (Note: I received my B.A. the year that NYC and a lot of other communities cut their music and arts budgets the first time.) If you go to my web page (http://homepages.nyu.edu/~slr3) you'll see what I mean. But this is about your son, not me.
Recommendations:
1. Keep doing what he is doing. Play =whatever= music he can if the gig pays, be it in a quartet for a wedding, fill in for a community orchestra, or being in a bluegrass (or rock) band. Whatever teaching he can do, do it as well; offer private lessons, work within a local music school/conservatory (doctorates are not always necessary for private schools).
2. Think outside the box. Can he put his musical training to good use in affiliated businesses? I'm not saying there are jobs out there, but just maybe he could get a "day job" working at a local t.v. or radio station, or perhaps a music publisher (=that= is rare), or....You get the idea. Does he look at Craigslist in whatever place he's in? Does he read any of the music-oriented trade papers/magazines, etc.?
3. Get a day job that has nothing to do with music, especially if it's one he doesn't have to "bring home" with him mentally/emotionally. I know of one person who works for a bank during the day and comes home to practice or goes to play a gig afterward. The advantages to this approach are: 1) He would have a steady source of income to, ahem, pay for his music "habit"; 2) It may allow him to go for the credits he needs for an education degree. Another thought: Some states are severely lacking teachers and are willing to pay potential ones to get the appropriate training/degrees/certification. He could check that out in whatever state he currently resides. Advantage: Many states have reciprocity with each other, so certification in one state may apply if he and his girl friend move again.
4. Lastly, his work with Sibelius sounds like another possible source of income, albeit on a free-lance basis. I'm not sure if you really mean transcribing (notating music from what he has heard) or music engraving/copying (re-notating music from its original handwritten form into something more legible/useful), but either way, it's a skill he can capitalize on for now.
5. My last recommendation is to you. My own mother used to worry about me as well. After all, I don't even play a "useful" instrument like the violin (how many guitarists are out there?) =and= I'm a composer/conductor (and how many of =those= are out there?). Still, I managed because, like the way you describe your son, I've had ambition and drive. Please, trust your son. Be encouraging (if he lets you), but don't over-worry. Pass these suggestions along: I'll bet he's doing at least some of them already. In the meantime, it also sounds like his girl friend is doing well, and there is no harm in her being the financial foundation for now.
I hope this helps. Please let me know.
Steven
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