Career resources for performers

Building a career | Dealing with audition anxiety | Finding contacts
Professional organizations | Grants | Further Assistance

Building a career

• Opportunities in Music: Bridge Worldwide Music Connection
  Maintained by the New England Conservatory, this database provides access to over 2,800 opportunities in music and arts administration: auditions, teaching jobs, grants, festivals and competitions. Contact Music Advisor jan [dot] bottomer [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Jan Bottomer) of McGill Career Planning Service (CaPS) for the username and password.
• Beeching, Angela Myles. Beyond Talent.
  ML3795 B42 2010
• Davis, Richard. Becoming an Orchestral Musician: A Guide for Aspiring Professionals.
  ML3795 D28 2004
• Guise, Paul. 2013 Almanac of Arts & Culture Programs in Canada.
  Many musicians develop other skills to complement their performance careers. This annual publication lists Canadian programs in such disciplines as arts management and broadcasting/journalism.
• Hallam, Susan, and Helena Gaunt. Preparing for Success: A Practical Guide for Young Musicians.
  ML3795 H355 2012
• Opera America. Career Guide for Singers.
  Please note: Follow the sign-in instructions, then click on "Professional & Artistic Development Resources."
• Yes Montreal. Business Skills for Creative Souls: The Montreal Artist’s Handbook.
  N8353 B88 2004

Try searching these terms in the Library catalogue to find similar items

• Music – vocational guidance – handbooks, manuals, etc.
• Opera companies – directories
• Music – competitions – directories
• Opera – vocational guidance
• Music trade
• Music – economic aspects

Dealing with audition anxiety

• Dunkel, Stuart Edward. The Audition Process: Anxiety Management and Coping Strategies. Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon, 1989.
  ML3830 D9 1989
• Green, Barry, with W. Timothy Galleway. The Inner Game of Music. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press, Doubleday, 1986.
  ML3820 G73 1986
• Greene, Don. Performance Success: Performing Your Best Under Pressure. New York: Routledge, 2002.
  ML3830 G74 2002
• Krüger, Irmtraud Tarr. Performance Power: Transforming Stress Into Creative Energy. Trans. by Edward H. Tarr.
  BF575 A6 K76 1993

Try searching these terms in the Library catalogue to find similar items

• Auditions – Psychological aspects
• Music – Performance – Psychological aspects

Finding contacts

Directories list useful names and contact information for individuals and organizations in the music business: festivals, performing arts organizations, summer schools, granting agencies, competitions, artist representatives and agencies, etc.

• Musical America
  Also published annually in print: REF ML1 M385
• Performing Arts Yearbook for Europe: PAYE
  REF PN2570 P44
• Performing Arts Yearbook: Asia, North America, and Pacific
  REF PN2289 M875
• British and International Music Yearbook
  REF ML21 M8
• Music Directory Canada
  REF ML21 C3 M87

Professional organizations

• American Federation of Musicians
• Canadian Actors' Equity Association
• Conseil québécois de la musique
• Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec
• Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)
• Union des artistes

Grants

Finding Grants

The following resources are directed primarily toward Canadian musicians seeking funding in Canada. American musicians will find analogous funding agencies (federal, state, and municipal) in the United States as well as private funding organizations. A few are listed below, but the best central information source for Americans seeking funding opportunities is the Foundation Center.

Canada

• Canadian Directory to Foundations and Grants
• Directory of Grants in the Humanities
  AZ188 U5 D5 (HSSL)

United States

• Edelson, Phyllis, ed. Foundation Grants to Individuals.
  LB2336 F598 2003 (HSSL)
• Falkenstein, Jeffrey A., ed. National Guide to Funding in Arts and Culture.
• Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Opportunities for Research & Study in History, Art, Science

Try searching these terms in the Library catalogue to find similar items:

• Endowments - Directories.
• Foundations – Directory.
• Research grants -- Directories.
• Research Support -- Directory.

Federal Granting Agencies

• Canada Council
• Ministry of Heritage: Canada Music Fund
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC): Research/Creation Grants in the Fine Arts
  (artists not affiliated with an institution may participate as “research collaborators”)

Provincial Granting Agencies

Quebec

• Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec
• Societe de Developpement des Entreprises Culturelles>
• Fonds de recherche sur la société et la culture
• Ministère de la culture et des communications

Other provincial and territorial arts councils

• Alberta Foundation for the Arts
• British Columbia Arts Council
• Manitoba Arts Council
• New Brunswick Arts Board
• Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council
• Northwest Territories Arts Council
• Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council
• Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association
• Nunavut Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth
• Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts
• Ontario Arts Council
• Saskatchewan Arts Board
• Yukon Arts Section, Department of Tourism and Culture

Municipal Granting Agencies

Every major city and urban region has a local arts council that provides funding for resident artists

• Conseil des Arts de Montreal
• Ville de Montreal – Arts et Culture

United States

• National Endowment for the Arts
• U.S. Regional Arts Organizations
• US State Arts Councils (National Assembly of State Arts Agencies Member Directory)

Foundations and Corporations

• Imagine Canada
  “A national organization dedicated to advancing the role and interests of the charitable sector for the benefit of Canadian communities”
• Canadian directory to foundations and corporations
• Nonprofit Library Commons
  Materials for grant seekers
• Fundsnet Online Services: Canada Foundations & Grants
• Musicaction
  Specifically for the promotion of French-language recording artists in Canada, "...la fondation encourage le développement de la musique en soutenant la production et la commercialisation d’enregistrements sonores ainsi que les activités de promotion collective."
• Factor: The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings
  "As a private non-profit organization, FACTOR is dedicated to providing assistance toward the growth and development of the Canadian independent recording industry....Support is provided to Canadian recording artists, songwriters, managers, labels and distributors through various programs which all aid in the development of the industry."
• Artère
  Community calendar for Quebec artists with links to professional development workshops and granting opportunities among other things of interest
• The Foundation Center (US)
  "A national nonprofit service organization recognized as the nation’s leading authority on organized philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust.... The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. grantmakers and their grants; issues a wide variety of print, electronic, and online information resources; conducts and publishes research on trends in foundation growth, giving, and practice; and offers an array of free and affordable educational programs." It runs 5 library/learning centres as well as "a nationwide network of [over 425] funding information centers."

Grant writing

Once potential funding sources are found, the next step is to write an effective proposal. The following resources offer useful advice to artists.

• Liberatori, Ellen. Guide to Getting Arts Grants.
  NX705.5 U6 L53 2006
• Proposal Writing Short Course / Cours succinct porte sur la rédaction d'une proposition

Similar items can be found by searching these terms in the Library catalogue:

• Proposal writing for grants

Further assistance

McGill Career Planning Service (CaPS)
Suite 2200, Brown Student Services Building
3600 McTavish Street
Arts and Music Career Advisor: jan [dot] bottomer [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Jan Bottomer)

Schulich School of Music CaPS Events
See a list of upcoming career development activities for music students here.

Yes Montreal
666 Sherbrooke W., 7th Floor
Montreal, QC H3A 1E7
(514) 878-9788