Innovation and Feedback: An Essential Step for Entrepreneurial Projects

Why is feedback essential to innovation? Let’s examine how students in my Innovation and Collaboration class at the Yale School of Music are learning this lesson through their semester projects. When we last left the music entrepreneurs , the class had explored the needs of today’s audiences and zeroed in on the problem of how to make classical music more relevant …

Cultivate the Happiness Habit: Maximize Flow in Your Creative Career

Last week, I had the privilege of teaching at the Juilliard Lower Strings Seminar, taught by Astrid Schween, the fabulous cellist of the Juilliard Quartet. The  class provides strategies on how to succeed in the world of music.  My topic was how to cultivate the happiness habit and experience more flow in your creative career. Happiness Breeds Success I am …

Today’s Audience For Classical Music: How to Make Classical Music Relevant and Accessible

Every fall, I have the privilege of teaching a project-based seminar to a group of budding music entrepreneurs at the Yale School of Music. The class, Creating Value Through Innovative Collaborative Projects (Music 621a), addresses the problem of how to keep classical music alive and vital in our culture.  My goal is to equip my students with leadership and innovation …

How to Jumpstart Your Creative Career

If you are wondering how to translate your creativity into a career, be sure to read my article this week in forbes.com Use Your Creativity to Jump Start Your Next Career.  I am honored to be featured in forbes.com and am grateful to Robin Ryan, bestselling author, national speaker and America’s top job search expert who invited me to contribute to …

Creative Success Now: Overcome the Creativity Killers

It has been a busy summer for me! I finished up my book, Creative Success Now, which will be published in a few weeks.  I traveled, did some fun guest teaching and performed at my annual piano retreat in California,  pianoSonoma. It was here that I learned a valuable lesson in what to do when your creative pursuits butt heads with …

Tap into Passion and Purpose: How to Ignite Your Creative Career

This past week, I had the privilege of speaking on Creative Success Now: How to Ignite Your Passion and Purpose for Successful Creative Careers” to students at Yale University. My talk attracted a variety of students who were intrigued about creativity and turning their passion and purpose into a successful career.  These included singers, composers, performers, an aspiring novelist, several …

Innovation for Music Entrepreneurs: Get Creative with Implementation

One of the hallmarks of my class at the Yale School of Music, Creating Value Through Innovative Projects, is that students learn by taking action.  My seminar’s focus is how to generate innovative solutions to the most pressing problems in classical music today. Over the course of the past semester, my students worked collaboratively on four different creative projects. Three …

Debunking The Creativity Myths: 4 Reasons Why Creatives Will Thrive in the 21st Century

I love working with creatives to help you achieve success in today’s ever-changing landscape!  I firmly believe that we live in an age where creatives can not only make a living from their creativity but also thrive.  Yet, creativity myths pervade our culture. These myths cast doubt on the importance and sustainability of creativity in the 21st Century. Let’s examine …