Tag Archives: London
Concerts for free or nearly free
Free concerts don’t always get full-house. Publicity is what it takes. And a lot of eager students on standby. Continue reading
Prelude for Anne by Robert Bekkers
Robert Bekkers wrote the solo guitar work “Prelude for Anne” shortly after meeting Anne Ku in Amsterdam in 2001. Continue reading
When busking becomes an outdoor concert
Busking becomes an outdoor concert when sufficient information is dispersed to draw an interested audience to listen from the start to finish. Continue reading
Benefit concerts to fundraise for Japan
The economics of benefit concerts is the subject of another blog. Three benefit concerts in Boston, Amsterdam, and London are taking place this week 30 March – 6 April, showcasing a wide range of talent and genre from classical to rock. Continue reading
Filed under audience, composer, composition, concert, economics, fundraising, personality, planning, travel, venues
Candlelight dinner with solo piano
Anne Ku experiments with a variety of music to suit the modern listener at a candlelight dinner. From favourite classics to love songs to movie themes, she improvises as she sightreads sheet music in Maui, Hawaii. Continue reading
Filed under arrangement, audience, communication, composer, composition, concert, piano, sight reading, venues
Piano and guitar in acryllic by Rob Judkins
Anne Ku’s high school friend Rob Judkins painted his vision of piano and guitar in acryllic for the Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo’s next CD: Live in Makawao, Maui. Continue reading
Filed under art, concert, guitar, personality, piano
Audience development: the art of creating demand
People go to concerts for all sorts of reasons. The trick is to find the reasons and then they will go to your concert. Continue reading
Local knowledge, inside information, community building (part 1)
Yard sales, like house concerts, are great ways to exchange local and useful inside information in addition to getting rid of things quickly at a discount. Continue reading
Music: a hobby or a profession?
I complained that I have to make enough income to show that it’s not a hobby. So far, the expenses are way too high. How can we say we’re professional musicians when it costs more to do it than to sit at home and do nothing?
Another way to look at it is to consider these activities as investment. They are necessary to scope the market. Continue reading
Sight reading chamber music in Bristol
It began with 4-hands on one piano. What is more fun than playing with others? To play as equals — such as in an ensemble or orchestra. After all these adventures in sight reading, I asked myself, why not piano and string quartet? or Piano and string trio? There was a lot more music to be explored. Continue reading
Filed under concert, rehearsal, sheet music, sight reading, travel, trio
