Preparing a young performer for a professional career - advice request

[hyrst]

Hi,
I have a young student who is talented.  She is just turned 7 and is making excellent progress in her music studies.  She wants to be a professional performing pianist.  I believe she has the ability and she is willing to do the work.

It concerns me that I hear of and have seen advertising for concerts that have featured young performers.  Recently, near where I live, a 10 year old performed a piano concerto with a local orchestra.  This is an example - I hear so many stories about young stars. 

I want my student to have a competitive chance with such a 'market'.  I know I probably need to prepare her for conservatorium enrolment.  I am wondering if she needs greater public exposure before even this age. 

I am looking for advice about what sort of exposure I should look for and where I might find opportunities for her.  I am also looking for advice about repertoire and such that are necessary for a performer before they can market themselves competitively.  (We are talking long term, but I think she needs to be headed in the right direction from as young an age as is available to her - if that makes sense.)  Basically, those with experience or knowledge about entering the professional realm, please can you help me?  (I know she needs to enter eisteddfods and as many available competitions as possible.  Should we do more than this in the next few years?)

Thank you...  and, I know it is a tough and competitive environment, which is why I want to give her the best mental and musical foundations for what she wants to do.

[mingkei]

Hi,
I have a young student who is talented.  She is just turned 7 and is making excellent progress in her music studies.  She wants to be a professional performing pianist.  I believe she has the ability and she is willing to do the work.

It concerns me that I hear of and have seen advertising for concerts that have featured young performers.  Recently, near where I live, a 10 year old performed a piano concerto with a local orchestra.  This is an example - I hear so many stories about young stars. 

I want my student to have a competitive chance with such a 'market'.  I know I probably need to prepare her for conservatorium enrolment.  I am wondering if she needs greater public exposure before even this age. 

I am looking for advice about what sort of exposure I should look for and where I might find opportunities for her.  I am also looking for advice about repertoire and such that are necessary for a performer before they can market themselves competitively.  (We are talking long term, but I think she needs to be headed in the right direction from as young an age as is available to her - if that makes sense.)  Basically, those with experience or knowledge about entering the professional realm, please can you help me?  (I know she needs to enter eisteddfods and as many available competitions as possible.  Should we do more than this in the next few years?)

Thank you...  and, I know it is a tough and competitive environment, which is why I want to give her the best mental and musical foundations for what she wants to do.

Where are you? In the United States, many local music associations organize recitals, festivals, competitions, and other performance opportunities. They range from small regional ones to higher levels ones (competitive and noncompetitive) where talents can be and are recognized. I've heard that in some states, accomplishments in some of these activities are recorded in a student's official school transcript.
If you're not in the US, I guess you may find performance opportunities on the Internet. Sometimes, there're regional opportunities (e.g. in Asia...) that can provide performing experience.

Hope other people can offer other suggestions to you.

[hyrst]

Thank you, Mingkei, for your advice. 
I live in Sydney, Australia.  There are competitions here, such as you have described.  I am doing some research to find out what and when and what the atmosphere is like.  She is at a kind of difficult stage.  She is really too young to be doing things very seriously, so there is not much available for very young pianists.  Most categories start with under 10 and I am a little worrried about putting her under pressure - but maybe this is the sort of thing she needs, with the correct support.  She at least would not be embarrassed by her playing level in an under 10 category. 

Perhaps this sort of thing is the most appropriate for her age.  I just worry when I read or hear of 10 year olds playing concertos because I want her to have opportunities like this.  Perhaps someone could tell me when I should look for her to do things like this and how we might get to that place - so in the long term I have her on the best course?  Do things happen like talent scouts in children's competitions or is it more like acting where you have to put yourself 'out there' to be noticed and have a chance to earn anything at all?  Or, do I just give her all the musical training I can and wait until she can study at tertiary level and learn at the conservatorium how to promote herself?  I really have no idea how the professional world works, I guess that is what I am saying. 

Thanks again.

[00range]

I have to say, I am interested as well. It would be nice to hear from someone who has done it, teacher or student.

[jinfiesto]

I don't know about this, it seems like most child stars burn out these days. When I was her age, I wanted to be a professional pianist too, and while everyone including many professional pianists and teachers told me I could, I found that after a while, I think I just lost interest as a function of being a kid. While I continued to play, I only recently re-discovered my goal of being a professional pianist a few years ago, and in some ways I'm grateful. I'm grateful I had a real child-hood, and in some ways, I think I know more about music, I feel that if one spends too much time performing then one has no time for study, especially as a child. Although I'm playing catch-up in terms of repertoire, and maybe in technique, I find that with good and thoughtful practice habits I can appear to stand on even ground with people who four years ago had ten times the repertoire I did. I've found that by out-thinking my peers in terms of both musicality and technique, I can stand above them who have been playing the standard concert pianist repertory since a very young age. In fact, most of the pianists here seem to think I'm better than them, and I'm content to let them believe that.

I couldn't resist the plug for myself at the end of that paragraph there, but what I suppose I'm saying is that I had to experience life before I could decide that it was worth it to sacrifice almost everything for my instrument. And in someways, I think it's impossible for a child to make that decision. I would support her decision, and be just as supportive if she decides that's not where she wants to go. She may come back just as I did, and I think that if her love of music was that great in the first place, it'll survive any changes of heart she might have along the way. I guess I think that you should put more thought to helping her develop more as a person and as a musician than as a pianist, as tempting as it is to use young talent to show case your teaching ability, I don't think it really serves any purpose. To me, a young person speaking with simple music rather than typing liszt etudes, speaks volumes more about the teacher.

\rant

[hyrst]

Hi.
I hear what you are saying and am very aware of this - the last thing I want to happen to my precious student is burn her out or take her childhood.  In fact, I would be more reluctant to put pressure on her than her mother is or other teachers I have sought advice from.  At the same time, I want to give her the opportunities and suports she wants/needs.

She is now 7 and practices for 45 minutes in the morning and 45 in  the afternoon.  I would be seriously concerned if she was required to do more than this to be at the level she is - I would tend to think she was being pushed and over-reached for a 7 year old.  The 45 minutes at each end of the day seems to be comfortable for her and she learns quickly and is very intuitively musically so we can have a nice variety of things and work through a great range of pieces rather than focus completely on a few pieces for a time that must seem like an eternity to a young one (3 months is a long time in a 7 year olds life).

I try to set work for her that she is keen to do and to stay aware of any fluctuations in her interest - either for a change in work or for a break and temporary ease in the work load.  She just always seems so keen to do things - and when she finds pieces she likes her mum says she just spends ages playing the piece and asks to play it.  We let her play these instead of making long periods on other work if she is not interested.

So, basically, I am well aware of the sensitivity of the situation and will be quite fine about her changing her future decisions or taking a break from the piano.  I can't see it happening, though.  But, it might.  Music is so natural to her - it is so easy and you can see she really 'lives' in the music.  At present, though, she does want to be a professional and as far as a 7 year old can wish it she wants this career and has said she wants to do the work.  She is very self-motivated and I didn't start the higher level technical training until she actually asked for it.  I have specifically told her I want her to tell me if she ever wants to have a break and if she is not enjoying the work she is doing.  It's part of the deal we have.  SO, while she is making these choices, I simply want to give her the best opportunities possible so that if she does continue on this path without changing her mind there are no regrets.  So, I need to know certainly what I should be doing to help her.