41: Five Questions Anne-Marie McDermott
with Anne-Marie McDermott
What makes a young artist a great collaborator when working together for the first time?
Great question. Collaboration is so critical throughout a musician's career, right? The skills of being able to listen to other people's ideas. And I always say this - it's true - my entire career, I have learned the most from colleagues.
And I think you also have to learn the skill of picking your battles and really prioritizing what's most important to you. And if you care so much about one phrase or one part of a piece, being able to make a case for it, being able to use the right words to convince your colleagues, ‘hey, at the very least, can we try this and then see what we think?’ So, it's incredibly important skill to have.
How would you advise a young artist when choosing solo repertoire?
The selection of repertoire for a young artist is so, so important. And the reason is, when you were young artist, you're probably still discovering what your most compelling musical voice is. And we all are great at certain things and not great at other things. That's human nature. And I think it's so important for young artists to really explore what they feel they have their strongest voice with what repertoire. And, you know, you only get a first impression once when you're out there in the world playing for a presenter’s organization for the first time.
Or when you're collaborating with new colleagues for the first time, first impressions matter a lot. So being incredibly prepared all the time is critically important. Understanding what you're really great at and what you really have an opinion about - don't feel obliged to play all the Liszt Transcendental Études if you don't feel that you really have something to say about them. Nobody will judge you because you're not playing certain repertoire. They will judge you on the repertoire that you are playing.
What is the best professional advice anyone has ever given you?
What is the best professional advice? That's a really great question. I've received a lot of great advice over the years, but one of the very important things I learned as a young artist is I didn't value the receptions… going to the parties.
And a great colleague of mine said to me early on, ‘you know, the gig isn't over until the party's over.’ And of course, the merits of your playing as an artist are the most important thing. But it's all about relationship building, whether it's with your colleagues or whether it's with a presenter or whether it's with the public. Be gracious with your time. Share your time. Don't just rest on the laurels of how you play your instrument.
What career lesson do you wish you understood when you were just beginning to perform professionally?
There are so many career lessons I learned as a young artist, so I'll mention a couple of them that that I learned.
Don't be in a rush. A career is defined, in my opinion, by the longevity of the career and really be thoughtful about repertoire, selection, about what colleagues you're working with surround yourself by inspiring people who you think are greater than you are that will lift you up, that will elevate you.
Really form relationships, and part of that is really form a relationship with your manager. You know, it's hard to realize when you're a young artist how hard your manager works for you, truly. And they need to know you. They need to get to know you. You need to ask their advice if there's anything that that you have a question about with your career. Lean on your manager. Talk to them. Form a relationship. Really form relationships with conductors when you work with them, right? And think not only short term, think long term. Think that ‘okay when I'm in my mid-thirties I think I'm going to want to take on a big, a big project, a big cycle of repertoire.’ So plan ahead with your commissions as well.
No dream is too big a dream. That's another lesson I've learned. Really dream big about— I mean, I remember a specific example with myself when I really had a passion for and wanted to play the whole Prokofiev cycle. All the Prokofiev sonatas. But I thought ‘nobody's ever going to want me to do this, right?’ Well, yes, they did.
And I just had to put it out there in the world to the right people. I had to be able to use the right words in describing why I wanted to do this and what I felt I could bring to this project. And then it came to life, right? So dream big. Use your imagination. Be your genuine self. Discover what you're great at and form relationships.
When do you say ‘yes’ and when do you say ‘no’ regarding work?
When do you say ‘yes’ and when do you say ‘no’? This I have struggled with this my whole life because my knee jerk reaction is, ‘yes,’ right? To everything. I love what I do so much and I'm so grateful that I get to do what I love every single day of my life.
But again, I've made some bad choices, mostly when I was a young artist, of saying yes to something, just because it was offered to me, not because I actually had a passion for it or felt that it was something I was going to be really great at. And that happened to me a couple of times with the cancelation.
Those are always very challenging because when you get offered a cancelation it can be an amazing opportunity, but you have to you have to know yourself well enough to know, ‘am I ready for this? Is this the right repertoire for me?’ So that's an example, I think, of relying on your manager and talking things through. Don't feel you have to say yes to everything.
Other opportunities will come along. That's why, you know, another piece of advice I give is, don't be in a rush. Trust yourself as an artist. Trust that the right things will happen at the right time.