Education profiles TX

Jamie Allen

Education Director
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas, Texas
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Years in current position: 2
Years in the field: 18

Majors:
Music (composition)

Career Path:
Freelance composer and accompanist in Los Angeles for four years
Tour Manager, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival 
Music Critic, Santa Fe New Mexican and other publications
Music Specialist, Rio Grande School and others 
Adjunct Professor of Music, The College of Santa Fe 
Children’s Chorus Director and Teaching Artist, Santa Fe Opera
Adjunct Professor of Music, Collin County Community College

What are the most surprising, interesting or challenging aspects of your day-to-day work?
Challenging: Working with budgets and having to fulfill marketing needs with educational programming  Interesting: Concert programming and production.

What inspired you to work for an orchestra?
My love of music and my passion for education, and the opportunity to do the kind of work I’d done in the past, but all under the umbrella of one organization instead of twelve.

What would you do differently?
I started out wanting to score films in Los Angeles. This was a mistake, but I learned a lot about myself in the process. If I began again, I would develop my performance chops to a higher level and study the repertoire more deeply.

What advice would you offer to someone considering the orchestra field?
Study the repertoire. Hone your time management skills. Be able to think like a kid, while still presenting yourself professionally. Be prepared to clearly but diplomatically communicate with many different kinds of people from many different backgrounds.

Any other advice?
Take an accounting class.

Kristin Carpenter

Youth Programs Coordinator
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas, Texas
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Years in current position: 3
Years in the field: 6

Majors:
B.A. Music Business from New Mexico State University
M.A. in Music Education from Texas Woman’s University

Career Path:
Assistant Horn, Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra
Private Horn instructor
Education Intern, Winston-Salem Symphony
Patron Services, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

What are the most surprising, interesting or challenging aspects of your day-to-day work?
I work with teachers August-April and I love interacting with them. They definitely make my work day more interesting and I find the more you are able to accommodate their students and take the time to listen to them and get to know them on a personal level, the more they respect you and your organization.

What inspired you to work for an orchestra?
When I was Assistant Horn of the Las Cruces (NM) Symphony Orchestra I absolutely loved it! After playing a children’s concert, I thought it was such a terrific and rewarding experience to see children so excited about music. Oftentimes before concerts I would work the instrument petting zoo tables and teach children about the horn and trumpet. Before I graduated with my B.M., I was required to do an internship to complete my degree and decided that I wanted to be a part of planning children’s concerts and other educational events.

What were your first steps toward an orchestra career?
The first step in my career was looking for an internship. Eventually, I found a perfect match and was invited to intern at the Winston-Salem Symphony in North Carolina. The next step after graduation was finding a job in the industry, searching the Internet and asking some old colleagues for advice. I found it very hard to get work with a symphony! No one seemed to want to give me the time of day, but I persisted and eventually landed the job I have today. I had to work very, very hard for it. Symphony job openings are very few and far between because this type of work is so specialized.

What advice would you offer to someone considering the orchestra field?
Be prepared for long hours and hard work. You have to have a genuine love for the arts and a passion for education. If you want to go into the orchestra education field, you have to believe that every child is inherently musical and deserves the opportunity to create and experience music, no matter their circumstance. It’s crucial that you be able to make a good, solid case for your education programs, be able to explain why they need to exist and what they’re going to do for your community.

Any other advice?
Arts education is a very rewarding field. You’re around great music, great kids, and great musicians. Be prepared to do more than the duties in your job description! Everyone chips in to make a non-profit organization run smoothly.

Tisa Scates

Director of Education
Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra
Irving, Texas
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Years in current position: 2

Majors:
Sociology; Business

Career Path:
Two previous non-profit education positions that contributed to the success of my current position

What are the most surprising, interesting or challenging aspects of your day-to-day work?
The most challenging aspect of my job is justifying the importance of music education for every student. With the arts being withdrawn from schools, more and more people feel it is unimportant to learn about them.

What advice would you offer to someone considering the orchestra field?
In this field it is important to think proactively. Always anticipate last-minute changes in plan.

Any other advice?
No two days are alike.