BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
You may have read some of Susan de Weger’s blogs on CutCommon, teaching us valuable lessons on how to make it in the arts – from the importance of leadership, to the best ways to invoice like a pro.
Now the Notable Values writer and entrepreneur from Melbourne has curated an insightful series of interviews with highly trained musicians, each of whom have built careers beyond the stage but maintain their musical identities. The podcast Beyond the Stage is presented by Susan and 3MBS Fine Music with producer Penny Manwaring-Thomas.
So grab a cup of tea and set aside 30 minutes to indulge in each of these episodes to inspire your own career journey. Here’s a little more on the stories you’ll find free to download on iTunes.
- Episode 1 features Kylie Weston-Scheuber, a barrister with a PhD in law and a Bachelor of Music. Kylie talks about how her legal profession was influenced by the skills she gained through her music degree. Read our recent story with the Melbourne Lawyers’ Orchestra to check out some of what she does with BottledSnail Productions.
- In Episode 2, horn player Geoff Collinson talks about how he came to his instrument after working as a professional trumpet player, and further transitioning to work in his role of CEO of Icestorm Digital.
- Episode 3 features Professor John Daley, CEO of the Grattan Institute who started as a violinist, violist, and pianist at the University of Melbourne and later graduating from Oxford with a DPhil in public law.
- Episode 4 introduces us to Tony Gray, who uses his training as a musician to create employment in his isolated community of Numbulwar. With a degree in double bass, he now works as Managing Director and Pilot at AiRemote delivering development programs across Arnhem Land and Indonesia.
- Dr Tony Prochazka features in Episode 5, talking us through his surgical career and maintaining his international music performance career as a founding member and principal cellist of Corpus Medicorum.
- Episode 6 features Dave Melgaard, who uses his problem solving skills as general manager of JKVine. He has studied at the VCA and Royal College of Music in London and was trumpet master of the Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra.
- Episode 7 features Katherine Norman, who is responsible for 3000 events across six venues each year with Arts Centre Melbourne. Her degrees are in biochemistry and music, and with a career in venue management she worked at the Royal Opera House in Covenant Garden.
You can find the podcast series released for free in iTunes.
The theme song The Song Of Us was composed by Natasha Pearson and premiered by Ensemble Goldentree this year.
