Creating Career Pathways in Contemporary Art Music: FutureMakers
Margaret S Barrett editor Karlin G Love editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:3rd Aug '26
£41.99
This title is due to be published on 3rd August, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
How do independent contemporary art musicians forge a career in the music industry? What knowledge, skills, and understandings are required to sustain a career in music? What environmental supports are needed to assist emerging musicians? This volume addresses these challenges through an analysis of an industry-based career development program.
The FutureMakers program, developed by Musica Viva Australia, one of the world’s leading Chamber Music providers, aims to develop artistic leadership, capacity building, and sector development in Chamber Music. The volume offers a unique perspective on the program in bringing together voices of the directors; the participants; the facilitators, including industry professionals who contributed workshops, extended conversations, and individual mentoring; and researchers. The chapters consider the many facets of building a career in the contemporary art music sector with a particular focus on Chamber Music. The accounts of experience offered through these multiple lenses provide insights into the musical and extra-musical skills and knowledge required when navigating a career in a world of global challenges and increasing complexity for musicians and the music industry.
This volume will be of use to multiple audiences. For those embarking on a career in contemporary art music the insights of participants’ experience provide a touchstone. For those who nurture, mentor, and teach future musicians, the volume provides insights into the connections needed between the academy and the music industry. For music organisations the volume points to a model of practice for building a sustainable contemporary music industry.
“This volume fills a critical gap in career development resources for contemporary art music practitioners. By centring the lived experiences of artists, mentors, and industry partners within Musica Viva Australia’s FutureMakers program, it offers valuable insight into what it takes to build sustainable artistic lives in this niche field. This is a volume that is rich with reflection, relational wisdom, and sector-level vision, and is a deeply practical contribution to how we might imagine and navigate collaborative career pathways in contemporary art music.”
Professor Andrea Creech, McGill University, Canada
“FutureMakers is an exceptional and visionary work, illuminating Musica Viva’s trailblazing program with academic rigour and lived experience. Through its innovative, collaborative research and vivid voices from participants, mentors, and industry leaders, this groundbreaking volume tackles the real challenges of contemporary chamber music while charting bold, practical pathways to artistic excellence and enduring careers. Brimming with fresh perspectives, wisdom, and inspiration, this indispensable book offers an essential resource for anyone passionate about shaping the future of music.”
Gary E. McPherson, Ormond Professor of Music, University of Melbourne, Australia
“FutureMakers is a compelling and timely contribution to career education in practice. With rich, diverse voices and a clear commitment to artistic leadership, it offers fresh insights into professional learning and community-building in action. A must read for emerging contemporary art musicians and those who mentor and support them.”
Professor Susan O’Neill, UCL Institute of Education, UK; Head of Department of Learning and Leadership and Past President, International Society for Music Education, UK
“Margaret Barrett and Karlin Love have curated a fascinating array of chapters which offer diverse perspectives on creating and sustaining career pathways in today’s musical ecosystem. Their focus on a professional learning program developed within the contemporary art music industry grounds the highly engaging insights that emerge throughout the volume. The material on offer will be especially valuable to professionals in the field as they seek to devise new forms of artistic leadership and overcome the unprecedented challenges of an increasingly hostile global environment.”
Professor John Rink, University of Cambridge, UK
“For young musicians, one of the most challenging aspects of their career is finding their own path in the cultural sector. While the professional field for orchestra musicians and music educators is clearly defined, the freelance world of chamber music can seem quite confusing. In this book Margaret S. Barrett and Karlin Love open up the rich practical knowledge of professionals and the valuable experience of young musicians at the beginning of their careers. They provide essential reading for young musicians and for teachers at music universities who want to equip their students with necessary skills in entrepreneurship and creative citizenship.”
Professor Constanze Wimmer, Rector, Universitat Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria
ISBN: 9781032291345
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 380g
188 pages