Welcome to The Rest by me, Tanya Kalmanovitch. This is a newsletter that answers the question, “Why do I continue to dedicate my life to music?”*
Regular subscribers can expect critical thinking about musicians’ lives and livelihoods in the global pandemic; thoughts on how racism, classism and gender bias shape our concepts of what a musician is and who gets to be one; and notes from my process of active recovery from professional training — turning ghosts into ancestors, renegotiating my relationship to the viola, building an ethical practice, and creating spaces where musicians can activate their fullest potential.
Paid subscribers can expect lesson plans, worksheets, Q and A sessions, and other practical tools I use to help hundreds of people achieve proven success through my classes and coaching at the New England Conservatory and The New School. One of my motivations in staring this newsletter is my desire to offer my support beyond the institutions where I teach—places where the average net cost is close to $45,000 per year. I want to offer help where it’s needed. If you feel a connection to me and the work I’m doing, and lack the ability to afford the subscriber rates, then please email me for a free subscription, no questions asked.
Sign up now so you don’t miss the first issue.
In the meantime, tell your friends!
* Thank you to trombonist, community-builder and truth-seeker Robyn Smith for posing that resonant question in a class discussion a few weeks ago. I’m going to keep doing my best to answer it.