Ep 70-Sean Perrin on Adding Value as a Living Composer

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Sean is an active teacher and performer on both clarinet and percussion, is the host of the clarineat.com podcast, and is the founder of Rubbato Music, Inc. He has played with numerous local ensembles, including the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Red Deer Symphony, and Bow Valley Chorus, and has appeared on stage with pop acts including Keith Urban, Diana Krall, and Shania Twain.

Sean’s playing can be heard on three commercially-available CDs with the University of Calgary Wind Ensemble, two as a substitute player for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and he was recently awarded a substantial commercial recording grant from the Alberta Foundation of the Arts, to pursue his first solo project called “Dreamsongs.” As one of Calgary’s most in demand teachers and clinicians Sean teaches privately and is regularly contracted for music workshops by dozens of local schools, The University of Calgary, Mount Royal Conservatory, The Banff Centre, Vic Lewis Music Festival, and the Department of National Defence.

Sean obtained a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree from the University of Calgary in 2009.

Give the Composer on Fire podcast a Rating and Review!

Clarinetist, entrepreneur, and podcaster Sean Perrin discusses how living composers can add value to their work and engage with their audience and performers.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Podcasting to solve a problem
Lori Freedman
The 52 week job project
The appearance of competition
Grant writing
Offering something to the grant
Not being focused on yourself
Difficulty of networking with composers
Composers as a different class of musician
Pet peeves of composer behaviors
Adding value as a composer
Frank Ticheli
Writing program notes
Terminology

Website:

Recommended Listening:

10 Comments

Sean Perrin May 12, 2016 at 2:16 pm

Thanks for having me on the show Garrett! I think you’ve got an awesome thing going here and I had a lot of fun talking with you!
- admin May 16, 2016 at 1:02 pm
  
  So glad to have you featured as a guest! Great episode and a wonderful conversation. Thank you. 🙂
Mark J Connor May 13, 2016 at 5:50 pm

Thanks for another terrific episode Garrett and Sean. I’m always intrigued by the episodes with performers because they bring a fresh perspective to the podcast.

As a composer who has “niched down” to winds and band, the clarinet is central to what I do. It’s often the first voice I imagine when sitting down to a blank score and has figured prominently into some of my best music.

Thanks again!
- admin May 16, 2016 at 1:04 pm
  
  Thanks for the kind words, Mark! I agree that Sean brought a fresh and interesting perspective to the podcast. BTW, you’re getting a shout out in an upcoming episode. 😉
- Sean Perrin May 17, 2016 at 8:59 pm
  
  I’m glad you enjoyed the episode Mark! I look forward to checking out your music.
Charlie McCarron May 27, 2016 at 1:17 pm

Great chat, guys! I also sometimes have that feeling of “Why should I do X if it already exists?”

Sean, I’d be happy to be a guest on your show if you’re still searching. Here’s my pitch: I wrote music for a clarinet, cello, and piano trio to play live with the surrealist play Ghost Sonata. I wrote the bulk of this 30-minute score in a week. I’ve also written for clarinet in various ensembles, including a live film score orchestra. We could talk about my sad attempts to learn clarinet (and maybe you can give some tips for composers!). We could also chat about my upcoming Composer Quest podcast world tour if that sounds intriguing to you.

-Charlie
- admin May 27, 2016 at 3:44 pm
  
  Hi, Charlie! I’m glad you liked the interview. I’m excited about your world tour and to listen to all those interviews!
- Sean Perrin June 13, 2016 at 11:00 am
  
  Hi Chalrie,
  
  Thank you for your comment! I’ve actually been checking out your Composer Quest podcast and the related Kickstarter. I think having you on the show would be a blast and I’ll get in touch soon. Mark, if you’re reading this I’ll contact you as well over the summer to get in touch regarding this.
  
  Thank you for listening and sharing your thoughts!
  
  Sean.
Ep 73-Garth Sunderland on Producing Concerts | Composer on Fire June 2, 2016 at 1:07 am

[…] Sean Perrin […]
Ep 78-Garrett Hope on The Reason for the Podcast | Composer on Fire July 7, 2016 at 1:07 am

[…] a re-broadcast of Ep 10 of the Clarineat Podcast hosted by Sean Perrin. Sean Perrin was featured in Ep 70 of this […]

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The Podcast Mission

To help composers with the business end of writing music through mindset, marketing, and business skills.

The Philosophy

I believe that composers are self-employed small business owners. In order to succeed in getting our music in front of people who are interested in hearing it we need to know essential business skills such as marketing and networking. Building a successful career as a freelance composer is possible and thinking like an entrepreneur will help composers make a living writing music.

The Promise

I promise to deliver high-quality free content through the podcast and newsletter that will help you build your career as a composer. I want my free content to be better than other people's paid-for content. I also have online courses and am available for speaking and coaching.

I think this is such innovative and important work. I love it. It really helps to have a composer asking questions to another composer.

Kurt Knecht

If you have any interest in composing, song writing, or the process of music making from start to finish you need to subscribe to this podcast. It's run by a wonderful composer and he has wonderful guests of the highest level.

Timothy Tharaldson

What a wonderful way to use composers as resources for others!

Tina Davidson

This podcast is an excellent resource for composers at all stages of their careers. It is composers talking shop to other composers, addressing the issues that matter to our careers. It is so well thought out and executed—a total class act. Bravo to Garrett Hope for creating this much needed and well curated hub of knowledge for our community.

reeesm

Hey Garrett, again, this is so generous—to offer contemporary composers, conductors, and innovative thinkers in the new music field, the opportunities to talk about music. Really enjoyed doing a segment with you and the exchange of thoughts in talking with you about my reflections about being a composer and the paths taken toward releasing this orchestral CD, Dream Vapors. Thanks!

Rain17

By taking the time from his own life as a composer to offer the rest of us a window on how our peers work, Garrett is a truly wonderful musical citizen! Through the preparation he does for each interview, and the intelligence of the resulting conversations, Garrett has created a tremendous archive that will encourage and inspire countless music-makers. Thank you for this series, Garrett!

Alex Shapiro

Garrett Hope's series gives a wonderfully colorful and dynamic insight into the world of new music, featuring many important and diverse voices in the community today. A must-listen for anyone working within the field.

Maetstra | Maestro

A wonderful podcast and a great resource!

mgnumes

I don't even know where to start describing how incredible and important this podcast is. As a podcast aficionado who already has a long playlist of my tried and true favorites, I didn't anticipate this one completely knowing the others out of the water. In terms of helpfulness, this podcast is a must for composers today. Here are a few reasons I love the show: *The consistent format serves to highlight the content, trends, and differences between each guest. *The host, Garrett Hope, has ample experience as both a working composer and as someone who has spoken with hundreds of composers about their own career experiences, so he really knows what questions to ask and which subjects to delve into. *Practical, specific recommendations. I leave almost every episode with at least one concrete thing I can tweak or try in my own practice, promotion, business, or approach otherwise. It's not just BS, generic, arrogant sound bites from people not wanting to discuss the nitty gritty; the guests are great about giving valuable, honest perspectives. *The guests span a pretty diverse range, and it's great to see how different kinds of people of different ages and experience levels, with different interests, abilities, and dictates carve out their own careers. It's not just a monolithic image of what a composer needs to be. There are also non-composer guests as well, which is helpful, because we composers obviously need to be aware of other colleagues (like performers)! *Each episode really flies by. The episodes range from 30–60 minutes, but it's always the most riveting, inspiring, thought-provoking hour of my day/drive. Thanks for this wonderful gift you're giving to the new music world!

Chrysanthe Tan

A must-listen podcast for composers, performers, or any independent artist.

Anthony Lanman