Wrapping up this three-part series with Karen Cubides was so fun! Karen is the host of The Musician's Guide podcast, as well as the Fempire to Inspire podcast. With a background in classical saxophone and orchestra admin, Karen set off to found her own marketing agency in Nashville-- the Karen Cubides Agency. Karen works with musicians of all strip…

In part two of our three-part series on musicians who podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with Jason Heath-- host of the Contrabass Conversations podcast. Jason started his podcast way back in 2007 (!!) and has continued with it on and off ever since. The show is now close to reaching 3 million downloads!!! Jason's career has been very multi-fa…

This month, we are doing a 3-part series featuring musicians who podcast! First up is the host of the Flute 360 podcast-- Heidi Kay Begay. Heidi started her podcast as part of her DMA project, and 3 years later it is going stronger than ever! Flute360 offers "a panoramic view of flute-related topics for the modern day musician." Heidi now has her o…

In preparation for our June series with musicians who podcast, I'm bringing back the original trailer for the show. Listening back to the trailer has been a helpful reminder to me about why I started this podcast, how much growth it has experienced in the last 8 months, and how much growth I've experienced through producing the show! I am SO please…

Last installment of mental health awareness month! I wanted to ask New World flutist Leah Stevens to come on the show during mental health month because I have admired how transparent she is about her mental health struggles online. In addition to performing with the New World Symphony, she has served as principal flute with The Orchestra Now and s…

Continuing with Mental Health Awareness Month on the podcast... This week we have Rusty Holmes-- french horn player, teacher, and motivational speaker based in Austin, TX. In addition to being in the private teaching scene, Rusty plays in many orchestras in central Texas. During the pandemic, he developed his Musican's System for Success mental fit…

Welcome back to mental health awareness month here on The Unclassical Musician! This one is a must-listen! This week, I sat down with my good friend and master of social work Amanda Deligiannis to talk about some mental health issues pertaining to musicians, and the music school experience. Amanda started at DePaul as a music ed major, with french …

Thank you to everyone who took the time to check in on me while I was sick! Many people have been asking questions about my experience with covid, so I wanted to do an episode about it. We are kicking off Mental Month with a solo episode that goes into detail on the negative mental side effects of testing positive for the enemy virus during a globa…

Better late than never! I am so pleased to FINALLY bring you this conversation with flutist, educator, studio-building guru, and pedagogy nerd Katherine Emeneth. Based in Georgia, Katherine has taken her successful private flute studio and expanded her career into studio consulting, speaking on private studio development, and career coaching for re…

Katie Velasquez is another flutist with Texas connections! Originally from Austin, Katie is now the principal flutist of the Missouri Symphony, and the Artistic Director of the Virtual Flute Music Festival! Katie has a very impressive background in orchestra performance and has killed it in many national competitions. Perhaps one of her most impres…

Special thanks to Keith Alcius (tuba) for submitting this question for the Q&A episode. I told you we'd do full episodes for the big ones! I’m going to tell you a bit about how I got started with private teaching in Houston, how it's going at this point 1 year into the pandemic, and some of my personal policies I’ve used to build a sought-after les…

I am so stoked today to bring you this conversation with the queen of social media marketing for musicians—Nicole Riccardo. Nicole learned industry secrets around utilizing social media for marketing during her 9-5 job. These skills eventually allowed her to quit her job and start working for herself. Nicole now runs her own online media marketing …

Welcome to our first-ever rebroadcast episode! This week we are re-airing episode 10: Pivoting online and virtual networking for musicians. I wanted to bring this episode back as a refresher course to prep you for an upcoming episode with Nicole Riccardo, social media marketing QUEEN. Also flutist, also based in Texas. That conversation is going to…

It's tax season... Not my personal fave because it means my CPA fiancee is working non-stop. But this does put me in a unique position to offer some insights I've gleaned about my taxes since hanging out with an accountant! This episode is basically taxes 101 for self-employed musicians. I hope the info in this episode helps to ease some unease whe…

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions for this week's show! This show format is a unique Q&A/"Ask me anything" that will now be reserved exclusively for Patreon supporters in the future. If you enjoy this show format, be sure to check out The Unclassical Musician on Patreon! In show order: "Would you care to share your experience on region/…

Tori interviews fellow flutist and Chicago-Houston transplant Tyler Martin on life at one of the United States' top orchestral training institutions during the pandemic. They also dig into how his experiences of the past year have broadened Tyler's mindset on new possibilities for his career path. Besides doing his second masters at Rice, Tyler is …

In this episode, Tori shares some backstory about her relationship with money at the end of her time as a student and just getting started as a flute lesson teacher in Texas. Listen for some tips to help you change your relationship with money, ditch the starving artist mindset, and get out of debt! In this episode: Being unemployed as a recent mus…

Originally from Australia, Jess Voigt Page is an Austin, TX-based classical saxophonist, teacher, performer, and coach. She is on faculty at Baylor University and is president-elect of NASA (North American Saxophone Alliance). Jess’ “three-ish-minute thursday” Youtube videos cover a variety of bite-sized topics pertinent to creating your own music …

SPOILER ALERT! This episode uses the word a**. Also, this is NOT a step-by-step guide on how to get rich quick! This week we are talking about some mental blocks that might be holding you back from making more money as a musician during a pandemic. Things to listen for: Journaling-- yay or nay? Discontent-- what it is and why we feel it Whole-a**in…

This week, Tori speaks with Austin Pancner of The Functional Musician about the importance of exercise, nutrition, and meditation when recovering from a performance-related injury. Austin is a bass trombonist, personal trainer, and nutritionist finishing his DMA at Indiana University. He is also the founder of The Functional Musician, who's Holisti…

Join us this week for our first conversation episode! Dr. Chelsea Tanner is a flutist and mindset coach. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Chelsea started two online Flute Bootcamp courses, launched her self-image coaching business, AND her very own podcast called Align Your Mind. If you enjoy our conversation today, you'll definitely want to li…

Yes, we are (hopefully) halfway through this pandemic thing. No, it is never too late to start amplifying your artistic voice online! Your online presence is meant to showcase your work. It is your platform to advertise your goods, services, and skills. If you are a non-salaried musician, how do you expect to get new work if you are not promoting y…

If you are a musician with a gig-based income, you will likely qualify for some covid relief money from the federal government soon! Congress passed “The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021” on December 20. This act provides additional funds to the Paycheck Protection Program— the pandemic relief program administered by the US Small Business Admi…

Are you a new year's resolution person, or not really? This week we'll talk about why resolutions don't work, and how to create resolutions that motivate you to achieve your goals! Things to listen for: Arguments for and against resolutions Why resolutions fail SMART goals Taking an OK resolution and making it SMART S: Specific M: Measurable A: Att…

"Imposter!" Who, me?? This week, we discuss this syndrome that affects 70% of adults and develops as a side effect of going through the music school system. Listen all the way to the end of the episode for exciting Unclassical news and fun things to come in 2021! Things to listen for: What is Imposter Syndrome What causes Imposter Syndrome Fear of …

This week, Tori shares when she first realized she had performance anxiety as a teenager. We'll also talk about the difference between nervousness, performance anxiety, and social anxiety. Are performance and social anxieties directly related in individuals? Are musicians prone to social anxiety? We'll talk about it. Links: Blog post "Being a Music…

This week, Tori shares her personal struggles with TMJ as a flutist. The narrative for this episode comes from two blog posts, linked below. Things to listen for: - Stressors of music school - Anxiety - TMJ disorder and treatment - Stigma around performance-related injuries - How injuries can impact regular daily life Blog posts: TMJ: A Three-Lette…

Its another loaded topic! Keeping it under 30 minutes, here's what we'll talk about: - Loss of income - Taking care of "The Four Walls" - The effect of the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement on the classical music industry - The effects of a wave of free art online - A hope for a revitalized industry when things go back to …

"Mindset is everything." Is it really? This week we unearth some mindset and self-talk habits that sabotage musicians--especially recent music grads. In this episode: Pessimism, realism, optimism Self-talk Judgement Compassion and empathy Reacting versus responding Abundance versus scarcity Gratitude "Mindset is everything" poster Jen Sincero's sel…

This week, Tori shares some insights into the intensity of a musician's schedule compared to "muggles." She also provides some helpful tips for creating your own effective and productive work from home schedule! Work from home schedule template download "Get Unstuck: How to manage your time with the Pomodoro Technique" by Chris Bailey "The Rule of …

The best and easiest way to avoid and prevent burnout? Self-care! In this week's episode, Tori discusses the importance of self-care for people in general, and why it is difficult for musicians to make themselves a priority. What is self care? Taking care of yourself! Must-do self-care items for musicians: Get enough sleep Drink enough water Medita…

In episode 1, Tori kicks off a series of heavy-hitting topics with her own personal burnout story. We define burnout and its symptoms, and discuss why musicians in particular are prone to working themselves into burnout. Do you have an inspirational burnout story that you'd like to share with other listeners? Feel free to post about it in The Uncla…

Hi there! My name is Tori Lupinek, and you are listening to The Unclassical Musician. This is the podcast empowering the new generation of classical musicians to take risks and live a fulfilling life. Show links: Join the facebook group The Unclassical Musicians DM on instagram @torilupinekflutist Topic suggestion form: torilupinek.com/theunclassic…