Entrepreneurs in Music — and Don’t Forget about Mozart!

Perhaps the best advice I might impart to a music student today – especially a performer – is to understand story. I believe the basis of all art is story and that exploring how story functions in our everyday life is fundamental to why we feel a need to express and to share our expression with others – whether through music, literature, drama, dance or visual art. That said, take advantage of courses in all of the arts and understand how they all intersect. If I could go back to school now, I know that I would explore ethnomusicology and world folklore…

About the author

Bridget McDaniel
Bridget McDaniel

Flutist Bridget Muldoon McDaniel was a member of both the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra in Evansville, IN and the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra in Owensboro, KY for ten years. In 1986 she founded and served as the artistic/executive director ofTales & Scales, the nation’s only musictelling organization (a not-for-profit performing arts eduction organization).

For 21 years, this innovative troupe of instrumental musicians has collaborated with outstanding composers, writers, directors and choreographers to create interdisciplinary works in a mission to ignite the imaginations of children and family audiences. Using minimal sets and costumes, the uniquely-talented performers combine music, story, theatre and creative movement in their dynamic presentations. From its home base in Evansville, Indiana, the troupe tours the United States performing in schools, concert halls, performing arts centers, and with symphony orchestras. Tales & Scales members are also involved in workshops, school residencies, and an annual summer camp.

In 2003 Bridget was honored in Washington DC at the the Jefferson Award Ceremony at the Kennedy Center. Bridget was one of five Jefferson Award recipients in the nation to win the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service in recognition of her work creating, nurturing and leading Tales & Scales. It is the highest recognition a Jefferson Award winner can receive, and is considered the “Nobel Prize” for public service in America.

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