The Entrepreneurial Musician: Brian Pertl, Dean of the Lawrence Conservatory
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Brian is the Dean of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music and a former ethnomusicologist for Microsoft. After interviewing him for the podcast I was filled with optimism for the future of collegiate music education in this country. I also wanted to high five him.
He is the perfect meld of artist and businessman and I learned a ton from speaking with him for an hour.
Brian touched on a wide range of topics in this episode including:
- How a $50 gig playing the didgeridoo led to his full-time employment for 16 years at Microsoft which led to him becoming a dean
- Always saying yes when asked if you are capable of something
- The importance of pivoting in one's career
- How giving people autonomy over projects can unleash creativity
- The value of questioning traditions within music
- Being ready to seize an opportunity
His passion for combining artistic expression with entrepreneurial skills has him on the cutting edge of what a music education should look like at the collegiate level today.
Books Mentioned:
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
The Savvy Musician by David Cutler
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Links:
Contact Brian: https://www.lawrence.edu/conservatory/faculty/brian_pertl
Brian's TEDx Talk: http://www.tedxlawrenceu.com/speakers/brian-pertl/
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Next Episode: Jeff Conner of Boston Brass and author of "The Portfolio Musician"
