“So much of being a musician teaches us the craft of being a person.” This is one of many profound statements made by new music mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen in Ep 5 of the Making Noise podcast.
Megan Ihnen is a mezzo-soprano on a mission to change the world through the commissioning, performance, and proliferation of new music. She has collaborated with individuals and ensembles around the globe including: International Contemporary Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Great Noise Ensemble, Rhymes With Opera, and Synchromy. She is deeply committed to the belief that new music should be performed and loved in communities of all sizes. Megan’s advocacy for music and musicians extends beyond the performance stage. She also effects change as a non-profit arts coach and consultant. You have likely interacted with her work for Nief-Norf, Live Music Project, New Music USA, and many individual artists throughout classical and new music. Megan’s work at the intersection of performance, creative placemaking, audience development, and music entrepreneurship is a delight and relief to her clients and colleagues.
Megan and I met at the 2017 New Music Gathering where she did a presentation on Placemaking in New Music. I was so taken by the concepts she outlined, I invited her to BGSU to present these topics to other students music students.
Megan has this amazing ability to make you feel important. Like what you're doing matters. I think this comes across clearly from the start of our discussion. With a multi-faceted and diverse career, from her performance as a mezzo-soprano to business coaching to running a podcast and blog, I don't think there is anything she can't do.
Some of the things we discuss:
Understanding the financial "numbers you need to have in your life to feel like it’s sustainable."
Creating systems that serve your needs as a professional and the needs of your clients and collaborators.
Develop the skills to recognize when you're in a spiral, and "then talk to yourself like you love yourself”
“so much of being a musician teaches us the craft of being a person”
“I believe deeply in the power of storytelling, and there is nothing more special to me than being able to share that with each other”
Communicating your craft to an audience in a way that draws them in
How Megan and Alan Thiesen (saxophonist partner of MIATp) conceptualized the programmatic design of Black Meridian
“Whatever keeps you committed to making music going forward - during the time of COVID - is the right thing”
Megan’s final statement: new album coming out very soon (www.meganihnen.com); before January 2021, she is running a coaching/consulting special: 3 sessions over the course of 5 months as low as $48 a month.