In a Columbia recording studio, Haley Dreis lays down a foundation for her future career one track at a time.
“There will always be a need for music,” she says, smiling under round blue eyes.
The third-year University of South Carolina violin performance major is starting to focus more on the pop appeal of her original guitar-and-keyboard-based songs to get her music heard when classical music is hurting for funds.
“From a monetary perspective, I think that being a singer-songwriter will give me more financial security,” she says, adding that there’s a greater demand for pop music because it’s more accessible to people who can’t economically contribute to the classical arts.
USC Symphony Orchestra conductor Donald Portnoy says the orchestra has a core audience that re-subscribe their season tickets annually, but in general, people are contributing less by going out less to save their own money.
Dreis says many regional symphonies are going downhill because they can’t make enough money to survive. For a performance, USC Symphony ticket sales and a small budget from the school must pay for Koger Center rental fees, cleanup, technical assistance with lighting and sound system, a nurse, security, valet parking, and lots of print advertisement.
And that doesn’t even count the actual musical part of the concert.
First, musical compositions that aren’t in the public domain—that is, any sheet music publication with a copyright date of 1922 or earlier, according to the Public Domain Information Project—have to be rented by a set big enough for the 100-member symphony. This can cost hundreds of dollars, depending on the fame and age of a score. This limit’s the symphony’s feasible repertoire.
“The budget is miniscule,” Portnoy says.
Once the program is decided, the symphony rehearses twice a week to perform six Koger Center concerts, along with one or two extra performances in nearby areas like Aiken and Sumter. The students in the orchestra get paid in experience rather than paychecks.
Local pianist and USC adjunct music professor Elisa Moskovitz knows how difficult it is to make a living purely on performances. Her jobs with various local orchestras, the Southern Arts Trio, and as a freelance accompanist and a church musician are largely free.
“They’re strictly for the joy of performance because often the place can’t afford to pay,” says Moskovitz, adding that even non-paying performances have the advantage of dress rehearsal-level practice.
Dreis spends most of a typical day practicing her violin, alone and with the USC Jazz Strings Quartet, the USC Chamber Orchestra, or the USC Symphony Orchestra. She strives to be a well-rounded musician, learning music theory, history, and regularly performing once or twice a week with any one of her ensembles or alone with her own music.
In her spare time, she manages her personal budding singer-songwriter career by writing original music, practicing, and performing at spots on campus and venues like the White Mule and the New Brookland Tavern and as far away as Charleston, Greenville, Atlanta and Raleigh. She’s recently been adding to her solo performance and recording schedule because she wants to make it her career.
“I feel good about graduating college right now,” she says, letting out a small laugh. “I’m a little nervous because I don’t have the security of a record or publishing deal at the moment. But I have a year left, so I’m taking a year to secure a job position.”
To stretch her resources, Dreis practices in the School of Music to avoid rehearsal space fees, borrows equipment from friends, invests her earned money in a savings account, and has lowered the price of her CDs to sell more. She says iTunes helps get new bands and artists noticed, but performers still rely on live shows and merchandise to profit or just break even.
But the pop world is still relatively stable compared to classical music, especially for graduates looking for jobs as performance artists, Portnoy said.
“Each year you’ve got people graduating, so the pool of performers keeps getting bigger,” he says.
Dreis says she thinks classical music is going in a more experimental direction that doesn’t attract mainstream audiences, but she is still expanding her musical knowledge to secure as many opportunities as possible.
“I feel like people in Columbia are willing to support local music and local artists,” she says. She tucks her violin under her chin, flicks away a stray hair, and begins to play. RCT