How do you put a price tag on talent? What am I worth?
*Special recording included
Last week It was getting down to the wire. My most immediate budget proposal deadline for my upcoming April Holocaust Memorial presentation on Zoom (more on that later) was due. As I was working on the budget I was suddenly up against one of the hardest questions any artist has to answer. What do I pay myself? Or the more immeasurable question artists ask themselves, “How much am I worth?” When passion outweighs the drive for financial gain, money can be a sticky subject. How do you quantify the many hours of practice needed to maintain a healthy singing voice, or the hours of rehearsal time with professional musicians (who require payment) to perfect your performance?
Addressing the business side of my career is something all artists have to confront at some point. Some are better at it than others. My learning curve began in 2019 when, for the first time in my life, I produced, directed and performed in a concert at the Art Theatre in Long Beach, CA and had to decide how much I should charge for tickets.
“Tears, Joy and Hope: Yiddish Songs Written in the Jewish Ghetto.” is a product of my passion to not let these songs be forgotten. With the last survivors of the Holocaust dying the songs bare witness to what can happen if racism, anti-semitism and hate is allowed to flurish. I’m realizing that it’s hard to ask for money when passion and purpose is driving my creativity. But it’s something I will need to work through if I want this project to succeed. Luckily, this time around I was able to arrive at a budget that felt good for me given the amount of time and effort I will be putting into my presentation.
Mark your Calendars! I will be a featured presenter at The City of West Hollywood’s Holocaust Memorial recognition day (also known as Yom HaShoah) April 8, 2021 @ 12pm (PST).
I will have the unique opportunity to share my research with an audience that will include high school students. As the youth in our nation begin to form their own views about life and how they fit into society, I believe that lessons learned from the Holocaust can and will determine how they treat others.
Click here to join the Zoom event
Meeting ID: 921 9378 7384
To call in with your phone, find your local number here: https://zoom.us/u/ablSIE0ZpC
*And as a special gift for all your support and encouragement, I would love to share the Jewish folk song “Shlof Mayn Kind” (Sleep my child) words by Shalom Aleichem. Thanks to my sound engineer Paul Levitt you will experience a live recording from the concert I gave at the Art Theatre. I am accompanied by Ben Gown on Accordion and Diana Parmeter on Cello. Enjoy!
There are many verses, but I have chosen to sing five. Click here to listen.
The translation to the verses of this sweet lullaby are listed here:
Sleep my baby, my sweet comfort,
Sleep my lovely son.
Hush my child, my precious darling,
Hush, my little one.
Mother sits beside your cradle
Crooning tearfully.
Some day, you will understand
What these tears mean to me.
Your daddy’s in America
A thousand miles away,
You are still a tiny baby,
What more can I say?
In the weekdays, so they tell me,
They eat white bread, son,
Chicken broth, I’ll make for you there,
Sleep now, little one.
Till that blessed moment comes
The days are sad and long.
Sleep is such a soothing comfort,
Sleep my son, grow strong.