unknown

Summer is Coming.................!

The Art and Life of Street Performers w/ Valentin Spurchisi – Creative Strings Podcast Ep. 27

I met up in Madrid with Valentin Spurchisi, a self-taught violinist who travels and lives from performing in the streets of Europe. Valentin had a successful career as an engineer and web designer in his early twenties before leaving that career to perform from subways to street corners all across Europe.

Remember when classical violinist Joshua Bell played in the subway for 45 minutes and made $32? The author of the story raised questions about artistic context and the loss of appreciation for beauty in modern life.  Many people point to stories like this as evidence of how hard it is to build an audience or make a living as a musician.

I disagree with the notion that musicians are somehow victims in a disconnected world that doesn’t care about art.

Live music makes a huge difference for people on the street, in hospitals, in war zones, refugee camps, schools, and all kinds of venues.

Sharing music directly, without filters, is important for musicians to do more of.  We should play in any circumstance we can, within our comfort level, if and when it enables us to grow and connect.

If we’re NOT performing or making music in the ways we want to be doing it, we owe it to ourselves to ask, “What’s holding me back?”, and/or “What am I afraid of?”

After coaching many musicians on both the music and business/career side,  I noticed that many of us hold ourselves back whether it has to do with offering our services for money or for free. Those tendencies are rooted in psychology.

Going outside and performing is if nothing else an exercise to take one’s own temperature. Busking is something almost anyone can do. If you need a gig, or if you feel a general question about how to connect your music to the world, go play on the street. One possible upside of the experience is discovering we can do things we were afraid to do.

It’s easy to lose sight as musicians of the transforming effect we can have on people playing music live, even without the accoutrements of air conditioned venues, publicists, sheet music, prepared music, and finely pressed tuxedos.

Imagine if your Full Time Job consisted of playing multiple shows every day in busy intersections during 40 seconds at a red light? You’ve got 30 seconds to perform, and ten seconds to collect money and get out of the way. (See the video below for an example of this.)

I get excited thinking about music outside of traditional performance spaces- That’s why at our annual USA summer conference we perform in a wide array of venues. At our European event we put on a “produced” performance festival in a theater. 

Believe it or not, the seed of this idea was planted for me 30 years ago playing on prison yards and hearing singing in the rows of cells within the solitary confinement wing. I saw music dissolve violence, replacing it with laughter, tears, and humanity.

Today’s guest conveys a message- articulating what musical performance is really about, and how we as musicians can be present to it’s meaning.

I met up in Madrid with Valentin Spurchisi, a self-taught violinist who travels and lives from performing in the streets of Europe. Valentin had a successful career as an engineer and web designer in his early twenties before leaving that career to perform from subways to street corners all across Europe.

He chose to live this way. Some might call Valentin an “adult learner” on the violin. I call him an inspiration. I learned a lot from him, and  I encourage you to listen in and decide for yourself.

In Creative Strings Podcast Episode 27 we discuss topics such as:

  • Life as a street performer
  • Packing a large performance into a small amount of time
  • Transforming negative audience energy into something positive
  • What goes into street performance and what sets performers apart
  • What Joshua Bell’s famous experiment left out
  • The trap of wanting fame
  • The importance of doing what you want to do in life to be happy
  • Persistence in doing what you want to do, regardless of the skepticism of others

Subscribe for all Episodes on iTunes, Stitcher, & Google Play here:

podcastitunesbuttonstitcher_button Listen on Google Play Music    
 

Please take a moment to visit our sponsor Electric Violin Shop, your one-stop shop for electric instruments, amps, gear, accessories, and most of all, expertise. Use code CHOWES at checkout and take 5% off of your order. Call 866-900-8400 to get your questions answered on “all things electric strings.”

While you are talking to EVS, be sure to ask them about the new Yamaha Electric Violin (you can check out my video review here). I’ve been a Yamaha performing artist for almost 20 years now and am very proud to be a part of the Yamaha family.

Watch the extended conversation on YouTube:

Learn more about Valentin Spurchisi:

YouTube

Soundcloud

Clips used in this episode:

“Summertime”

“Insomnia”

Check out my other blog posts:

Intersections: Classical, Jazz & Flemenco w/ Pablo Martín Caminero

Finding Your Vision and Reaching Your Goals as an Artist w/ Lewis Howes

Characteristics of Violinists and the Violin Community w/ Laurie Niles

Join The Community

Level up your music skills

Take Your Musicianship to the Next Level

Click below to discover ways to grow skills with our community.

Summer In-Person Retreat

Home Study Course

 For Teachers

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Related Posts

Get better outcomes from your practice