He Hedged his Bet, and then his Big Break Showed Up.
A while ago, I asked you to tell me about one of your big breaks or career turning points.
It might have taken place in a concert hall or practice room. Or, maybe it was a revelation that occurred nowhere near a music building or musical world. It might have been something small that later guided you to create something big.
Here are two turning points and revelations I’ve had in the past two years:
You don’t need to put hot sauce on everything for it to taste delicious. (Who knew?)
That sage advice line attributed to Woody Allen, “Success is 20 per cent luck and 80 percent showing up,” is absolutely true.
I think recalling your big or small “big breaks:” and career turning points is especially important at this time. It could be helpful, and it could be a source of relief and encouragement, to remember how you got to where you are today, especially at this time when motivation is in short supply – like hand sanitizing soap.
It's also a way to remember that we don’t really control when the big break will arrive. It can happen anytime – during or after quarantine.
Eric Reed is the French horn player with the American Brass Quintet, and is on the faculty at the Aspen Summer Music Festival and the University of Connecticut. He performs frequently with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He is on call with the New York Philharmonic, and can be heard regularly in the orchestra pits on Broadway.
He sent me three of his big breaks; here’s the third of the three.
It’s 2006, and I had just completed a 1-year contract playing with the Oregon Symphony. During that season, uncertain of whether I would be asked to stay another year in Oregon, I hedged my bets and auditioned for the Master’s program at The Juilliard School. I had been wanting to study with Julie Landsman since she came to New World to coach a few years back, and had been fascinated with New York City since I knew it was a real place.
I also met a girl the previous summer, at Tanglewood of whom I was quite fond indeed, and who lived in NYC. When the Oregon Symphony asked me to stay another year, my mind was already made up: I was moving to New York and going back to school. It felt a little crazy, risky even, giving up a professional job to go back to school, but there was something about it that, intuitively, felt like what I needed to do.
I think it’s safe to say that the risk was worth it. I met my Canadian Brass and American Brass Quintet colleagues because of that leap of faith. All of my work, basically everything I do now, came out of that move to the big city. Most importantly, that city girl became my best friend and mother of my two beautiful boys. If it weren’t for my move to New York and the seismic shift in opportunity and possibility that came because of it, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today.
