Curating My First Concert: 5 Essential Lessons from a Berklee Professor
This past month I hosted BEFORE DUSK, my first-ever concert! Friends and artists gathered to celebrate our shared paths and new beginnings with Jazz, Poetry, and Opera in seven languages at the cozy, magical, and warm Clarion Performing Arts Center in the heart of San Francisco.
The BEFORE DUSK Concert was a blast!
I have to admit, delivering this concert was no small effort. It took about 2 months of research, planning, and collaboration with friends in music and art to make it happen. The most challenging part, however, was not rehearsing the songs or studying the pronunciation of foreign languages but pondering how to engage every listener in the house, how to connect audiences to the music I love, and how to draw my listeners to the deepest levels of musical comprehension and multi-sensory satisfaction.
The book from Dr. David Wallace next to the special postcard from my concert.
During my visit to The Juilliard School bookstore last year when I was in New York City, I stumbled upon a book that promises to transform musicians’ approach to performing: “Engaging the Concert Audience: A Musician’s Guide to Interactive Performance” (2018) by Dr. David Wallace, a musician and leader at Berklee College of Music. The practical techniques, performance strategies, and insights from this book immediately caught my attention and eventually led to the success of the BEFORE DUSK concert. I’d like to share 5 key principles Dr. Wallace discusses for making a musical experience truly interactive.
Principle #1: Carefully Consider the Entry Point to the Music
Principle #2: Prioritize Experience Over Information
Principle #3: Two-Way Interaction Over One-Way Demonstration
Principle #4: Engage Multiple Human Intelligence
Principle #5: Project Your Personality
Principle #1: Carefully Consider the Entry Point to the Music
The very first thing that Dr. David Wallace’s book highlighted is the importance of carefully considering the right entry points into the music. This is essential to bring every listener, regardless of their familiarity with the repertoire, into the musical world we curate.
When planning the concert, we reflect deeply on what makes each piece great and what excites us about it. We ponder whether there is anything unusual, cool, or striking about each work that could serve as an aural or visual hook for first-time listeners. Highlighting these elements helps draw the audience’s attention immediately and deeply into the performance.
We also focus on aspects that are strong and immediate, including rhythmic layers, instrumental conversations, and the dynamic play of tension and release. By emphasizing the mood, emotions, and rhythmic energy, we can create an immersive and engaging experience that has a continuity and natural flow of human feelings.
Whether through the conversational interplay between instruments and voice or the emotional highs and lows of the pieces, our goal is to ensure that each listener connects with the music on a profound level from the very beginning.
This careful consideration of entry points makes a significant difference in how the audience experiences and connects with the music during the concert.
The final output of this reflective exercise is a curation of 15 songs across different styles and languages that speak to the overall theme of BEFORE DUSK.
Principle #2: Prioritize Experience Over Information
Dr. Wallace also recommends prioritizing experience over information. Instead of giving a lengthy lecture-like speech before each song, sharing information directly during or after an immersive experience makes it far more likely to be received and remembered by the audience.
For instance, during my performance of “La Vie En Rose” I prepared fresh roses to hold in my hand. Instead of merely explaining the song’s background or meaning, I created a tangible connection by involving a real and symbolic object. The roses were also handed out to three couples in the audience who had recently married or were soon to be married, making the song’s underlying metaphor even more memorable.
Principle #3: Two-Way Interaction Over One-Way Demonstration
It would be ironic to have an interactive performance without actual interaction. Our interpretations and performance should strive to invite musical explorations from the audience, not just demonstrating or lecturing.
For instance, the first song of the concert, “New York, New York” and the special encore, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”, offered the audience enough familiarity to encourage them to sing along, hum, whistle, and snap.
There were also other tunes during which the audience stood and moved, improvised on the piano or with their voice, incorporated hand signals and motions, made facial expressions, or even danced. Some were recording, photographing, and live-streaming their experience to social media.
“This approach transforms the audience from passive listeners to active participants, allowing them to become performers and creators themselves.”
The two-way approach transforms the audience from passive listeners to active participants, allowing them to experience the joy and challenges of making music, and gaining confidence in their abilities to create musical connections. This interactive approach enhances the overall experience and makes the performance more memorable and impactful.
Principle #4: Engage Multiple Human Intelligences
The fourth principle from Dr. David Wallace’s book is to engage multiple human intelligences, recognizing that our audience members have different perceptual styles. If our presentation only addresses one style, we risk failing to connect with many members of our audience.
Tokyo Tower was lit up as the song “First Train, Sunrise, 5am Walk”progresses with more heightened emotions.
Visual/Spatial Intelligence: We used elements like lighting, staging, and projected images or videos. For example, during my performance of the Japanese jazz piece “First Train, Sunrise, 5am Walk”, we had Tokyo Tower lit up in the background when the music reached a chorus, creating a visually captivating scene that enhanced the audience’s experience and imagination of metropolitan Tokyo.
Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence: We incorporated 7 languages in our program but always included either a native language or English to ensure everyone could connect with the lyrics. This linguistic diversity added depth to our performance and made it more inclusive.
Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence: This was addressed through movement, physical action, dance, breathing, and even moments of meditation. By involving the audience in these physical activities, we created a more dynamic and engaging experience.
Interpersonal Intelligence: The story of Billy Strayhorn given before the performance of “Lush Life” allowed the audience to connect with both the composer and each other on a deeper emotional level, creating a shared experience regardless of their exposure to jazz.
Intrapersonal Intelligence: We engaged the audience by encouraging them to reflect, interpret personally, and become self-aware. We invited them to imagine themselves in various scenarios, such as relaxing in a NYC jazz lounge, traveling in traffic, going to Brazil, being involved in a love affair, recalling a previous heartbreak, or walking at 5 AM in Tokyo with the sunrise. This reflection nudged the audience from passive entertainment into the realm of deep personal and aesthetic response.
By engaging these multiple intelligences, we created a richer, more inclusive, and deeply resonant concert experience that connected with a diverse audience.
Principle #5: Project Your Personality
The final principle from Dr. Wallace emphasizes the importance of projecting our authentic and true personality. Sharing personal stories and letting our unique character shine through can make a significant impact on the audience.
I have been asked many times about the meaning of my stage name, Honolulu Mailman 島嶼郵差. I revealed the answer shortly after the intermission of the concert.
As I spoke about my musical vision in search of an authentic voice and sound that inspire, collect those stories, and then deliver them to the world (like a mailman), as well as how Honolulu, Hawaii has served as a symbolic place of healing and inspiration, the audience became instantly more understanding about my curated program that contains seven languages across four continents. And moreover, they resonated more with Honolulu Mailman both as a musical project and creative identity.
Wish you no more blues: a gift as well as a key messaging for the audience.
Wish you no more blues: a gift as well as a key messaging for the audience.
One audience member told me afterward, “What I enjoy the most is to see you truly enjoy being on stage.”
Another remarked, “The show is curated with heart, so naturally programmed and executed, not at all like it’s scripted.”
These comments highlight the importance of being genuine and letting our personality and passion guide our performance. After all, the personal connection is what can really inspire listeners in ways that recordings or textbooks cannot.
Tune In and Follow My Music Journey Today!
I hope to continue incorporating these principles into future performances, making each one a unique journey for both myself and my audience. And part of that effort would also be connecting with you, my readers, here on Medium and beyond. Let’s stay connected for handpicked tunes, captivating stories, and tips on performing.
YouTube @Honolulumailman
Instagram: @honolulu.mailman.music
Personal Website: honolulumailman.com
About Honolulu Mailman
Honolulu Mailman 島嶼郵差 is a San Francisco-based Jazz vocalist on a journey in search of authentic voice and sound that inspire and then deliver those stories to the world. He has a penchant for delicate and sensual tones in the Jazz, R&B, Bossa Nova, and Neo-Soul genres. He enjoys bringing people together through organic music experience curated with notes, rhythms, melodies, and love.
He is currently receiving extensive voice training from Carolina Santos, a professional Jazz singer based in Buenos Aires, and has also been under the ongoing guidance of Claudio Santome, a renowned Opera Singe, and Alecia Taylor, a Berklee College of Music graduate.
In Summer 2024, he will engage in multiple professional programs including the Jazz Vocal Program at Stanford Jazz Institute, Jazz Camp West in a Californian redwood forest, and The Jazz Course: An Orff Certification Course in New Orleans.
