Anatomy of a performance

People tend to be unaware of what is required from the musicians to make a concert possible. Putting aside the many years of (expensive) study (more than a doctor) and the high cost of instruments (including repair, replacement,maintenance and insurance) here is a breakdown of our last gig.

 Note that almost all the work involved was concrete musican work ; rehearsing, composing etc. Setting up the gig took less than 30 minutes. Organizing the music took more time since new music was written and research had to be done, but rehearsing and performance took 83% of the time and only 1.4% of the full time was really administration. Yet most arts groups spend 56% or more of their budget on administration and as little as possible on the actual product, no wonder the arts are in trouble.

This was for a recent 55 minute classical music cross-over  performance  here in Prince George.

total expenses were $86 plus 33.5 man hours of unpaid work. Total renumeration $100 honorarium for 3 people plus  dinner.

organizational time dealing with patron & setting up rehearsals.

30 minutes  for 1 person =.5

Rehearsal time  every hour on stage = 5 hours of reh + (2 hours of personal practice, this varies from gig to gig)

7 hours for 3 people =21 man hours

Music preparation time

6 hours writing out parts, composing new music, finding music 1 person

Music purchase costs

$26 for music suitable for this event only.

Reed purchase costs

$60

performance time including travel and setup

2 hours for 3 persons= 6 man hours