Professional help for area musicians

For Immediate Release

November 7, 2006 -- Stockton, CA -- On Saturday, December 2, 2006, faculty from the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific and San Joaquin Delta College will collaborate in the presentation of the Working Musicians Symposium, geared toward providing the area’s working musicians, as well as aspiring professional musicians, a leg up in building their own careers.

The event is geared to musicians of all ages and skill levels that want to learn how to better promote and market themselves as artists and entertainers.

Workshops and panels will include sessions on How to Make the Most of an Audition, How to Build a Promo Kit, Effectively Using the Internet, Working as a Studio Musician, as well as a panel discussion with local concert promoters and arts presenters providing advice to artists titled How To Create Gig Opportunities.

Featured speakers include Pacific alumni Dave Riddles and Phil Schroeder. Riddles, one of Hollywood’s most in-demand session musicians has performed on more than 600 major motion picture soundtracks, and still plays regularly as a member of The Simpson’s orchestra. Producer Phil Schroeder of Oakland-based Green Street Music has composed music for television, radio and film projects for clients including Apple Computer, Sony, Sprint and the San Francisco Giants. Other speakers include music contractor Kevin Porter, local music promoter Middagh Goodwin, and Maestro Peter Jaffe of the Stockton Symphony, who will join Pacific and Delta faculty to share tips for success in the music performance world throughout the day.

Brian Kendrick and Patrick Langham, Directors of Jazz Studies at Delta and Pacific, respectively, will each be leading workshops. Keith Hatschek, Director of the Music Management Program at Pacific, is producing the conference with support from an NCAGE mini-grant. Pacific’s student Music Management Club is assisting with local promotions and production.

The event is free and open to the public and will be held on the Stockton campus of the University of the Pacific, in the Conservatory of Music Recital Hall. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 AM. To register, go to www.myspace.com/workingmusicianssymposium and send a message to the Symposium’s coordinator. You will receive a message confirming your registration afterwards.