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Introducing Zenezen – a “creative ecosystem for musicians, by musicians.”

[ze-neh-zen]

Zene [noun, Hungarian] music

Zen     1. [noun] A state of meditative calm, in which one uses direct, intuitive insights as a way of thinking and acting

2. [adjective/colloquial] Wise, enlightened, relaxed, capable

Zenezen is an emerging initiative and digital platform designed to support the professional and personal development of musicians. Founded by British concert pianist and educator Ashley Wass, it brings together a global network of artists, educators and industry professionals to share knowledge, mentorship and resources aimed at improving the sustainability and wellbeing of careers in music.

I spoke to Ashley Wass to find out more about Zenezen and his motivation for establishing it.

What inspired you to create Zenezen, and what gap in the music profession are you hoping to address?

It’s something that’s been building for a long time – over three decades of experience in the profession (plus the years of study at a specialist music school before that) have ultimately led me here. And it’s not only my experiences; the countless conversations I’ve held with friends and colleagues over the course of my career are part of it too.

What’s clear is that many musicians traverse their entire careers without fully understanding how the industry works, and that’s often a source of intense frustration, loneliness and instability. Zenezen aspires to promote greater transparency, deepen knowledge, and champion a culture of sharing. I’m a big believer in peer-to-peer support, and everyone who contributes to Zenezen does so because they want to help their fellow musicians.

How would you describe the core mission of Zenezen to someone encountering it for the first time?

Quite simply, we want to make the world of classical music a happier and healthier place. Our platform will be a safe space where people can share their expertise and experience for the benefit of their peers. It will be a place where musicians can access beautiful content that supports their wellbeing and professional development. We will promote live events, both online and in-person. And there will be opportunities for mentoring and networking. With the desire to promote togetherness at its heart, Zenezen will be a community.

Musicians often face pressures that aren’t always visible from the outside. What kinds of challenges is Zenezen trying to help address?

For such a communal activity, a life in music can be surprisingly lonely. Many musicians feel unable to express their vulnerabilities for fear of damaging their reputations, but deep down, most of us are facing the same challenges. As mentioned above, there’s a general lack of knowledge about the industry, and we want to break down those barriers. And we also aspire to support musicians across the wide range of skills that are required to manage oneself effectively and healthily in the profession. Of course, the nature of those skills is constantly evolving – who would have predicted 15 years ago the role that social media would play in our careers, for example? – and we need to ensure that appropriate and contemporary training is available, such that musicians are well-equipped to keep pace.

The data is deeply worrying – a 2020 survey of musicians around the globe found that 71% reported stress and anxiety, 76% had suffered playing-related injuries, 66% faced discrimination, and 82% felt the industry provided inadequate support for their mental health. Since 2019, no doubt partly due to the pandemic, there has been a 396% increase  in consultations for musicians with mental health concerns. There are all sorts of factors at play – unsociable working hours, poor pay, inconsistency of bookings, accessibility, etc, etc. What Zenezen can do is raise awareness of the challenges, offer help and guidance through them, champion togetherness as a core value, and serve as an advocate for positive change whenever the opportunity exists.

Zenezen brings together artists, educators and industry professionals. Why is this kind of cross-disciplinary community important for musicians today?

The music industry is made of lots of moving parts, and for too long, there hasn’t been enough transparency and understanding between them. It’s vital that educators hear from artists about the demands of the industry so that they can evolve their offerings accordingly. It’s crucial that artists hear from promoters and agents what it is they’re looking for. And it’s important that promoters work more closely with artists to find ways of developing the audiences of the future. Without that, the industry – and everyone in it – will continue to struggle.

At Zenezen, we keep repeating the slogan “Making music together”. It’s not a trite piece of marketing text – we really mean it. Positive change will only happen if we work together.

Can you share an example of a project, activity or conversation within Zenezen that has had a particularly meaningful impact?

It’s difficult to single out any one thing, to be honest. What I will say is this; the support and enthusiasm with which the idea of Zenezen has been embraced – by individuals and institutions – has been truly humbling. So often, the response has been, “this is not just important, it’s essential”. We live in a fascinating time – where people are questioning how we interact with one another – and there’s no doubt the appetite exists for a stronger sense of community.

How does Zenezen aim to support both emerging musicians and more established artists?

I’ve mentioned the word “community” several times already, and that’s the key. Zenezen exists to support our fellow musicians, and we will take direction from them as to what they want us to produce. Everyone who engages with Zenezen has a voice and the opportunity to help shape the platform. So, with that in mind, we would love to hear from musicians at all stages of their careers; their feedback and suggestions will be invaluable as we seek to create the resources that they find helpful.

What role do wellbeing, resilience and sustainability play in the philosophy behind the platform?

For so long, there’s been an attitude that the suffering of great hardship is a requisite to becoming a great artist. It’s a myth that exists in our worship of musical idols, it has been a fundamental part of certain pedagogical traditions for decades, and it pervades our psychologies such that we tend to ‘muddle on’ in the face of unjust, unfair practices. The profession of music lags massively behind other industries when it comes to caring for the wellbeing of its constituents, and we want that to change. Music has an astonishing power to bring joy, hope, healing and redemption to our societies, and we are blessed to be the practitioners who have the talent to deliver it. But there’s an imbalance which is demonstrated by one startling statistic; recent surveys reveal that 71% of people who listen to music report a positive impact on their wellbeing, yet as mentioned above, the very same percentage – 71% – of people who perform music professionally are citing depression and anxiety. There will always be ups and downs – successes and failures – no matter what your job, but we believe that fundamentally, the classical music industry can, and must, become a happier and healthier place.

Looking ahead, what are your hopes for how Zenezen might grow or influence the wider musical community?

We will strive for Zenezen to become an influential voice in the push for positive change, and we will listen to our community members and champion their causes as much as we can. But perhaps I can best answer the question by sharing a little story from my past.

The year was 2016 and the world felt like a turbulent place. The UK had just voted for Brexit, elections around the world had thrown up worrying results, and conflict and division raged throughout our societies. At the time, my first child was 4 years old, and I worried desperately about what the future held in store for her. Late in the year, I was invited to give a concert in an abbey. It was a beautiful place, and in between rehearsal and concert, I decided to explore. It was then that I met a resident monk who was keen to chat. At some point during our conversation, I expressed my concerns and told him I felt helpless in my desire to bring harmony to the world around me. He thought for a few moments and then offered a word of wisdom that’s stayed with me ever since. “Don’t try to change the whole world”, he said. “Focus on making the world a better place for one person at a time”.

And that’s where I stand with Zenezen. Yes, we have grand ambitions. But ultimately, if we can become a space where fellow musicians find things that resonate and reassure – just one at a time – then it will all be worthwhile.

Find out more and explore Zenezen resources here: https://zenezen.net/

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This article on the LitHub website caught my eye We Need To Treat Artists as Workers, not Decorations. In summary, the author challenges the entrenched notion that because artists (and by extension musicians) do what they do for “love”, they are not workers, in the sense of being gainfully employed and receiving a salary or payment, and that discussing art and money in the same breath somehow compromises or trivialises the art. 

We really must get over the romantic idea of the starving artist – or musician – living a bohemian existence in a shabby-chic garret in Hoxton. 2020, the year of the global coronavirus pandemic, has revealed some hard truths about the day to day lives of artists, musicians, and indeed other freelancers, as well as some unpleasant, prejudiced attitudes, particularly from politicians who have inferred that such people, because they love what they do they do, are “not viable” (i.e. they do not contribute sufficiently to society and the economy), should look for employment elsewhere, and do not need proper financial support.

Musicians need to eat. They have bills to pay and families to support. Let’s stop being coy about talking about money in relation to music. This seems to apply particularly in the classical music world (when we talk about “the music business” we are nearly always referring to the world of popular music), where discussions about entrepreneurialism, marketing and business plans are regarded as unbecoming, almost taboo, in a profession which is devoted to sharing some of the highest, most wondrous and sublime creative achievements of mankind with others.

The trouble starts early on. Having observed from the outside, and, briefly, the inside of the conservatoire system in the UK, and having talked to many musicians – students and professionals – and others in the industry, it is quite evident to me that trainee professional musicians are not being equipped to cope with the realities of the working life of a musician. The focus is largely on performance, in a rarefied atmosphere which discourages talk of “career” or “job prospects”, and instead encourages student musicians to believe that they can sustain a life as a performer when they leave college. Few music colleges offer courses on the business side of being a freelance musician; thus, musicians are often naïve about money because they’ve been told it cheapens their “art” to talk about it. It’s a high ideal, and one which is quickly shattered when students enter the real world. 

Add to this a prevailing attitude that because you do something you love you don’t need to be paid for it – nor should you ask for money. For goodness sake, let’s stop telling musicians that unpaid work is “an opportunity” and that they should be grateful for “the exposure”. Exposure doesn’t pay the bills!

When artists assert that they ought to get paid, and paid fairly, it’s because they want to make a living, not a killing. They want enough to keep doing it. Artists are like other professionals who work from a sense of commitment—teachers, social workers—and who opt for satisfaction over wealth. They still have bills to pay. You don’t have to be doing something for the money to want to get money for doing it. You just have to be alive.

William Deresiewicz (author of The Death of the Artist)

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Inspired by a guest post on performance anxiety written by a friend from my piano Meetup group, I am launching a new occasional series of guest posts called Advice to Myself.

The articles are aimed at pianists and musicians in general and will offer practical, supportive and inspiring advice on aspects such as managing anxiety, preparing for performance, practising, repertoire, teaching, music exams, avoiding injury and more. The advice of others based on their experience of similar issues and challenges can be very helpful, and I hope these articles will also create a forum for discussion of the many issues which face musicians, amateur and professional.

Articles can include images, links, video and sound clips.

If you would like to contribute to the series, please contact me