We had the good fortune of connecting with Adrienne Baker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adrienne, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always believed that there is more to historical music performance than an orchestral career and the current traditional canon. Don’t get me wrong, playing in an orchestra is utterly magical. Having a cathartic moment with 100 or more of my peers while sharing the symphonic genre with an audience is beyond fulfilling. However, as an institution, they are at risk of failing the communities that need them most. And this need is approaching a reciprocal exchange. Coming up, I looked to these institutions and academia as leaders and inspirers. Out of new commissions by composers, very few are women and even fewer are composers of color. Regardless of the changing demographics of our country today, orchestras and their leadership are still largely white and male. Women and people of color have made rich contributions to historical music of the western diaspora, yet we aren’t seen and erased. I wanted to foster and hold space to reflect a tradition that in kind reflected me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The classical music sphere is notorious for asking for extraordinary musicianship but within the perimeters of conformity. In an industry where we must be available, lest we be replaced, there can be a fear that we should not make waves, stand out, complain or else weappear otherwise weak. We are many times afraid to report injury, advocate for representation, and fair compensation.

Last month, I joined the Musician Founding Council (https://www.groupmuse.com/musician-council) of Groupmuse to assist in exploring a collective and co-operative organizational structure that centers musicians in the business side of what we do. I would encourage folks to check out the announcement (https://medium.groupmuse.com/a-new-path-for-groupmuse-a50215a310c8)

In 2013 I had some health issues that sent me to the ER 3 times. A doctor told me that I may have to quit music and spend the rest of my life managing my pain through outpatient pain clinics. At that time, my quest to be extraordinary at the price of conformity left me shrunken, unrepresented, unseen. If I could overcome that hurdle, I promised myself, I would throw conformity to wayside.

Every day is a new opportunity and I take every single one. After forming NorthStar Duo (www.northstarduo.com) with my colleague Seychelle Dunn-Corbin, we have worked to champion works for winds with a special emphasis on works by women and composers of color. Our first commission, “Spirituals for Wind Duo” by Anthony Green, is near and dear to our heart and includes the Negro National Anthem “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” which we perform at the beginning of our concerts. Our ongoing project, the Womxn’s Project, commissions works by womxn composers (www.northstarduo.com/images). In 2020, we started a podcast, NorthStar Duo and Keeping Score (www.northstarduo.com/podcast) that covers topics in historical music as it relates to representation.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I always meet people at TeaPop (https://teapopla.com/)! New friends, old friends – bubble tea is perfect to sit back and catch up with. Hot drinks, cold drinks, milk or just regular tea… and the bubbles! What is there not to like?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In the summer of 2015, I attended the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival. A 10 day festival, our cohort was divided into chamber groups to work with a composer to learn and premiere an original work. It was an amazing experience. I made lasting relationships that I continue to foster today. But the most important thing I learned was from our professional development sessions. I came away knowing the importance of having a support system. Not just a system that can provide mental and emotional support.  What is just as important are people who you can count on that share your artistic vision. That shared vision becomes shared resources and then shared support, uplifting each other.

Website: www.theflutepursuit.com

Instagram: @flutepursuit

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/adriennebaker

Youtube: www.youtube.com/theflutepursuit

Image Credits
Images were taken and edited by Alexander Winter

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