CFA School of Music’s New Speaker Series Helps Students Build Careers Beyond Performance
Dynamic speakers aim to help students think past stages and performance when building a sustainable career in music
Photo by seamartini/iStock
CFA School of Music’s New Speaker Series Helps Students Build Careers Beyond Performance
Dynamic speakers aim to help students think past stages and performance when building a sustainable career in music
This article was originally published in BU Today on October 20, 2025. By Doug Most
EXCERPT
Dana Fonteneau bleeds music. She was born to a family of musicians, began playing violin as a child, switched to cello, played with orchestras as a teenager, studied at the most respected conservatories, and was on her way to a long, successful career as a musician. Then, before turning 30, she walked away from it. Instead, she found a way to use her life experiences in the intense, pressure-packed world of professional music to help others manage things like stage fright, audition anxiety, and public speaking. She no longer plays music, but as a somatic psychotherapist running her own business, The WholeHearted Musician, music is still central to her career. “Being a musician,” she says, “is so much more than performing on stage.”
Her journey is a perfect fit for a career development workshop series that Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music has launched. The featured speaker on October 23, Fonteneau, will talk about “How to Design Your Career Before You Graduate.” (The event is in CFA Room 165. Find the full series of events here.)
The speaker series, described as “dynamic workshops presented by renowned guest speakers who share their insights, challenges, and innovative approaches toward successful careers in the arts,” is being organized by Mike Reynolds, a longtime CFA professor of cello, and Barbara Raney, School of Music assistant director for student services.
Left to right: Dana Fonteneau, somatic psychotherapist and founder of The WholeHearted Musician; Michael “Mike” Reynolds, CFA professor of cello; Barbara “Barb” Raney, School of Music assistant director for student services
Being a musician requires your skills, but it’s not just your playing skills. With the internet, it’s blown up possibilities for how you can engage with the world. A strong social media presence can help a cellist or a pianist earn income by teaching students from around the planet.
Among the skills Raney and Reynolds hope students think about as they look for ways to use their musical talents beyond the stage: designing their own website, building a strong social media presence, learning how to launch a music festival, understanding the art of fundraising, working with a board of trustees, learning about available grants and how to apply for them, and building and maintaining a subscriber mailing list.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP SERIES 2025-2026
Join BU School of Music for these dynamic workshops presented by renowned guest speakers who share their insights, challenges, and innovative approaches toward successful careers in the arts.