Talks with TENET 

Over a 4-month period, TENET’s mentors regularly meet with participants and cover a variety of focused topics, such as:

• Career development

  • How to build a career that works for you as an individual

  • Building and keeping connections within our network

  • Creating promotional materials and websites

  • Interpersonal relationships in ensemble environments

• Dream Projects and Concert Creation

  • How to bring a great idea for a concert to fruition

  • How to form an ensemble and when is the right time

  • Nonprofit creation and umbrella organization options

  • Fundraising for your dream project

• Skill Sets for a Career in Music

  • Exploring your talents beyond your instrument

  • Promoting your varied skills successfully

  • Broadly define your goals for overall comfort and security

The program is free to participants.

In practical terms, the program is shaped as follows:

• Mentors meet with a cohort of singers every 1-2 weeks and explore topics related to their group’s area of focus.

• Mentors guide singers through the curriculum topics, share networking contacts, and make introductions whenever appropriate.

• Mentors communicate with each other about the progress with their assigned group members. When topics arise that another mentor would be most helpful to address, alternate mentors will step in to assist.

• Open sessions with guest mentors and speakers take place periodically throughout the 4-month period.

Who can participate? 

Participants who can benefit from the program may be: 

• Artists who seek a career with an emphasis on early music (music in the classical Western tradition from before 1750), or opportunities to perform more of this repertoire within the context of their existing career

• Artists with an interest in participating in vocal chamber music contexts as a conductor, composer, educator, or singer, or a combination of some or all of those capacities

• Artists who experience barriers to access via the usual career pipelines of school and young artist programs

• Historically underrepresented artists within the field of early music: artists of color, LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive artists, disabled artists, and other intersections of identity that are marginalized in the field of western classical music

• Artists who are engaged in a specific project (starting an ensemble, making a commercial recording, producing a tour or concerts, etc) who are looking for project-based guidance and resources 

Is there an age limit? 

TENET does not seek to emulate existing young artist programs, but instead invent a new model that offers substantial individual attention to singers as they explore a career in early music and vocal chamber music. Therefore, singers need not be early-career to benefit from the program (although they might be). 

How is it structured? 

Participants will meet regularly with mentors in small groups that will focus on a series of topics that cover career development, entrepreneurship, skill-building, current trends, and any special-interest topic areas. A sample topic-area outline can be viewed on the “About” tab.

In addition to small-group sessions, a series of guest sessions will take place with various industry professionals who will speak to particular topics of general interest. Past guests have included Reginald Mobley, Patrick Dailey, and Jonathan May.

What other resources are available? 

Mentors will make professional introductions whenever appropriate to build participants’ networks and resources, and participants will have the option to work with several mentors, depending on their areas of interest.

All program participants are invited to attend TENET rehearsals and will receive free tickets to TENET performances for themselves and guests. Our goal is to welcome participants fully into our community, and we hope they will develop connections to our full roster of artists, who can serve as additional resources. 

What does it cost? 

The program is free for participants!

How do I apply? 

In the program’s early phase of development, participants are typically recommended by mentors and educators. They may also inquire by emailing our program coordinator, Lydia Becker, at lydia@tenetnyc.com. 

Potential participants then have an exploratory conversation with Jolle to discuss whether the program is a good fit at this particular stage. 

Who are the mentors? 

You can view a list of the current mentors on the Mentors tab.

TENET’s mentorship reflects our values. We strive to create a transformative experience for 12-15 singers per term. Each of TENET’s mentors has found a way to build a successful career, and they are excited to share their experiences and help guide singers on their own unique paths.

I have other questions!

Don’t hesitate to reach out! 

Lydia Becker, our program coordinator, is available at lydia@tenetnyc.com. 

Mentorship is an important aspect of belonging to a community that goes beyond performing. TENET hopes to do our part in creating a more welcoming, inclusive, and diverse artist community that, in turn, will help early music continue to thrive for many future generations.

2023-24 Mentees