Musicians Tune Up Classical Concerts For Families

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

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Hello and welcome to a brand new week. We are well into the holidays here. Hanukkah begins at the end of this week and then we're going straight into the Christmas week as well, followed by New Year's, everything associated with that. A bunch of other stuff too, I don't mean to leave anybody out, but then comes my favorite holiday of the year, which I call restoration to sanity. Like, you know, let's get back to normal.

So that return to real life is coming up, just, you know, hang in there. It's just right around the corner. But today I want to tell you about Mozart for Munchkins. It's a series of family-friendly classical music concerts started by two professional musicians who are also new moms. Now I love this idea.

It's actually a brilliant combination of life and work. You know, who says you can't have it all? Every day I'm telling you a different story of somebody who's found a way to create the life that they want, you know, usually through the form of an income generating project, but that's just a means to an end, of course. Like ultimately it's about empowerment and opportunity and being able to do what's important to you. So it truly is a brilliant idea, this series of concerts that I'll tell you about.

But, you know, there's lots of ideas out there that are really good. To make an idea come to life is where the real magic is. Okay, so they were able to actually have both of those things, a brilliant idea and a plan to make it happen. So good for them. The story is called "Musicians Tune Up Classical Concerts for Families." I'll tell you that story after this.

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As professional musicians, Sarah Sherman and Hilary Castle divide their time between performing at concerts and teaching at their own studios. This arrangement is common to many musicians and the two of them were content. But when these friends both became moms in 2017, they began to wonder if there was a way to bring together their two favorite passions, classical music and young children. The idea came when Sarah was performing at a concert with the Chelsea Symphony.

She'd invited several of her friends, all of whom were new parents, to come and watch her perform. Her husband had brought their four month old daughter along as well. But to Sarah's disappointment, all of her friends had canceled at the last minute due to baby concerns. What if their little one started crying or needed a diaper change? Nobody dared to bring young kids to a classical music concert.

Sarah understood their concerns, but at the same time couldn't believe there was no way a family could enjoy music together. After making some calls and checking out the scene, she realized that there was a gap in the market for family friendly concerts. There were musical events that were family friendly, but none had a first rate repertoire. Deciding then and there, there was an opportunity to have classical music concerts for everyone, she called up her friend Hilary and said, "I have a wild idea." Within the hour, Mozart for Munchkins was born. The first thing they did was set up a website.

They marketed their idea to the very same demographic that they were in, new parents and Facebook groups was their first port of call. With some groups boasting over 10,000 members in the New York City area, Sarah and Hilary quickly got their first ticket sales. It helped that their proposal was entirely unique. No one else was producing concerts that featured Bach or Tchaikovsky to parents with young kids. The results spoke for themselves.

Mozart for Munchkins sold out their first venue within a week. Both Sarah and Hilary had slowed down in performing after the birth of their children, but still retain their own teaching studios. This provided the financial stability and reserves for them to pursue this idea. With startup costs of just $3,000, the duo recouped their investment within two months. Another big milestone would come at the four month mark.

After putting on a concert, they were approached by an audience member who was impressed. Confident that Mozart for Munchkins would succeed, Matthew, himself a trained musician, asked to join the team. That was how Sarah and Hilary got their jazz director and also their first hire. Over time, they gradually brought on more team members, first an assistant and then additional directors. As the business grew, the two friends continued to step out of their comfort zones.

They were no longer the sole performers of the concerts they organized, but now contracted other musicians to perform as well. Today, they hold anywhere from eight to 12 concerts every month, each with about 60 adults and 40 children in the audience. This allowed them to generate not only a fair amount of ticket revenue, but also the chance to secure sponsorships from companies as well. Building upon what they're familiar with, they also started holding music classes for families. These families could now not only enjoy classical music together, but also learn how to play an instrument.

It was a brilliant idea, but much of their success has come from their superb on the ground execution. Sarah and Hilary ensure that each performer interacted closely with each audience member. This high touch environment created an inviting atmosphere that made families come back. They also plan that each concert or class remained unique and fun. Even though the focus is on traditional pieces by composers like Vivaldi and Beethoven, they're not opposed to throwing in an occasional baby shark riff to demonstrate a technique.

The team is now expanding into the Boston area. By treating their business the same way they do their children with tender loving care and a lot of attention, Mozart from Munchkins has managed to grow along with them. [Music]

Well, what a fun project. Big congratulations to Sarah and Hilary. Just sounds so cool.

I think it helps that they live in the New York City area since it's so big and also has a large group of their target market. But also very cool to hear how they're expanding to Boston and we'll see what happens next. Now, as mentioned as brilliant of an idea as it is, implementation is everything. And that's why many parents keep coming back. And naturally I assume they refer others.

So as I say often, a great idea, that's good. That's a great start. But then to actually make it happen and to figure out, okay, how do we market? How do we get the word out? Those Facebook groups to parents were critical.

And then how do we actually put on the show? How do we make sure that performers connect closely with audience members and so on? That's where the real magic happens. I think it's kind of like being a professional musician in general, you know, there's this moment of glamour during the concert. And then there's all those hours you put in to be able to make that performance a reality.

So as I said, good for them. Be sure to check it out. Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. Today's show notes, including links to everything I mentioned are at sidehustleschool.com/1080. That is one, zero, eight, zero, 1080.

Much more is coming up as we go through the holidays and work toward that return to sanity. All right, can't wait. My name is Chris Guillebeau for "Side Hustle School." [Music]

From the Onward Project.