S2 E6: Summer Swee-Singh on becoming a successful pianist with zero connections, being female and Asian in the industry, the importance of representat...

GUEST BIO

Summer Swee-Singh is an AAPI studio/event/touring pianist and keyboardist, string and orchestral arranger, composer, music director, string contractor, backing vocalist, and music educator. Summer graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Legal Studies and a Music Minor. After graduating, she worked full-time at Jones Day San Francisco, a law firm, as their Recruiting and HR Assistant and was planning on applying to law schools when she decided to take a chance on her passion—music. She cold-called her way into her first piano residencies, as she had no music industry connections when she first transitioned to a music career, and her unique piano and string arrangements that she posted to social media led to her first touring experience ever with the band Circa Survive. Now Summer's notable studio and live performance credits include Bebe Rexha, KSHMR, Chon, Circa Survive, Naia Izumi, Roddy Ricch, Anthony Green, Chief Keef, Keiynan Lonsdale, Until the Ribbon Breaks, Gashi, Thunder Jackson, Mothe, Psychic Barber, and Alexandra Shipp. Summer also founded and runs the blog AAPI Musicians and its corresponding Instagram which spotlight established AAPI music creators and touring pros.

Summer Swee-Singh Insta | TikTok | Web

DEFINITIONS

Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men.

TAKEAWAYS

1. Statistically, if you cold-call enough potential clients, you’re bound to get a few good leads.
2. The first gig is the hardest to land, but each gig opens doors to more opportunities. So get those first few and blow their socks off.
3. Women in the music industry are often assumed to be less competent than men before they even play the first note. Their looks are also micromanaged while men rarely get any comments on their outfits. If you ever find yourself questioning a woman’s abilities, or criticizing her outfit in your head, stop yourself and ask - would I ask these same questions if she was my white male buddy? If not, congratulations, you have just recognized a subconscious bias that you now have the power to dismantle in your own life.
4. Women can also be sexist toward other women and often are, so we need to examine ourselves too and choose to uplift each other instead.
5. Lack of transparency in auditions causes many like Summer to waste their time on try outs that were never going to land them anything because of their race, ethnicity, or gender.
6. A career in music isn’t limited to starving musician or Beyonce level fame. There is a middle class where you can be successful and financially stable, without being a household name.
7. Careers don’t have to be static.
8. If you want your kids to learn an instrument, let them play music they love.
9. Representation inspires people to consider paths they didn’t think were possible for them before.
10. Money is important, but it isn’t everything. Our fulfillment, our physical and mental health, and time spent with loved ones are equally important variables in the equation for success.

Insta | TikTok | Blog | LinkedIn

Hosts: Sherry-Lynn Lee, Ariadne Mila

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support