(Long unedited version of Andrew Surmani's interview from which all of his shorter vidoes are derived. This long video is not to be featured on the site.) Andrew Surmani is a trumpet player and lifelong musician. After many years of being a professional trumpet player, he was interested in moving over to the business side of the music industry. In 1988, Andrew started working for Alfred Publishing and is now their Vice President of Marketing and the Managing Director of Church and School Music.
Andrew Surmani is the Vice President of Marketing and Managing Director of Church and School Music for Alfred Publishing. Alfred Publishing is one of the largest music publishing companies in the world. Founded in 1922, Alfred has been in existence for 84 years. Alfred has three major teams: School and Church Music (run by Andrew), the MI team (for music hobbyists), and the keyboard team (for piano teachers). Each team operates as its own little company with dedicated marketing, editorial, and production people.
Andrew Surmani from Alfred Music discusses his background in music and the music industry. He explains that he is a trumpet player and majored in trumpet performance in college but was always interested in the business side of things.
Andrew Surmani, from Alfred publishing, talks about how technology has influenced the way music education is taught, practiced, and assessed. He also discusses State and National Standards in Arts education and the materials Alfred Publishing develops to address these standards.
Andrew Surmani discusses the kinds of work experiences and skills the company looks for to fill certain roles within Alfred Publishing including sales, editorial and production.
Andrew Surmani, from Alfred Publishing, offers practical advice on how to start a private teaching practice. He suggests contacting local middle school and high-school music teachers to let them know you are available. He also suggests applying to teach at a local music store or providing your information for the store’s music teacher referrals.
Andrew Surmani from Alfred Publishing discusses the importance of having a good education. He explains how his undergraduate education gave him a solid foundation in music. Andrew went on to pursue his MBA while employed at Alfred Publishing and was able to immediately apply his newly-acquired business skills to his work.
Andrew Surmani, from Alfred Publishing, discusses career opportunities for music educators in the classroom as well as in the music education industry. He explains that with approximately 14,000 unfulfilled music education positions in the United States, there are lots of opportunities for aspiring teachers. He also discusses the many different kinds of positions a music educator could fill at his company including sales, marketing, finance, production, editorial, and licensing.
Andrew Surmani, from Alfred Publishing, discusses the print music publishing business and the career opportunities that are available at the company from time to time. Alfred Publishing produces print music products, instructional DVDs, piano/vocal folios, guitar books, band methods, and much more. The music they publish in printed form is either based on original songs or licensed copyrights. Career opportunities are always listed on their Web site: www.alfred.com.
Andrew Surmani, from Alfred Publishing, gives advice to those wishing to become a music educator. He explains that it is not only important to have a strong background in music but also in music methods and how to teach.
Andrew Surmani from Alfred Publishing discusses music education and its relationship with technology today. He talks about the organization TIME (Technology Institute for Music Education) and how they are servicing the demand for music technology training and spreading awareness to music educators. Andrew stresses that in order to truly reach the students of today, teachers must always remain up to date on discovering and implementing the newest technologies in the classroom because the youth today are growing up with technology as a constant factor in their lives. Andrew goes on to present some examples of new technologies being used in schools and expresses his excitement towards this revolutionary educational frontier.
