After Arts Founder — Staying Connected to Music While on Another Career Path

We talked to the organization's founder Nicholas King to learn more about the community of professionals that make up After Arts

 

After Arts, a community of diverse members who all share a passion for music, will return to Carnegie Hall for its second annual Spring Showcase on May 4. The concert will feature ten chamber groups comprised of After Arts musicians and opening remarks will be provided by nine-time Grammy award-winning artist, Wynton Marsalis.

The Violin Channel sat down with Nicholas King, After Arts' Founder and Executive Director. A Juilliard graduate, King is now a Managing Director at Fort Point Capital, a registered investment advisor. His love of classical music continued and has manifested into the blossoming community of After Arts.

 

Tell us about After Arts and its mission.

After Arts is a social community of over 500 professionals in business, law, finance, healthcare, and tech who share a passion for playing and listening to music. We believe that having an artistic background can benefit an individual regardless of their professional trajectory. Our events aim to help our members grow both artistically and professionally through performance and networking opportunities. It's easiest to think of us as the world's least obnoxious networking group — no one learns bassoon to climb the corporate ladder.

 

What inspired you to create this initiative?

After graduating from Juilliard, I began my career in finance. Unsurprisingly, I found myself surrounded by a slew of blue-shirt-wearing-lacrosse-playing-finance-bros. Realizing that I would never own a Patagonia vest or learn how to golf, I decided to start a community of like-minded music nerds who found themselves in a variety of industries. I love going into a room and asking someone "What instrument do you play?" instead of "What do you do?"

 

For whom is After Arts most suited in terms of membership?

We're looking for professionals who make their living outside of music making and have also spent time in a practice room. Some of our members are conservatory graduates, some are amateurs — some still practice their instrument 2 hours a day and perform regularly, while some haven't played in 20 years. If you identify as a musician and now have a career outside of music, we'd love to meet you!

 

Why do you think it is so important for those with a love of classical music to still be involved with it, even if it is not their primary career?

What is more important and impactful than our relationship with music? Music allows us to connect with the innermost parts of ourselves and others in a genuine and authentic way. The decision to pursue a career path outside of music does not dilute our identity as musicians. Hanon-induced trauma is Irreversible. Embrace it!

 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to be more involved in a classical music community? 

Join After Arts! As an alternative, you can keep going to concerts on your own or be let down when your colleague/friend doesn't understand why you're crying after a gorgeous rendition of the third movement in Schumann's Piano Quartet.

 

What is one of your favorite memories from an After Arts event?

We held a salon in a gorgeous $30 million pavilion in the Woolworth building. We had 80 attendees and musicians playing in every nook and cranny of the apartment. I wandered by a cello octet in the dining room and listened to a string quintet in the bedroom. After everyone had left, I was walking through the space to make sure none of the cellists had left behind rock stops (they always do that) and stumbled onto eight members sight-reading Schubert in the primary bedroom walk-in closet. It was 11:45 pm. I had to kick them out, but they pleaded "Can we please finish this movement? It's the best part of the piece." Where else can you have an experience like that?

 

What are you most looking forward to this year for After Arts?

We're organizing a private after-hours outing to the Met Museum where we'll be able to play on and listen to some of the instruments in their collection. HOW COOL IS THAT? A few of us got a sneak peek a couple of weeks ago and were able to play on the world's oldest pianoforte. Hands down one of the coolest experiences I've had in New York.

 

Your yearly Carnegie Hall Showcase will feature 10 chamber groups comprised of your most talented members on May 4th. Can you tell us more about this event?

It will be a blast! We have 44 surgeons, investors, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and other business professionals performing within 10 chamber groups. For most of our members, this will be their first time performing in Carnegie Hall. We love showcasing the interdisciplinary talents of our community and are honored to have Wynton Marsalis giving the opening remarks.

 

To learn more about After Arts, click here.