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Check Out Laura Krider’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Krider.

Hi Laura, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I grew up in Green Bay, WI where I was surrounded by music and took part in all things Krider Pharmacy, our family business. Picture a little Laura helping her Dad set up his keyboards for a wedding gig, prepping blister packs behind the pharmacy counter, visiting her Mom’s classroom to help decorate for the school year, and putting on neighborhood musicals with her siblings. I moved to the Twin Cities approaching my teen years and haven’t left since.

Going into college, I thought there were only two ways I could have a life in music: full-time performance or full-time teaching. Neither felt quite right to me, but that’s all I saw modeled to me at that point in my life. So, I decided to go all-in on vocal music education, which remains a passion of mine. I taught music briefly after receiving my bachelor’s at the University of Minnesota – School of Music but quickly realized that administration was my love and wheelhouse. I found myself enjoying the classroom organization more than the teaching, the concert production more energizing than the lesson planning. I started to see that there were a million ways to make a life in the creative sector, and I decided I wanted to become the ultimate all-utility player. That brought me back to U of MN, but this time as staff to hone my operational skills. I also took the opportunity to get my master’s in Arts and Cultural Leadership. When it was time for me to stretch outside of academia, I transitioned into what would be the next big chunk of my professional life at the American Composers Forum. ACF opened my eyes to the vitality of living artists and connected me to incredible people and ideas.

During much of that time, I had a little voice in the back of my head asking what it would be like to go out on my own and start an artist support and consulting business—have full autonomy over who I partner with and where I can make the most impact. I took the leap just over a year ago and am now living the dream of supporting incredible artists and nonprofit organizations.

Throughout my entire professional life, I’ve also been an active classical singer and frequently work with living composers with ensembles like Border CrosSing, Lumina Women’s Ensemble, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and The Singers: MN Choral Artists. Other than the obvious transference of music knowledge, I apply what I’ve learned through ensemble singing into so much of my artist support and consulting work— listening, interdependence, flexibility, being sensitive to context, honoring other cultures, and understanding my role in a bigger effort.

That brings me to today where I run my artist support and consulting business, make music, and live a fulfilling life with friends, family, and my dog Mo.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This question has me reflecting on where the road’s led as opposed to how smooth it’s been. I thought there were only two roads to take when it came to having a life in the creative sector (teaching or performing), but as I traveled along, I found all of these fascinating branching paths and it became more and more clear which ones I wanted to follow. My travels also gave me the chance to learn what infrastructure was needed for others to get to where they wanted to go and as an administrator, I’m all about infrastructure.

Honestly, what’s been most challenging since starting my artist support and consulting business is that I’ve needed to be the architect of my career since not many others are doing what I do. I’ve spent years building up my toolkit of skills, relationship-building, and all of that good stuff, but there’s no curriculum or structured community for people who support artists and creators in this comprehensive way. How millennial of me to create a career tailor-made to exactly what I want to do outside of a set institution – ha! So, as I’m learning how to be a business owner and manage my clientele, I’m also doing what I can to learn from those who are doing intersecting work.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My life’s work is to support living artists and the organizations that lift them up. This takes many different forms—my days are a mix, ranging from project management to music publishing to website maintenance to event planning to marketing to generative conversations, etc. That’s something that I’m proud of understanding that everyone I support has different needs and then plugging in where I can best serve them and their artistic/professional/organizational goals.

I also understand the trust and vulnerability present in my work with creators. Because of that, I have a willingness to support the whole human and not just barrel through tasks and contribute to outdated ideas of what success looks like in the field. I’m an advocate, a cheerleader, a doula, a confidant, and a partner.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
This isn’t surprising to those who know how much of a choir nerd I am, but not everyone knows I used to sing in a cappella vocal pop/jazz group called Deviated Septet. It was a fully democratic ensemble, which made rehearsals and programming a fun artistic and social experiment.

Mainly, it was a blast to step out of the classical world and play with different colors and styles of singing with people that I truly adored. I love a good mash-up, a little corniness, and tight harmonies, so now that I think about it, this may be the LEAST surprising thing about me! I don’t believe in guilty pleasures—I love what I love.

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Irene Wesee

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