MENC Forums

I don't know that my advice is worth much, but I will give it nonetheless.

I would say do your best to pay her at least what she would make teaching lessons. Also consider travel time and how much of an inconvenience it might be. We all know that we have to be advocates for music education, but I think we also need to be advocates for music and musicians in general.  Your administration might think that $30/hr is expensive, but it's not at all for a skill like that. In a conflict earlier this year w/ my principal regarding hiring an accompanist, I had to put into perspective how much it costs to hire good musicians in Chicago (where I teach).  I use the example of the $1,400 we paid for a very good string quartet and $400 for two singers for our wedding. That was for about an hour and half of work. It's expensive, but they were top notch and you get what you pay for.  Avoid paying your accompanist out of pocket unless absolutely necessary.  Your administration needs to know that this is a necessary expense. If you pay now, they might not ever see a need to budget money for an accompanist. At the same time, if you do pay out of pocket and the accompanist adds a lot to the performance, they might see how important it is and also decide on their own that you shouldn't have to pay out of pocket. Just try to figure out how your administration might respond.

It might be awkward, but ask your accompanist how much she thinks would be reasonable pay. It might help to have a specific amount that the accompanist charges to bring to your administration rather than just making up a dollar amount. You could even take it a step further and find another accompanist who charges more, just to show that you are getting a good deal.

Lastly, make good use of the time that you have the accompanist. Most of them would rather not sit around for a few hours and only play for 15 or 20 minutes. If you can get creative with scheduling, that might cut down on the time you need the accompanist to be present, which would also reduce the cost.