Mary Au,
Mary au is an accomplished pianist and businesswoman who has studied in Hong Kong, London, and the United States. Her degrees baffle me when I think about them. She has degrees ranging from music (specializing in piano) to business (business administration and accounting). As a musician she's traveled the world playing the piano and accompanying soloists. On the business side she worked for one of London's top financial forensic analysis companies, and for the Grammy Foundation where she worked in accounting.
This past year I've entered a new and exciting phase of my musical journey where I am seeing new possibilities in the music and art fields. When I express these ideas to others I often get this reaction: "yeah, well that's all fun and games but how do you expect to make any money?" My reaction to that is why should I let something like currency get in the way of my dreams is an artist? This made me think of my experience as a musician and accepting that canned line about artists and musicians can't make any money-- that in order for them to survive they have to sell whatever the public wants to spend money on.
I have found that Mary has created an unusual spot for herself which I admire. I have been taking a close look at the concept of the amateur lately. This is the 19th century idea of the amateur versus the professional. In those days the professional was looked down upon as a “tradesman”—someone who did their job for the money. The amateur was admired for their work as they focused on the quality of their passion only, they worked for the love of it. I think Mary has some of the amateur qualities that I now aspire to. She works in music as she likes. Known primarily as an accomplished accompanist, she also decides to promote certain artists she likes or believes in. If she doesn’t enjoy working with someone, she won’t work with them. She doesn’t have to take every job that comes down the road because of monetary considerations.