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Outreach FAQ's
Q.
How does the service work?
A.
The service is simple. You can submit a request for musicians online to our office. Our office will match you with qualified student performers from the Butler School of Music. All the students we refer play at the highest standards, and have been approved to represent the school by the world-renowned performing faculty at the Butler School of Music.
Once we find a suitable match for your event, we will give the student or student group your contact information so that they may contact you directly to talk about your event, and set up the details.
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Q.
How qualified are your student performers?
A.
The students at the UT Butler School of Music are some of the finest young musicians in the world. In order to be a part of the Musician Referral Service, students must be approved by our world-renowned performance faculty to represent the school in the community. Many of these students are working professionals who play in groups such as the Austin Symphony, the Austin Lyric Opera, San Antonio Symphony, and many others. You can be assured that the students we refer to you are excellent musicians, and reliable professionals.
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Q.
Can I hear a demo?
A.
If you would like to hear a group or soloist prior to booking them, you may request a demo, or to audition the group in the description section of the request form. You can also ask the student directly to arrange to hear a demo or audition. Some, but not all, of our groups have demos available.
In either case, you will work directly with the students to hear demos or to audition the group. The Outreach Office does not keep demos for our groups on file.
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Q.
I’d like to request graduate students.
A.
While the majority of the musicians we refer are graduate students, all of our student performers have gone through an approval process prior to joining the Musician Referral Service. We do not differentiate between our undergraduate and graduate students when making referrals. You may state that you prefer a graduate student, and you may hire or not hire undergraduates at your discretion, however there is no way to restrict your request to graduate students only.
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Q.
I just want to check availability, can you help me with that?
A.
The Musician Referral Service does not function as a booking agency. We refer your requests on to musicians directly. The musicians act as their own agents. Therefore we do not keep performing calendars for the musicians that are part of this service, and we can not give you availability information without receiving an online request from you. When you submit your request we will put you in touch with musicians who are available for your event. This process can take up to 5 business days. You are not under obligation to hire them until you have negotiated with them directly.
We do occasionally receive requests that we cannot fill because of availability, but we are able to meet the large majority of requests we receive.
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Q.
Will I be bombarded by a bunch of different students wanting to play my event?
A.
No. Students do not have access to your contact information until they work through the Outreach Office to accept a possible gig. At that time we close the event to other interested groups, so you will only hear from the single musician or performing group that has been assigned to your event by our office.
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Q.
I decided not to hire the group that contacted me, what should I do?
A.
If you decide not to hire the first group that contacts with you, you are not under obligation to hire them. If you decide not to hire them, please let our office know by emailing us, or by calling 512-471-5496.
You can request a different group. Do not resubmit your event. Email our office and request to reopen the event. Please include your event ID number in the email.
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Q.
How much does this service cost?
A.
The actual referral service is a free service provided by the Butler School of Music.
In terms of the price of musicians, all of our musicians are their own agents. They set their own fees, and they negotiate their own terms and contracts. A good general estimate is to plan to pay about $100.00 per person, per hour for both soloists and small performing groups for most instruments. Depending on the nature of your event, additional costs may be involved. Examples include travel out of the Austin area, request for specific music that is non-standard which requires musicians to buy and/or learn new music, last-minute requests, etc. You will discuss exact pricing with the musicians themselves, based on the nature of your event.
If you are hiring a soloist, please keep in mind that most solo instruments (excluding piano/keyboard, harp, and guitar) may require a pianist to accompany them in order to accommodate what you are looking for. In these cases, there will be additional fees for the pianist.
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Q.
Why is the harpist I want to hire so expensive?
A.
The harp is unique in many ways. hiring a harpist for your event could be a unique way to make your event stand out. The instrument itself, however, is very large and cumbersome to transport, and unlike other large instruments (a piano for instance) most venues don’t provide harps on-site. Therefore harpists have to arrange to transport their own instrument to your event.
For this reason, harpists usually charge a larger fee upfront. A harpist may request a minimum fee of $200.00 to $300.00 for the first one or two hours, and then offer reduced hourly rates after that.
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Q.
Do I pay the Butler School of Music?
A.
No. We do not enter into any financial transactions or contracts. You will work out payment with the musicians themselves, and pay them directly. If you are hiring an ensemble, you should plan to pay each member of the group individually, for tax purposes.
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Q.
When do I need to pay?
A.
Musicians will negotiate the terms of payment individually. However in most cases, you should be prepared to pay the musician in-full upon their arrival on the day of the event, before the start of the event. Some musicians may require a partial deposit in order to confirm a date.
If you do not pay for services rendered according to your contract with the musician and/or in a timely fashion, you may lose your right to use the service in the future.
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Q.
Do I need to sign a contract with the school to hire a musician?
A.
The Butler School of Music does not enter into any form of contract or agreement with clients requesting musicians. All negotiations and agreements are between the client and the student directly.
However, we strongly recommend that for the protection of everyone involved, you do sign a written agreement with the musicians you hire. We recommend that our musicians use written contracts, and some musicians will require them. If the musician you are working with does not volunteer a contract, we recommend that you request one, or write your own that the musician agrees to. At the very least you should secure all of the written details in some form of writing, such as email.
If a dispute arises between you and a musician, and there is a written agreement, the Outreach office may at its discretion work to mediate between the two parties to avoid elevating the situation. However, if no written agreement is available, we are unable to help in any way.
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Q.
I have a specific budget. Can you work with me?
A.
If you have a set amount that you want to spend, and are unsure about the best way to use the budget to meet your needs, please contact the outreach office to discuss your situation. In some cases we can offer advice on how to best utilize your budget.
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Q.
When should I begin requesting musicians?
A.
The musicians on our list are some of the best young musicians in the world. However, they are usually full-time students, and their schedules are governed by the academic year. Because there is so much variation in their schedules from semester to semester, most of our musicians will not respond to requests that are too far in the future, because they do not yet know to what they are able to commit.
We recommend that you start looking for musicians for your event about 3 months before your event.
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Q.
When is the minimum deadline to submit a request?
A.
There is no minimum deadline to request a musician, and we do what we can to help you find musicians in a hurry. However, the best window for hiring musicians is 3 weeks to 3 months prior to your event. We can accommodate most requests we receive in that timeframe. When your event is less than three weeks out, it becomes more unlikely that we will have groups available.
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Q.
How long does it usually take to find a musician?
A.
The process can take as little as a few hours, up to several business days. We request that you give us 5 business days from the time you submit your event to hear from a musician. If after that time, you have not heard from a musician, or from someone in our office, please contact us. Please include your event ID number for reference.
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Q.
I have a last-minute need. What should I do?
A.
Once you have submitted an event through the online service, that request is sent out immediately to musicians and groups that match your request. If you have a last-minute need, submit your event as you normally would, and in the description write “urgent.” We will do what we can to fill the request in time. Calling or emailing our office will not speed up the process.
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Q.
Can you give me a musician’s contact information so I can call them directly?
A.
For a variety of reasons, this service does not give out student contact information for event requests. Instead we put students in contact with you. If you are looking for instructors for private lessons or piano accompanists, when you submit your request online, we will send you an email containing contact information for instructors in the area you requested, that you may contact directly.
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Q.
Can I hire one of the official ensembles from the Butler School of Music?
A.
The Gig Service does not handle the hire of official Butler School of Music ensembles. Our ensembles’ availability varies on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in hiring a School of Music ensemble for your event, you should contact the ensemble directly. Official ensembles include the UT Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchesra, Jazz Orchestra, Concert Chorale, Chamber Singers, Mariachi, Carribiean Ensemble, UT Steel Pan, and many others. A complete list of our ensembles can be found here.
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Q.
I have booked one of your musicians and now I need to cancel. What should I do?
A.
You need to contact the student directly and notify them of the situation. You will be bound by your contract with that musician in terms of event cancellation. If you paid a deposit, you might not be entitled to a refund. You do not need to notify our office.
Musicians do notify us if events are cancelled at the last minute and/or they do not receive payment. We understand that sometimes issues that are beyond control necessitate unforeseen measures. However if it appears that you are abusing the service by continually canceling events, or you do not pay for services rendered in a timely fashion, we may close your account and choose not to work with you in the future.
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Q.
Can you help me find a private instructor?
A.
Yes, the gig service includes an option for those looking for private instruction on a particular instrument. Simply select "Looking for and Instructor" on the selection page, and then let us know what you are looking for. We will send you an email with the contact information for instructors that match your request, and you can contact them directly. Please note, because our student body changes over time, and students must be approved by faculty to be put on our instructor list, we do not always have instructors available for all instruments.
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Q.
Can I study privately with a faculty member?
A.
The Outreach Office does not handle any requests for instruction with faculty members. If you are a not a UT student and interested in studying with a professor, you should contact the professor directly. A list of our faculty can be found in the faculty directory on our website.
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Q.
I requested an instructor, and got an email saying no instructors were available.
A.
Because our student body changes each semester and students must first ask to be put on the instructor list and then be approved by the faculty, we can not guarantee that we will always have instructors available for every instrument or voice part. We apologize for this inconvenience, however please understand that the gig service can not give out recommendations or contact information for current students who are not on the approved instructor list. We encourage you to check back with us in the future for updated lists.
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Q.
How do I request and accompanist
A.
To request a piano accompanist for your event, request a solo musician, and select Classical Piano. In the additional information box please specify that you are looking for accompanist, and include any important information like rehearsal dates and times.
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Q.
I am a non-music major at UT. Can I take lessons for course credit?
A.
The Butler School of Music offers lessons and courses to non-music majors as available. If you are interested in these courses, please visit our information page for non-music majors
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Please note, space is extremely limited and classes are very popular, so you may be on a waiting list. The Gig Service does not handle any scheduling for official courses.
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