Careers in Music: Gillian Riesen, Creative Director of Emitha

Although the spotlight shines brightest on the stage, there are many ways for lovers of music to be involved in the business. Previously in our Career’s in Music series, we’ve learned about the church musician, musical director, and elementary school music educator.

Gillian Riesen is a classically trained mezzo-soprano and creative director of Emitha. Well – she does a bit of everything (design, photography).

Natasha Barbieri: How did you first become interested in music? 

Gillian Riesen: I grew up in a family that really appreciated music – from Billy Joel to Vivaldi, there was always music playing in our house or in the car. My parents insisted that my sibling and I be involved in something musical at school as well. I began the violin in 4th grade and then added choir in high school. And of course, I was always in the musicals when I was playing sports!

Natasha Barbieri: Can you share some of your memorable performance experiences?

Gillian Riesen: The most memorable experience I had was playing the role of Peter in Peter Pan during my senior year. It was the biggest and the most physically demanding role that I had ever been asked to do, but one that was always a dream of mine. Learning how to pace myself and carry a show would become a really valuable skill set for me in the future! And of course, flying on stage was something I’ll never forget!

Natasha Barbieri: You have a special love for art songs. Did that begin in college?

Gillian Riesen: It did – but I think what draws me to art song is what drew me to singing in general. I am a huge proponent of great text. Because of the performance practice of solo voice and piano (with maybe an occasional additional instrument), the focus can really be on the bare bones of the art – the music and the text. The grandness of opera is thrilling and certainly magical, but there is something so simple and honest about art song that tugs at my heart. I had the wonderful opportunity of performing a LOT of art song in college and am so grateful that I did.

Natasha Barbieri: Besides performance, did you have any other musical jobs when you were in school?

Gillian Riesen: I did teach voice a little bit, and more so in my Doctoral program that I recently finished. But mostly I worked in non-musical jobs. A lot of waitressing and some computer work.

Natasha Barbieri: Did you consciously look for ways to supplement your performance income or did it evolve out of a passion for photography? 

Gillian Riesen: I have always been someone who has been very conscious of my own finances. My dad taught me how to budget and make a basic financial plan for myself when I was really young and I began my first part-time job when I was 16. Throughout high school and into college I’ve always had at least one or two part-time jobs on top of everything else I did. In grad school, those jobs happened to be waitressing and then also working in the computer lab, which at New England Conservatory, is right across the hall from the opera office and most of the rehearsal rooms (or at least it was when I was there). I was able to jump in for a few hours in between classes, but that also meant that I had a lot of time sitting in front of a computer with not a whole lot to do. This is where my idea for teaching myself how to design and build websites started! I built my own and then a friend asked me to do hers and then eventually, by word of mouth, I had built 10-15 over the next couple of years for a small amount of money. In 2017 my husband, technically my fiancé at the time, made the connection between my love for web design and our colleagues’ need for this service! He convinced me to start a little hobby business so that I could spend more time doing the things I love (singing and design) and not have to work in another part-time job. From there, I added photography in 2019, kept growing and growing and then COVID happened. During that time, I found out I was pregnant and, of course, felt the pressure and the opportunity to really sit down and think about my future as a performer, parent, designer/photographer etc. I decided to double-down on my business and over the course of the year I met with some experts, made a true business plan, created an LLC and Emitha was officially born in March of 2021. Since then, I’ve been able to make 100% of my income from the services we provide in web design, photography, graphic design and now streaming PR, audio and video production. I honestly haven’t performed in a while, but I’m really enjoying this new phase of my life!

Natasha Barbieri: As an artist yourself, what were some of the pain points you realized other artists were experiencing?

Gillian Riesen: There are a LOT of pain points as an artist. It’s an incredibly demanding lifestyle and industry that takes a really special person to be able to thrive in. One of the pain points that stuck out to me early on was obviously in the process of putting together digital media. As an artist, we often feel like there is a huge package of materials that we need in order to be legitimately considered for work/management, but we have no idea how to create them all, let alone pay for them all! The lucky few of us go to a program or two that helps with some headshots or a recording of an aria, but most of the time we are kind of left to our own devices.

I felt a HUGE need from artists for basic information on resources and planning – what order should you be prioritizing these items? How much should you plan to budget? Where can you go to build your own website and how do you physically do that? How many photos do you actually need? The list goes on.

Natasha Barbieri: Through the pandemic, you’ve established a new business and are now the creative director of Emitha and also the owner of Crossover Records. Can you tell us a little bit about these companies and how they can help musicians?   

Gillian Riesen: Yes! Emitha is a production, promotion and design company for artists. It began as a graphic design studio that helped artists with website design, photography and some basic branding. At the same time, my husband John, was receiving calls from singers and other musicians wanting help with promotion and streaming on Spotify. He had spent his COVID time creating the group “Crossover Records”, which at that point served as a community of singers whose goal was to build a digital streaming eco-system that classical and crossover singers could thrive in. I won’t get into the fine details of how they were achieving that, but it led John to have an incredible amount of skill and knowledge in recording, licensing, distribution, promotion and streaming algorithms on places like Spotify. We were discussing how we might add that into the list of services we could provide through Emitha when Jonathan Estabrooks (who was a member of Crossover Records) reached out and expressed his interest in what we were doing and thought his skills would pair perfectly with my company. We got to know each other for a while and it was clear that he would be a great addition in skill and personality for Emitha. It also took almost no time at all for us to realize that between the three of us, we had all of the skill sets required to make and release FULL ALBUMS, which we found to be hilarious and exciting.

So now we have Emitha which provides media production services for artists (website design, photography, video production, audio production, streaming PR etc.), and Crossover Records which is our official record label. Our goal is to provide artists with a safe and supportive place when they want to begin investing in their media, which has become even more important during COVID. We take great pride in being artists ourselves and understanding the unique needs of the classical and crossover industry. We hope to have long-term relationships with our clients and to work in tandem with the rest of their team over the course of their careers to build a custom and carefully crafted suite of digital media items that accurately reflects who they are, not just what they do! One of our favorite departments is, of course, Crossover Records, where we can literally record, release, license, distribute, design and promote singles, EPs or full-length albums for artists and do so in an artist-driven way. We want our artists to record what THEY are passionate about recording and we allow them to keep their royalties, which is pretty unheard of. We help them promote it, design the artwork, print/press/ship physical albums and even can film music videos to match!

We basically just want to make every musician’s dream project a reality.

Natasha Barbieri: Did you have any fear of creating something new in such economic uncertainty?

Gillian Riesen: Absolutely – I am acutely aware of how the pandemic has affected the arts community since my husband is still an actively performing artist. He was out of work for over a year and we both were lucky that we were able to take advantage of unemployment to get by. I was incredibly scared to put all of my eggs in this one basket, but my husband was a super cheerleader and at the end of the day, I felt in my bones that it was the destination that my entire career had been leading towards. I also knew that during and post COVID, the need for digital media was going to be greater than ever for the music industry, and it seemed like the industry was shouting to me that they needed this help. We try to be really conscious of the vulnerable position artists find themselves in right now and come from a place of being supportive and helpful, rather than taking advantage. I feel like this is my way of helping the community that shaped me into the artist I am today.

Natasha Barbieri: What are some of the best things about being a business owner? 

Gillian Riesen: My favorite thing about being a business owner is that I get to make my own schedule. Of course, I say that very loosely, because in truth, my 1-year-old son makes my schedule! But I really feel incredibly blessed that I can spend every day at home with him watching him grow and guiding him through all of his new discoveries and challenges. There are definitely times when it would be easier to get work done in an office setting with no distractions, but I think we are both happier this way.

Natasha Barbieri: Can you take us through the typical day in life for you now?

Gillian Riesen: Usually I wake up between 7-8am and go grab my son from his crib. I bring him into bed and the three of us (him, myself and my husband), have a cuddle session for about an hour. It’s seriously the best way to start my day! Then we all get up, make coffee, breakfast, and try to get our day going. Sometimes I’ll feel motivated to go for a 3-4 mile run or do some Pilates in the morning, but usually I just dive right into work, answering emails and working on website designs or photos. I get a good chunk of material done in the morning while John is on baby duty until about 12, when we give Roman his lunch and then put him down for a nap. This is our golden time – John and I now can workout, continue working, shower etc. until about 3:00 when Roman wakes up. At this point, we give him a snack and then I try to spend the rest of the day before dinner playing and hanging out with Roman so John can have the opportunity to do some things for himself. 6:30 is dinner, 8:00 is baby bedtime and then the rest of the night is spent either wrapping a couple small work items up or just hanging on the couch with John, relaxing, and we try to get to bed around 11pm. To most people this sounds like a pretty boring day, but honestly, it works so well for us and we have the flexibility to throw in errands, pool time, visiting relatives or just having fun whenever our workload allows! It’s really amazing.

Natasha Barbieri: Do you have any advice for other musicians who wish to diversify? 

Gillian Riesen: DO IT. Never think twice about it. I used to get so much flack about not being “committed” to my singing because I was pursuing other passions in tandem. My work as a graphic designer, photographer and now my life as a mother and wife have only helped me to become a better person and artist. In fact, despite a lot of the nay-saying, I found that when I felt like a more complete human being through my various endeavors, it showed in my artistry and people began to respond more and more positively to my singing work. For me, I could never be happy only having one passion in life. I feel alive when I am constantly learning, exploring and leaning into my curious nature. If you’re a person who has other things that excite you or that peak your interest, do NOT shy away from them. Life is way too short to deny yourself those experiences because someone else might judge you. Embrace who you are, not who you think everyone else would rather you be.

Natasha Barbieri: Would you recommend a university degree or certification for someone wishing to pursue a similar path? 

Gillian Riesen: That’s a really tough question to answer. I am a huge proponent of education in general, but I am very against the idea of large amounts of student debt which can completely derail a person. I have ZERO formal degrees or certification in any of the areas that my company specializes in. However, I have spent probably the equivalent amount of hours online reading articles, watching tutorials, researching methods/practices and training my eye in design and photography concepts. I don’t compliment myself much, but I will say that I am a VERY self-motivated person and filled in my gaps by surrounding myself with very knowledgeable people in business and finance. I was able to thrive building a company despite not having formal training, but I think you need to know yourself. But if your interests are to simply explore photography or graphic design, you can learn most of what you need to know from YouTube and then just practical experience!

Learn more about Emitha and Crossover Records at emitha.com