We were lucky to catch up with Nicole DeMaio recently and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
You’d think I’d say that I’ve always known I wanted to work as a professional musician, but the idea actually didn’t come to me until the end of 11th Grade. I had always loved any of the musical activities that I had been apart of, like marching band or auditioning for All State, but I never even knew that I could pursue music as a career. No one else in my family is a musician and none of my music teachers ever mentioned majoring in music in college. Throughout High School I debated several different jobs I could one day have, ranging from teaching English to being a neurosurgeon, but nothing ever seemed right. I had even been lucky enough to start taking some gigs playing for the musicals at some neighboring High Schools, but it always felt like music could only be a hobby. It wasn’t until I met other students my age who were making plans to attend college for various music degrees that I even knew about working as a performer, composer, or music teacher. I brought the idea up to my band teacher, and he helped me decide which programs to apply for, and I started taking private lessons to prepare for my entrance auditions. I decided to start as a Music Education major at Montclair State University. Since then I’ve broadened my career and now work as a performer, composer, and music teacher.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My current career has always been, and likely always will be, made up of many different parts. I balance gigs as a performer, commissions as a composer, and teaching lessons. Outside of music, I also run two thriving Etsy shops, and manage Black Sheep Contemporary Ensemble. My workload varies from week to week, as is true for any freelancer, which has proven to be a challenging yet rewarding lifestyle.
I have a few different college degrees in music. My undergrad was spent studying Music Education at Montclair State. my first Masters brought me to The Boston Conservatory, where I ended up staying for many years afterwards teaching Middle and High School classes at Boston College High School. I eventually moved back to New Jersey, where I was primarily raised, for a Masters in Multiple Woodwind Performance from New Jersey City University. My childhood was full of different art related experiences, ranging from piano lessons to dance classes, but playing clarinet and saxophone was what stuck. As a bit of background, I was born in Bogota, Colombia and spent my first few years of life at Los Pisingos Orphanage, and came to the US at a young age. I am thankful to my parents for giving me so many chances to try different instruments, sports, and activities. Without their support, I wouldn’t be where I am today!
As a performer, I split my time between working as a substitute on various Broadway shows, playing in orchestras, doing recording sessions, and other freelance gigs. I am a member of The Broadway Sinfonietta, an all-women and majority women-of-color orchestra and production company. We’ve done Carnegie Hall concerts, recorded with artists such as Julie Benko and Solea Pfeiffer, and performed at numerous galas and shows. Most notably, we were apart of Dylan Mulvaney’s 365 Days of Girlhood: LIVE from the Rainbow Room show, Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, and Laura Bell Bundy’s Women of Tomorrow concert. Outside of The Sinfonietta, I’ve appeared at Lincoln Center with Ariana DeBose. MCC Theatre with L Morgan Lee, and various other performances with Jessica Vosk, Brian d’Arcy James, Robin DeJesus, Lea Michele, Darren Criss, and more. I was also previously was on the American in Paris National Tour.
As a composer, I mostly take commissions for solo or chamber pieces. My piece “Solo for Bassoon Alone” was apart of the required repertoire for the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition. and I’ve been commissioned by The Rivers School Conservatory, Classical Music Indy, Infrasound, and Yale School of Music’s Music in Schools Initiative. I’ve started working a bit as a singer/songwriter. One of my songs, “Where I Was” has been featured in several videos and art instillations.
I also enjoy teaching private lessons to students of all ages and abilities. I work at Far Brook School in Short Hills currently, and also teach out of my home studio. Spending time with students in a one-on-one setting is honestly one of my favorite things. It’s so special to get to share my love of music with others.
The last pieces of my puzzle are my personal projects; my two Etsy shops, and Black Sheep Contemporary. My Etsy shops, DeMaio Designs and The Gifted Musician, started as a way to make income during the pandemic with my digital art, and have morphed into one of my main streams of income. Who knew I’d make a living with stickers, magnets, and customized reed soaker cups? On the complete other end of things, I have BSCE, a group focused on performing new music. The group began back when I was living in Boston, and acts as a collective of different musicians, visual artists, and dancers. We’ve been featured in The Boston Globe, and have given numerous concerts, commissioned operas, and so much more. Check us out on Youtube to see what we do!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I think every artist has their own story to share about how much the pandemic affected their career. 2019 was the year that I decided to move back to New Jersey from Boston to start school at NJCU. After just a few weeks, I got a call asking me to join the National Tour of An American in Paris. I decided to drop out of my program and go on the road. The tour started in January of 2020 and was supposed to last until May. I loved every minute of being on tour, from visiting new states and cities daily to performing for huge audiences, I was truly living my dream! I remember we had our first “Golden Day”, meaning a full day with no travel or performances (yes, most touring musicians work 7 days a week), on March 12th. I assume you can see where this is headed. We were in Florida at the time, so a few of us planned a trip to Disney for the day. We were eating lunch when we got the email saying the tour was being cancelled due to the start of the pandemic. We were told to pack our things, and that we’d all be on buses back to our homes at 4AM the next morning. The main issue for me, was that I had no place to call home. I had broken my apartment lease when leaving for tour, so I ended up landing back in NYC with all of my belongings in a storage until and nothing but what was in my touring suitcases. Fortunately my partner was subletting a bedroom in an apartment in the city, and his other roommates agreed to let me share his room with him until we could figure something better out. This was my first time since I was in High School that I didn’t have a source of income. Unemployment ended up taking about 60 days to kick in, so I had to rely on my savings from tour for food and rent. After the first two months of everything being shut down, I knew I needed to do something to start generating income. I used one of my stimulus checks to buy a Cricut cutting machine, and used the iPad I had for tour to learn digital drawing. I started making stickers of musical instruments that I had drawn, and opened up an Etsy shop to sell them. At first I was making about $10 a week, but as I started to make more designs and expanded to doing custom items, like magnets of people’s pets and children, everything started to take off. I now spend about two days a week making and packing orders. My one shop split into two; DeMaio Designs and The Gifted Musician. The former sells custom stickers, magnets, and pins, while the latter is full of gifts for classical musicians. I never would have started this endeavor if everything hadn’t shut down. It’s nice to get to work from home and be my own boss!
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Show up! If there’s a musician who you love giving a performance in your area, buy a ticket if you can afford it. You have no idea how much it means to have supportive people in the audience. If you can’t afford the price of the ticket, or you’re not available, you can help by sharing information about the event on social media. There are so many small things that make a big difference, like buying music on Bandcamp or just commenting on someone’s post on Instagram.
Artists also need funding, and this often comes from local grants or crowdfunding efforts. Be sure to be aware of what bills and proposals are on election ballots, and vote for lawmakers who vow to help support the arts. Many larger grants are aimed at established 501C3’s, but we could use more funding for independent artists who are just starting out. This is especially true for areas with a large population of marginalized citizens. Keep your eyes open to politics on a local level, and show up to support artists in your neighborhood. 
Contact Info:
- Website: nicoledemaiomusic.com
- Instagram: nicole_demaio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nicoledemaio4473
- Other: blacksheepcontemporary.com https://www.youtube.com/@blacksheepcontemporaryense9089 https://www.etsy.com/shop/DeMaioDesigns https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheGiftedMusician https://nicoledemaio.bandcamp.com/track/where-i-was
Image Credits
Erika Kapin