We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cynthia Meng a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cynthia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I think what’s somewhat unique about my career is that I actually started off working in a “regular” job and then decided for myself that I would pursue a career in the arts (specifically, as a freelancer). I spent three years working as a software engineer before I went full-throttle as a freelancer. Every now and then, I’ll really seriously consider the possibility of going back to something more full-time, but having had that experience of doing the 9 to 5 before pivoting, I actually feel really confident in that decision. Having the ability to determine *when* I work and *what* I work on is something I really value in my work and my life, and because I actively made that choice to go into this line of work after having worked my “regular” job, I feel super content in that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a music director, conductor, and pianist working in theatre, film, and television. That manifests itself in a lot of different ways, which is part of what I love about my job. In theatre, that means I conduct shows (Broadway, Off-Broadway, one-off concerts, etc.), play keyboard in shows and lead rehearsals for actors and musicians. And especially in the development of new theatre work, my role is effectively to be the voice shaping the music of a show as it grows from an idea into a full-fledged production. And once the show goes up and opens, I will either conduct the show or be playing in the pit and also help run rehearsals while the show is running.

In film and television, I’ve worked on projects that involve a lot of original songs and on-screen singing. I’ve been a key member of music teams for those projects doing all sorts of tasks: teaching the actors their songs, transcribing songs, helping in the recording process, working on set to ensure that the actors are executing the songs correctly, and assisting in the post-production process of cutting together the final product. It’s a really fascinating process that I’ve recently started to sink my teeth into the last couple of years.

The kind of work I do requires not only musical acumen, but also a keen ability to work with lots of different personalities and figure out their styles of communication very quickly. I almost feel like the musical aspect of the job takes a backseat to the ability to communicate clearly and well. You also learn very quickly in these positions that you dictate the environment and the energy in a room – so I always try to bring kindness and empathy into what can be very stressful places.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In our society, the best thing people with money can do is use their money to support art. Go see shows and movies (especially live theatre!). Support arts programs in schools. Encourage kids and young people to consume art in its many forms. If you are an artist, go see lots of different kinds of art – stuff that’s different from what you do. It’s an ecosystem for sure. So we need to be out there giving our support when we can, if we expect to get it back!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had taken piano lessons as a child and was heavily involved in choir and theatre all throughout my childhood and in college. But I never really knew that being a music director was a job – I pretty much thought the only two routes you could take as a musician were as a classical pianist, or as a teacher, neither of which I was quite interested in myself. In college, I had a pretty formative experience being part of a theatre troupe called the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, which gave me the opportunity to work as a music director and composer for the first time in a semi-professional setting, and that was quite a pivotal point for me. I believe that may have been the first moment I really considered that kind of career path for myself, but even so, I was about to graduate with my computer science degree and wasn’t quite ready to actually take the leap at that point.

I moved to New York to work at a music tech company, where I worked as a software engineer for a few years. During that time, I took on all sorts of part-time music work and made a lot of friends and colleagues in the business. And at some point, my “side hustle” was starting to really become as important to me as my “main hustle”, and then at some point, I realized that I needed to “pick a lane” if I wanted to make real progress in either field. So I took the leap and decided to pursue the arts – and I haven’t really looked back since.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cynthiameng.com
• Instagram: cynthiameng

Image Credits
Jackie Abbott, Liz Maney, Claire Folger, Cherie B. Tay