Allison M. Schweitzer

Hi! I’m Allison.

I’m a musician, teacher and entrepreneur from Wauwatosa, WI.

  • A Decision, A Holiday, Some Events

    A Decision, A Holiday, Some Events

    It’s been a minute! Some updates, roughly in chronological order: …That’s the news that’s fit to print, so to speak. Happy Friday!

  • Thanks for the Visit, UW-Oshkosh

    Thanks for the Visit, UW-Oshkosh

    Earlier this week I have myself a lovely drive up to the great city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin – to visit a college campus I’ve grown quite familiar with, yet had never been to in-person until this week. Over at Wisconsin Music Ventures I’ve been grateful to UW-Oshkosh for supplying me with most of my part-time […]

  • On Being Active

    On Being Active

    Getting back to my teaching philosophy of sorts and the acronym that spells out important values to me, A is the initial of the second word – and it stands for being “Active.” To me, this means a whole lot of things… Being active in obvious ways is important – physically being one, and mental […]

  • Telling a Story from Stage

    Telling a Story from Stage

    Songwriters are known for weaving together stories in song. This is expected; it is the art of what they do. Not every musician tells a story from stage – but I find myself transfixed completely, with those that can and do. Last week I attended a live performance of Ben Mulwana‘s, at The High Noon […]

  • Gratitude as an Action

    Gratitude as an Action

    Earlier this week I had the great privilege of being a part of an inspiring conversation on the topic of gratitude. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard it discussed so thoroughly, nor so passionately. It’s easy to wallow, to feel sorry for ourselves when things aren’t going our way. But is it just as […]

  • Lessons from Jelly Roll

    Lessons from Jelly Roll

    Livestream. Pre-Orders. Shopify. It was all a part of one musician’s campaign to hype his new album via a 4/20 event. It’s stories like Jelly Roll‘s that come across as intimidating to a lot of independent artists, at first. He did what, with how many different platforms, how? It’s always interesting to me, learning how […]

  • Failure: It’s About Perspective

    Failure: It’s About Perspective

    Those of us in the Milwaukee area have been a little disappointed that our beloved Milwaukee Bucks did not get as far as we might’ve expected in the NBA playoffs. Some of those people might even be wearing their Bucks gear and blogging about their disappointment at this very moment. [ahem] But really, this video… […]

  • The Power of Podcasts

    The Power of Podcasts

    Podcasts have been beyond influential for me… They have educated me in ways I never thought possible, and connected me with people I would’ve never been introduced to any other way. Long ago – it seems – I began consuming podcasts as I was doing more pursuit of work as a professional horn player. This […]

  • Music Library Online

    Music Library Online

    A project that one of my teenage piano students has been working on with me is to get my piano music library documented, organized and available for students (and whomever else) to view online, so as to be able to borrow music, try it out, etc. Katie was over again yesterday, and I think we’ve […]

  • AI, Chat GPT and The Music Industry

    AI, Chat GPT and The Music Industry

    Earlier this week I attended an informal workshop, led by my good friend Susan Erwin Prowse, on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Chat GPT – with use cases demonstrated for those of us working in the music industry. I’m primarily a classical musician. Technology, as far as my musicianship has been concerned, has generally not been […]

  • Thanks for the Visit, Millikin

    Thanks for the Visit, Millikin

    Today I returned home from a lovely visit to Decatur, Illinois. I was there to speak with music business students at Millikin University. Those I talked with run a student-led venue/project called Arts Cafe, on their own campus. They’re getting the experience of putting shows together for their own community, in a very hands-on way. […]

  • Activism in Music

    Activism in Music

    In tributes being paid in memoriam to the late Harry Belifonte, a recurring theme I’ve been hearing is about the activist side of the musician – almost moreso that than the music. My friend, Harry Belafonte, was truly a man of cause, conviction and principle. Besides being a great entertainer, he was a major political […]

What I’m Writing About

Activism Activity Artificial Intelligence Basketball Brass Quintet Chicago Church Music Creativity Decatur Easter Failure Holidays Jazz Lessons Livestreaming Madison Men Helping Women Milwaukee Milwaukee Magazine Music Business Music Composition Music Education Music Library NFTs Open Mic Oshkosh Podcasts Promotion Riverwest Sheboygan Social Media Songwriting Streaming Music Teaching Teaching Philosophy Technology Web3 Women's Safety