WRITER

As an award-winning author, Timmons has written for the American Music Teacher, Clavier Magazine, the Jewish Review, the College Music Society, Carpe Diem Books, among others. In 1998, she received the Wilk International Literary Prize from University of Southern California for seminal research on the Polish composer, Alexandre Tansman. This memoir, Alexandre Tansman: Diary of a Twentieth-Century Composer, is published online by the University of Southern California.

In 2013, Oxford University Press published her groundbreaking career guidebook: The Musician’s Journey—Crafting Your Career Vision and Plan. OUP will publish an updated and newly revised second edition of this work in early 2023.

In this book you will find suggestions for how to address the process of envisioning your career as well as strategies for creating a concrete plan of action. From exploring the science behind the adaptability of the brain to the nuts and bolts of a successful business plan, Timmons offers many resources that may also inspire you to continue your research and inquiry far beyond the narrative in this book. The Musician’s Journey will hopefully ignite a transformation in your thinking about what it means to be a musician and how to thrive in that career, ultimately sharing your knowledge and acumen with others.

In tandem, as an effective and experienced grant writer, Timmons regularly assists individuals and non-profits in their successful preparation of funding proposals to foundations and government agencies, assisting with the grant narratives and budgets. She has received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Aaron Copland Fund, Oregon Arts Commission, Collins Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, Quest Foundation, Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, to name a few.

Timmons is a regular contributor to the online journal, The Oregon Musician.

The Musician’s Journey is available for purchase through Oxford University Press and Amazon

BOOK REVIEWS

“The title is apt – this book describes a journey in thought, preparation, and destination, and is appropriate for all, not only musicians, who are building a career and a satisfying life. The reader is led from idealistic aspiration through awareness of self and the market to practical outcomes that are entirely possible. Beyond the message and excellent writing, the quotes and bibliography are a diverse and priceless bonus.”

Stephen Clapp -

Doctor of Music, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Violin, The Juilliard School

"The Musician’s Journey sets forth a unique blueprint for success in all the parts of one’s profession. Timmons draws inspiration from a wide range of sources—psychologists, novelists, scientists and philosophers ranging from Euclid to Oliver Sacks—all in the service of musicians wanting to find personal fulfillment and financial reward. She describes our musical world as it is, not as we wish it were, and gives us the tools to develop our own unique vision of happy excellence and bring it to fruition…The Musician’s Journey will be a wise and useful friend to you as you build your own path to personal and professional fulfillment."

Scott McBride Smith -

president, MTNA

"As their graduates focus more and more on careers, colleges and universities are devoting significant resources to career planning and education. This volume by Timmons is written from her considerable experience as a performing musician, academic, and arts management consultant. Targeting performing musicians, Timmons provides advice for developing an overall career vision and a plan that will see the vision through. Two key concepts—entrepreneurship and change preparation–are central to planning and visioning. This volume outlines potential career paths for musicians, and techniques for marketing one’s talents and skills. Historically, musicians have carved out careers for themselves that incorporate music making in various forms, along with related activities such as teaching, consulting, and writing about music. Timmons suggests building on this tradition by thinking creatively about opportunities and positioning oneself to take advantage of them. The work concludes with several case studies drawn from the author’s work as a consultant, providing firsthand accounts of the techniques described in the book. This engaging read is an excellent resource for undergraduate performing musicians as well as those at any stage of their careers. Summing Up: Highly recommended."

—Choice - (September 2013)

"This is a bold book that aims to offer an inspirational and practical resource for musicians embarking on their careers, or perhaps re-evaluating and making changes in their professional portfolio. Its tone is emphatically optimistic, and it is suffused with useful information, practical tips, uplifting quotations and stories. It draws on an intriguingly broad set of reference points from ancient philosophies to spiritual texts, contemporary neuroscience to personal experience."

—British Journal of Music Education (November 2015)

"From the outset, the author makes clear her intention: “I was looking for a book that could guide musicians in the process of creating their career vision and that would also provide concrete strategies for making that career a reality” (p. xv). The operative word for me was concrete and the author makes good on her promise. Over the course of ten chapters, Timmons traverses the road from creative vision to plan development and finally to implementation, using a variety of sources, approaches, and real life stories to make her case. Through a series of checklists and online materials (duplicated in the book), systematic research, and a thoughtful and extensive bibliography, the author has created an interactive resource that defines the nature of artistic craft and establishes a way in which to implement creative desire."

—The Journal of the Association for Anglican Musicians (September 2013)