Frustrated with the lack of control in pursuing an orchestral job, Joshua was seeking a greater career purpose. He realised the gigs he enjoyed the most were when he was connected to other players and the audience. So he sought out new opportunities for work where empathy and communication mattered the most, and that led him to a new career in user experience design.
Joshua Dema is Melbourne based Cellist and Digital Designer. By day he is a Digital Accessibility Consultant for a company called Intopia. By night he is a Cellist who can be heard playing music from Pachelbel to Piatti to Panic at the Disco and everything in between.
QUOTES
“I had this idea in mind of finding a backup career, but it needed to be something I was passionate about.”
“The more auditions I took, the more I kept failing them. I enjoying it less and less… I was so locked into this mindset of if I didn’t achieve this goal (orchestral job) I was failing everybody.”
“I started noticing the performances I liked were the ones where I was making decisions about the process.”
“I came across a thing called UX design. It involves empathy for users, practicality of the product and usability of design. That really fit my mentality.”
“Everyone I talked to from a non-music background was fascinated by trained musicians. It’s a really good talking point in job interviews.”
“I’ve come to realise that creativity is everywhere. Just because there’s not a performance doesn’t mean there’s not creativity”
“The outcome (of a job application) is not telling me how good I am at what I do.”
“When I do pick up my cello, it’s because I want to play it, not because I have to practice.”
“The more I removed money from music, the more I enjoyed it.”
LINKS
IMAGE CREDIT
Jacinta Keefe
PODCAST TEAM
Production Support from Molly Jenkins
Audio Engineering from Frazer Ruddick
Theme Music Composed by Danna Yun
Theme Music Performed by Jasper Ly
RECORDED
Recorded on 23 August 2021