A career professional harpist and harp instructor, Cheryl Ann Fulton shares her inspiring journey of merging artistry with business to earn a higher income. Her path reveals how creative fulfillment and financial reward can coexist, offering valuable lessons for course creators and artists alike.Dr. Cheryl Ann Fulton is a world-class harpist, expert in historical harps, prolific recording artist, UC Berkeley faculty member, and online course creator.In this episode, Ari, Abe, and Cheryl discuss:Her journey to creating online courses and her initial experiences with Skype teachingThe process and challenges of developing her first big evergreen courseShifting her perspective on business and art through the ACES programDetails of her successful medieval music online course and its impactThe importance of understanding what students want and adjusting course content accordinglyLessons learned from teaching both individual and group lessons onlineChallenges of teaching instrument techniques in an online group settingThe evolution from one-on-one lessons to one-to-many group workshopsCheryl’s new courses and her approach to promoting through email lists and other channels“What I did was, I just went for it, because I was also trying to create a legacy.” — Cheryl Ann FultonGuest Bio:A world-class artist and leading pioneer of historical harps, Cheryl Ann Fulton has enjoyed a successful performing, recording, teaching, and scholarly research career since 1984. Recognized as a “genuine virtuosa of her instrument,” she performs on and teaches Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque (triple- and single-action pedal), contemporary "Celtic" lever, and pedal harps. She earned her BS (pedal harp), MM, and DM (performance/historical harp/musicology) degrees from the Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music. She received a Fulbright award for research and performance in Lisbon, Portugal, and became principal harpist for the Orchestre Gulbenkian.A versatile recording artist, Cheryl Ann can be heard on over forty recordings on many major labels, as well as on film scores and video game soundtracks in a broad range of musical styles from medieval, baroque, and classical to contemporary, Celtic, World, and orchestral music. In 2017 she produced the film The Harps in the Trees illustrating the connection between harps, music, and nature. Her 2023 recording with the Silicon Valley girl’s choir iSing, love & light, was put up for a Grammy nomination.Dr. Fulton is currently on the faculty of UC Berkeley, has a private studio in the San Francisco Bay Area and on Zoom, and offers online courses through her “Harp Secrets” programs. Her music can be heard on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, YouTube, and Magnatune. Besides music, she is a serious student of the Narrative Enneagram and Astrology. When she is not working, she is playing with and training her two Belgian Tervuren dogs or out riding her Arabian horse on the trails in the East Bay hills.Resources or websites mentioned in this episode:MiraseeRuzukuCheryl Ann Fulton’s websiteSpecial gift to podcast listeners:Download Cheryl Ann Fulton's performance of Toccata in d minor by J.S. BachTeach Your Gift (book)ACES Business Acceleration ProgramCredits:Hosts: Ari Iny and Abe CrystalProducer: Michi LantzEditor: Andrew ChapmanExecutive Producer: Danny InyAudio Editor: Marvin del RosarioMusic Soundscape: Chad Michael SnavelyMaking our hosts sound great: Home Brew AudioTo catch the great episodes that are coming up on Course Lab, please follow us on Mirasee FM's YouTube channel or your favorite podcast player. And if you enjoyed the show, please leave us a comment or a starred review. It's the best way to help us get these ideas to more people.Music credits:Track Title: Bossa BBArtist Name: MarieWriter Name: Chelsea McGoughPublisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONTrack Title: Coo CoosArtist Name: Dresden, The FlamingoWriter Name: Matthew WigtonPublisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONTrack Title: GraceArtist Name: ShimmerWriter Name: Matthew WigtonPublisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONSTrack Title: Carousel LightsArtist Name: Chelsea McGoughWriter Name: Chelsea McGoughWriter Name: Matthew WigtonPublisher Name: A SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONPublisher Name: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONSSpecial effects credits:24990513_birds-chirping_by_promission used with permission of the author and under license by AudioJungle/Envato Market.Episode transcript: From Music Mastery to Teaching Online (Cheryl Ann Fulton).
