From the organization that doesn't pay on time to the low-balling of honorariums, you've surely seen it all. So have I. I've been paid late, had to demand fees actually be paid, been offered insultingly low fees, and have had to chase payments down after work was completed.

As well all have a "money story," it's not always our personal money stories that trip us up, but sometimes other people who trip us up (financially) on purpose. It's the roommate who doesn't pay rent on time, the friend who…

Last week I took one of my lovely colleagues out for lunch, as I've decided to start singing again. We hashed through loads of things, like agents, current pay (very important), information on new ensembles, and even a Jungian psychoanalyst and her view of der Erlkönig.

We also talked shortly about gowns. I'm not gonna lie, it's one of my favorite parts of singing--dressing up in a gorgeous gown, picking it out because it has exactly the color I like, and because sometimes a hot pink dress make…

Recently I started reading John Eliot Gardiner's Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven. I've had it for years and am happy to have finally taken it off the shelf.

There is a long section on Bach's family of musicians, and by that I mean the men who were actually written about, the ones who got to go out and work, and were then considered professionals.

And they were terribly, horribly underpaid.

A couple of days ago I caught up with a singing friend who also bemoans how low his singing pay has …