Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Ryan Armstrong.
Hi Michael Ryan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in a family of musicians and was classically trained in piano and trumpet. When I was 18, I took an interest in conducting. After taking some private lessons and a lot of networking, I eventually managed to become an assistant conductor in a couple of groups in LA. I did assistant conducting for a few years, and in 2010, I auditioned for a music director position with a small community orchestra in Westlake Village called “The Pacific Pearl Symphony Orchestra”. To my excitement and surprise, I was chosen to be their conductor, and I spent the next seven years in what was essentially a crash course in leading and managing an orchestra. It was the perfect place for me to learn and grow as I made music with some very nice people.
One of the most important things about running an orchestra is to manage the printed music. Professional orchestras have full-time librarians who organize the music and prepare it for the musicians. I went to visit some local music libraries and asked a lot of questions. I learned that music is printed on oversize paper and often a nice off-white color rather than bright white. I learned about binding music and inputting markings for the string players. I was very excited to take what I had learned and apply it to the orchestra I was conducting.
I managed to find a couple of large office copy machines someone was giving away on Craigslist. They were in pretty bad shape, but with a little TLC, I got them in good enough shape to print the nice oversized music parts and conductor’s scores that I wanted. The musicians loved the parts and I immediately FELT a difference when I was conducting – people were able to sit back and read the music much more easily, and they were able to look up at me much more because they weren’t squinting to read tiny notes anymore. This was a very important moment for me, and my passion for printing music began.
I went through a few different copy machines, some purchased, some leased, and over time, they got bigger, faster, and higher in quality. I started doing library work and printing for other orchestras and bands. As my business grew, I got into doing other types of printing as well, starting with posters, postcards, flyers, and concert programs for the musical organizations I printed for. I learned about graphic design and print production through all these little jobs I got. All along, I have continued to work as a professional musician and have met many of my clients through that work.
Today, I have dozens of regular clients, as well as new customers, almost every week. I continue to focus on producing the highest quality music printing for orchestras, bands, and composers, but I have a good bit of non-musical printing going on all the time as well. I do all the work myself, except when I get really backed up, and I have to bring in some extra help to meet deadlines. I take great pride in the work I do and consider printing to be just as much of an art as playing music. No detail is unimportant, and I am constantly working to improve my methods and approach to the craft.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The world of printing goes very deep, and when you add the music aspect to it, things get really interesting. Everything I know I had to learn from trial and error, and I struggled immensely too many times to count. Aside from just learning the skills and methods related to producing high-quality prints, acquiring the proper equipment was also quite a struggle at times. For a long time, I was working with less than ideal printing machines and computers. The work was slower, but I always found a way to get it done. Every day of work has been a day of solving problems and learning something new.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?|
I have always believed in finding the art in everything I do. When it comes to printing work, my number one goal is to produce the highest quality and aesthetically pleasing prints that I possibly can. I think that my customers appreciate this and trust that I will do everything I can to give them the very best. The appreciation and trust I feel from my customers is what motivates me to continue improving my craft as my business grows.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memories are playing music with my family either at home or together in concerts. I was lucky to be able to play and perform quite a lot with my parents and my brother.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.armstrongdigitalmedia.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/armstrongdigitalmedia
Image Credits
Headshot – Mathew Harwich
