Ignasi Cambra began playing the piano at the age of six. At 17, as he prepared to embark on a degree in business administration, he was awarded a scholarship to study piano in the U.S. He went on to earn a Master鈥檚 degree at the Juilliard School in New York, one of the world鈥檚 finest music schools, and has played in concert halls across the globe. Throughout, he has provided an inspiring example of the human capacity to transform life鈥檚 challenges into strengths.
While excelling in music, Cambra has maintained his belief in the impactful potential of business. In 2021, coming full circle from his plans at age 17, he completed an Executive MBA at 天美传媒.
It鈥檚 been a tough year, but Barcelona-born pianist remains upbeat. With almost all his 2020 concerts canceled, he used the time to discover he also had an ear for business. Here he reflects on life, art and entrepreneurship…
Music is what I鈥檝e always enjoyed since I began musical studies at age six, and it ended up being my profession without me ever really planning it. The music world is highly competitive. Like sports, many people try to do it professionally but very few actually make it. It鈥檚 also extremely unfair. Admission rates at the world鈥檚 top music schools are lower than for business schools. Many talented people who don鈥檛 get in are just as good as, or even better than, those who do. Like many other professions, luck plays a part.
Talent is important, but it鈥檚 not everything, and neither is constant work. It鈥檚 one thing to sit at the piano and play the notes, and another thing to practice in a way that鈥檚 useful and where you鈥檙e actually making progress. For me, if I practice more than five or six hours a day, I鈥檓 just wasting my time, and if I keep going, I鈥檒l create bad habits. That took some time for me to understand.
People always think it鈥檚 incredible that I play by memory, except all pianists, sighted or not, play by memory. What鈥檚 different is that they may learn the score by reading it through first, but they鈥檒l still have to memorize it. I learn by ear, which may be slower, but then I鈥檓 memorizing it at the same time, so in a sense it鈥檚 slightly more efficient.
鈥淥f course some things are more difficult for me, but everyone, with or without a disability, has things they find challenging.”Ignasi Cambra (EMBA 麓21)
I鈥檓 not saying I never have challenges. Of course some things are more difficult for me, but everyone, with or without a disability, has things they find challenging. One of my teachers once said that, instead of complaining, you can always adapt and get something positive out of it. Everybody needs to understand what they鈥檙e not so good at, which can be just as important as understanding what you鈥檙e really good at. It saves you a lot of trouble and future problems.
I love what I do, but I really feel like an entrepreneur at heart. The idea of making a positive impact and giving back to society is something that speaks to me. Although I鈥檇 be the first to say that the arts are extremely important to society, I always wanted to do something that had a more direct, practical impact on people鈥檚 lives, which is one of the reasons why I decided to do an .
Art and business don鈥檛 have to be opposites. Too often in the arts it鈥檚 one extreme or the other: either you focus on the financial side at the expense of creating genuinely interesting experiences for the audience, or you manage very well from an artistic standpoint but are losing money. It鈥檚 not either/or. In both cases, it鈥檚 about working with other people 鈥� those you like, those you don鈥檛 like, those you need to have a good relationship with, those who seem like they don鈥檛 matter, but they do. Always. In the end, business is knowing how to deal with life.
