Dave Alcorn: His career in the arts has taken unexpected turns, landed him right where he’s supposed to be
Shari Gasper
My colleague Dave Alcorn picks up my video call from the backyard of a home in Serbia, where he’s visiting family and working remotely for the week. That’s the beauty of our digital world—people can work from almost anywhere, connected through our phones and laptops. As director of digital marketing at Overture Center, Alcorn understands our mobile world and how best to reach people wherever they may be.
Alcorn oversees the four-person digital marketing team and all things digital, which include Overture’s website, email marketing, social media, videography and photography. He works across departments to help each team promote its programs and events, and he works with every performer or group to market their upcoming shows.
Digital marketing is a matter of reaching people on the go, and before joining Overture, Alcorn spent five years on the go, touring with Clocks in Motion, a contemporary percussion ensemble. The band toured colleges, universities and other venues around the country.
“We collaborated with schools, did residencies and commissioned new music from composers, some for microtonal instruments that we built ourselves,” said Alcorn.
Clocks in Motion released its “Escape Velocity” album in 2014. Performing 30-50 concerts a year was fun and fulfilling but not particularly lucrative. Alcorn used his videography hobby to fund his career as a freelance musician.
“I’ve been doing video work since I was a kid when my parents got our family’s first video camera,” said Alcorn. “My sister and I created our own silly, homemade television shows. Then I moved into video editing in high school.”
As an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, where he studied percussion performance and music education, Alcorn purchased his own video camera. He asked one of his professors if he could record their ensemble performances. Then other students asked if he would record their recitals. Soon he was charging for his videography services.
Alcorn pursued videography side jobs through college in Ann Arbor and during graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He continued his side hustle while teaching percussion at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming, and after leaving Casper to tour with Clocks in Motion.
“As an artist myself, I understood what other artists wanted in their videos,” he explained.
Alcorn’s video talents were a great fit for Overture Center in 2016 when the organization was looking to expand its digital marketing team.
“My friend and bandmate Mike Koszewski worked in digital marketing at Overture and encouraged me to apply for the role of digital marketing coordinator,” said Alcorn.
Looking to settle down and find more stability after years on the road, Alcorn happily accepted the role. He advanced his digital marketing expertise through professional development and hands-on experience, moving into leadership roles. Now as director of digital marketing, he strategizes how digital marketing fits into the organization’s big picture and analyzes data to see what’s working or not working.
He enjoys constantly having new material to market. Every season is a new variety of shows, artists and materials.
“I love that my job is marketing the fun stuff people want to do after work,” he said.
Videography continues to be a big part of Alcorn’s life. When the pandemic hit in 2020, he was contacted by several local arts organizations that needed help establishing an online presence. He was grateful to be a part of sharing their art beyond the live setting and helping them move forward during a challenging time.
Alcorn also continues to perform occasionally with local organizations and private gigs and teach private percussion lessons. He has performed with Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and Rockford Symphony Orchestra. In June 2023, he performed his first post-pandemic show with Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society in Madison.
“Playing in orchestras is one of my favorite things to do,” he said.
Alcorn has never been under the illusion that life takes a planned, expected path, but it is instead full of unexpected turns. Today, his original career in percussion performance is his hobby, and his hobby of videography is his career.
“Life is about making micro-choices that move me in the direction I want to go,” he explained. “I’m really happy and love what I do.”
Alcorn has worked in the arts his entire life, and the arts will always be his priority, right alongside his wife and daughter, who now take center stage. Based on Alcorn’s artistic passions, his daughter will likely start music lessons at an early age, and there’s no doubt she will be starring in numerous family videos.
