Leaderboard

What I mean by this is that you need to convince performers that it will be worthwhile for them to perform your music. 'Music speaks for itself' is a delightful notion but the reality is that people have different tastes. As well as this, even if a performer(s), conductor, artistic director, etc. might find your piece to be 'good', that doesn't mean it is the right piece for them at that time. It might be better if you don't deal well with rejection and failure, but in the long run: you have to be willing to take risks. There is nothing selfish about being savvy with your time. You make a lot of suppositions but when it comes down to it, you need to be able to provide something many people actually want or need. Very few people are going to care whether or not they influence some young nobody's future writing. What people care about is how they're going to pay off loans and make rent, or at the very least, playing music that they enjoy or feel is a worthwhile addition to their repertoire or program. Congrats, I hope you're not getting the impression that I'm telling you 'not' to look for performers online like you are doing here. I am just trying to encourage you to avoid becoming complacent with 'passively' searching.