Brushing the dust off my playing
“I'm committed to being an antiracist creative... but I also want to create from a deep well of my own joy... of who [I am]."
~ Austin Channing Brown, best-selling author, speaker, & producer. I saw this on social media & needed the reminder that it's okay to create content that doesn't boast a heightened sociopolitical awareness.
Here’s some exciting news!
Next week, my chamber ensemble Ears Engaged is beginning a virtual residency at Weinberg Terrace, a senior home in Pittsburgh, through the Iris Music Project.
Suddenly, I have a lot of recording projects — including a video of me playing something of my choice (impulsively, I chose the flute solo from Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2").
Yet over the past few days, I haven’t practiced much. In addition to several hours of training for the Iris Music Project, I was dealing with a lot of anxiety regarding wildfires in California, alarmingly close to my family.
So here's a video of me brushing the dust off my flute-playing & playing "Daphnis" for the first time in months (since I'll record myself performing this soon).
And here are miscellaneous things on my mind…
I've chopped off my hair again. This is the shortest it’s been, possibly ever. I love challenging myself to embrace unconventional ways for women to take up space.
After months of planning & delays, I finally published my second artist feature!
At first glance, it's nothing but a wall of words. Nothing replaces being in the presence of a musician as they create for you, live.
In my previous post, I mentioned how words are limited. Being a musician brings me closer to embodying multiple experiences of the world — through my instrument (an extended range of sound & expression), and within the sound, endless possibilities for imagination & interpretation (multiple personalities, places, stories, etc.).
Sometimes, I think of being a musician as narrow: just my flute and me. From a technical standpoint, this is necessary.
But also, one of my favorite things to do is to sing to myself. My singing both reinforces & emerges from my strengths as a flutist.
I tend to see flute-playing as the more "valid" way for me to be a musician. Yet in a way, singing to myself is every bit as valuable. It's another form of carving space for beauty in this world.