Music and More: Sara Penny Blog

  Sharing Our Art by Sara Penny, CCAC Vice President (for Iron County Today)   Part of the challenge of any art form is the moment you share it. I try to get my violin students to share their music for the joy of it, not just as a performance. Playing for a family party or a neighbor who is homebound can be more meaningful than in front of a big audience.     Probably my most important performance was for a friend's sister who had been violently assaulted. We were living in Beaumont, Texas at the time. My friend had taken time from work to help her sister, but needed to get back to work. Her sister's face was swollen, bruised, and unrecognizable. I just played my violin so she could relax and feel safe enough to be able to sleep. The music soothed her so she could start to recover. I saw her several months later and fortunately she was healing. Music can help calm trauma.    How do you use music and art in daily life? Do you have certain mu...

  "Fun is the Fuel" by Sara Penny, CCAC Vice President (column for Iron County Today) "Fun is the fuel", wrote Steve Magness when describing the Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland. This is true in the arts as well. If you love the music you are playing the audience feels that and enjoys it a lot more. If you are having fun in any performance, that emotion transmits to everyone on stage and in the audience in an authentic way. Deeply felt emotions transmit. Art that connects is memorable. "No matter what happens just smile and enjoy it. Just live in the moment," said Haaland. I remember when Xun Sun was directing the Orchestra of Southern Utah and when we were struggling with intonation or rhythm he would just smile bigger as an encouragement to get us on track. I like the advice to students that when they make a mistake they smile and then I know they realize the error and we don't have to stop for a correction. As Magness writes, "Our image o...