In this episode, composer, arranger, and musician Gregory Smith discusses his compositions for educational family concerts or Young Person’s Concerts and how they came about. Greg’s musical background in theater and commercial music field makes him ideal for these kinds of concerts that aim to bring in new audiences. Greg’sContinue Reading
Carrie Seidman is an opinion columnist for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Florida, She is also the creator/producer of FACEing Mental Illness, a blog and podcast at faceingmi.substack.com that shares stories from people with lived mental health experiences. A graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism, Carrie was a reporter, critic,Continue Reading
Suzanne Lee worked in the Boston Public Schools for 35 years, first as a teacher and later as a principal of the Baldwin School in Brighton and the Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Chinatown. Under her leadership, Baldwin became a nationwide model for school improvement and Quincy was named one of theContinue Reading
Helen Neal and Andrea Blanch, are co-founders of SRQ Strong, a nonprofit organization that was created to promote community-wide trauma awareness. Website: SRQStrong Helen Neal is a Level II Certified Trauma Specialist. Through her company, Life Changing Consulting & Associates, she motivates individuals and groups through personal and community empowerment training.Continue Reading
When there wasn’t an opening in his shop class at school, Andrew Lane signed up for band in the hopes that eventually that opening would appear. It never did, but despite the initial disappointment, music would become the path he chose to follow. He attended the University of South FloridaContinue Reading
In addition to his songwriting and performing, Craig worked for many years at the University of New Hampshire as an educational program administrator, a facilitator for the Browne Center for Experiential Education, and faculty member for UNH’s Thompson School of Applied Science. Currently, he teaches at the Chaplaincy Institute ofContinue Reading
Stevey Jones is a Sarasota-based teaching artist who meditates daily and is certified in Mindfulness. A former award-winning journalist and local substitute teacher, Stevey hosts “Mr. Stevey Meditates,” an educational channel on YouTube that explores mindfulness techniques. Stevey incorporates creative writing, digital storytelling, and life skills activities to create uniqueContinue Reading
Larry Haron was proudly born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and has been happily residing just north of Atlanta, GA since 2005. He has served as a music minister in several churches over the years, both in Dallas and Atlanta areas. His professional experiences include being the Executive Producer forContinue Reading
Tihda Vongkoth (she/they) is a co-founder of Modern Marimba in Sarasota and identifies as an able-bodied, non-binary person of the Lao diaspora. Tihda speaks standard American English but grew up listening to others speak Lao English and AAVE. They are U.S. college-educated and grew up in a working-class, single-parent familyContinue Reading
Adam De Sorgo is currently a negotiator for the American Federation of Musicians Symphonic Services Division. During his orchestral career, he was Principal Oboist of the Sarasota Orchestra for 15 years. He was the Principal Oboe of the Utah Festival Opera, and the Associate Principal Oboe of the Kansas City SymphonyContinue Reading
