Sounds of Encouragement – Details, episodes & analysis

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Award-winning music educator Merlin B. Thompson (PhD, MA, BMus) is the Creator and Founder of Teach Music 21C - a music teacher professional development program that highlights 21st century teaching tools and philosophy. Merlin is recognized internationally for his expertise in music studio teaching. His recent projects include working with hundreds of teachers, students and parents throughout Canada, USA, China, New Zealand, Australia, and Finland. Merlin is author of More than Music Lessons: A Studio Teacher’s Guide to Parents, Practicing, Projects, and Character.
You can find out more at https://www.teachmusic21c.com

Top 5 Songs of Encouragement
1) "Bali Ha'i" from South Pacific by Rodgers and Hammerstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwYvWF5j0a8&t=10s

2) "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Norman Luboff choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6OgZCCoXWc&t=1s

3) "Thankful" by Josh Groban, performed by the Rise Up Children's Choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkOEzP-nGZ8

4) "Summer" from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi, performed by Alexandr Hrustevich Vilnius
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SE222v1eyM

5) My Neighbor Totoro by Joe Hisaishi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrL9d4GrIGA

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Celeste Watson (MM, MS, NCTM) helps musicians achieve artistry through well-coordinated use of the body. She holds credentials in performing arts medicine, piano performance, and music education and coordinates return-to-play mentorships for keyboard musicians who have experienced injury. She owns a conservatory-model studio for pre-collegiate students in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (www.watson-music.com).

For more information about the Lister-Sink Institute and teachings, visit https://www.lister-sink.org/

For more information about Feldenkrais movement, visit https://feldenkrais.com/

Top 5 Songs of Encouragement
1) Waltzing Matilda sung by Slim Dusty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqtttbbYfSM&list=PLSIRqKhHhcL4nqBuFTgNJZmPqK_7YX-SH&index=2

2) "Kommt, ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen" from St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) by Bach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Be9xQrWVU&list=PLSIRqKhHhcL4nqBuFTgNJZmPqK_7YX-SH&index=3

3) French Suites, by Bach, performed by Andras Schiff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sDleZkIK-w&list=PLSIRqKhHhcL4nqBuFTgNJZmPqK_7YX-SH&index=5&t=127s

4) Goldberg Variations by Bach, performed by Andras Schiff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHFuaaGpGKQ&list=PLSIRqKhHhcL4nqBuFTgNJZmPqK_7YX-SH&index=4&t=55s

5) Wayfaring Stranger by Johnny Cash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti-FtTz8t5U&list=PLSIRqKhHhcL4nqBuFTgNJZmPqK_7YX-SH&index=1

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Katie Dahl is a songwriter and playwright whose work is as expansive as Lake Michigan and as deeply rooted as its rocky coastal bluffs. A small-town celebrity on the Wisconsin peninsula where her family has lived for 175 years, she is now a radio-charting folk artist who tours around the world. Clear-eyed and tough-minded, fresh and funny, Katie “delivers razor-sharp lyrics with a hearty, soulful voice” (American Songwriter).

Katie’s four albums of original songs showcase her creamy alto and trademark wit, as well as her unflinching authenticity. Her recent work finds her exploring more vulnerable territory than ever before, from anxiety to body image to the challenges of growing up queer in an evangelical church. Richly steeped in the American songwriting tradition, Katie navigates the muddy waters between the personal, public, and political with tenderness and dexterity.

Katie is currently working with renowned producer Julie Wolf on a new album slated for release in early 2023. Her previous album, Wildwood, was produced by JT Nero (Birds of Chicago) and features Allison Russell; that record’s “Worry My Friend” hit #6 on the folk radio charts in 2019. Her song “Crowns” spent a month at #1 on the charts in 2015.

Katie is also a playwright; her latest musical The Fisherman’s Daughters (2021) tells the story of two sisters in 1908 who fight the state of Wisconsin’s efforts to take their rural homestead via eminent domain to make a state park. Victory Farm (2012; co-written with James Valcq and Emilie Coulson) is a fictionalized account of the real-life German POWs who came to Wisconsin to pick cherries during World War II. Both plays were made into live cast recordings.

Katie was a college freshman in Minnesota when she slipped on a patch of sidewalk ice and broke her wrist. Suddenly unable to play the oboe in her college orchestra, Katie used her newfound free time to learn guitar, teaching herself chord shapes as she strummed the strings with her stiff right hand. Nine years later, that icy day has proven to be a blessing in disguise, leading Katie into a life of work that Dar Williams calls “the very best kind of songwriting.”

Don't forget to buy Katie's latest Album Seven Stones!
https://katiedahlmusic.com

Top 5 Songs of Encouragement
1) "May I Suggest" by Susan Werner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW1DDSQnEYo
2) "Grow Your Flowers" by JT & the Clouds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RntOMgWg7SM
3) "Hammer and A Nail" by The Indigo Girls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTI2GGNFR_U
4) "Nobody's Crying" by Patty Griffin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGlNEbFuN9g
5) "Sacristy" by Katie Dahl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8o19TND2yI

Photo Credits: Wolfskull Creative & Kelly Nicolaisen

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Owner/Instructor at the Linda Kennedy School of Piano and Voice, Linda began as an educator, arranger and performer at the age of 14. 
Mrs. Kennedy is both a degreed and Nationally Certified teacher.  She is a former instructor for Yamaha International and Kimball International.  Mrs. Kennedy is a member of Kansas City Music Teachers Assoc. and former Executive Board member.  She is an Executive Board Member of Olathe Music Teachers, member of Kansas Music Teachers, Federated Music Teachers and Music Teacher National Association. 

Mrs. Kennedy has judged many piano, vocal and instrumental music competitions, and was given a Judge’s Award for her work as a judge in the Iowa Yamaha Clavinova Festival.   

Linda Kennedy was awarded Teacher of the Year by Steinway & Sons in 2016 and 2021. 

Linda is currently an executive board member of OMTA, Federated Music Teachers member, and KMTA and NMTA member.

https://www.lrkennedypianoandvoice.com

Top 5 Songs of Encouragement
1) "Unstoppable" by Sia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaEG2aWJnZ8
2) The Joy of Life" by Kenny G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd-A72uoh-U
3) "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyGY2NfYpeE
4) "I'm So Excited"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iwBM_YB1sE
5) "Walking On Sunshine"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUmE-tne5U

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Amy Rood Miller is an accomplished private music instructor, music therapist, and performer. She has sung numerous roles and performances in and around the NYC and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas. In 2014 she founded Creative Music Lessons, LLC, a company that provides a more fun and interactive approach to musical instruction. This distinctive teaching style combines the soft skills of a music therapist or music educator with the technical skills of a classically-trained performer. Her company has now grown to become a group of 10 talented instructors offering in-home lessons and some group programming to students of all ages, levels, and instruments. Amy currently resides in Westchester, NY with her husband, Terence and their toddler Coralyn. 

You can learn more at https://www.creativemusiclessons.com
For more information about music therapy, go to https://www.musictherapy.org

Top 5 Songs of Encouragement
1) Baroque and Blue: Suite No. 1 for Flute and Jazz Piano by Claude Bolling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq74JQ1Q9uw
2) Grande messe des morts, Op. 5, "Requiem": Agnus Dei
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjbtWRJQBdc
3) Golden Gate Orch. - Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue - 1925 California Ramblers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9lckkO3izg
4) Sara Bareilles - You Matter To Me (Official Audio) ft. Jason Mraz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH9gLM4I7tY
5) Beverly Sills - Ah fors'è lui...Sempre libera LA TRAVIATA Stereo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mvj1kE91E4

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For Peter's bio, see the show notes for Part 1 of the interview.
Visit Peter's website at
https://www.bazylistudio.com/bazyli-studio-wearable-art-gallery

Inspirational Art/Artists
1) La Sagrada Familia Basilica by Antonio Gaudi
2) artist Nick Cave
3) "Seaweed" by Lenore Towney
4) "Shakespeare is in the Alley" installation by Skye Ciesla
5) "Seamless Stories Delicious Memories" by Laura Nova and Kristine Diekman

Top 5 Songs of Encouragement
1) The Opera "Tosca" by Puccini; "Vissi d/Arte" sung by Maria Callas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk5KrlxePzI
2) "Pharaoh's Dance" by Miles Davis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtORTuLJw7o
3) "Jokerman" by Bob Dylan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foVjD4xPT1I
4) "In Lamho Ke Daaman Mein" by Sonu Nigam and Madhushree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIxH4zcUJVE
5) "Equinoxe, Pt. 5" by Jean-Michel Jarre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXBuEcue9tE

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Peter Ciesla is a self-taught textile artist born in Wroclaw, Poland in 1961. Growing up surrounded by theater, visual art and music, he developed a love for textiles and fashion. Peter started experimenting with textiles at age 11 designing and creating street fashion, as well as costume for theatre and dance performances. He emigrated to the United States in 1991 and immediately focused on developing a career as an artist/designer opening “Creative Apparel Design” in Chicago, Illinois. He spent the 1990’s focusing on custom couture work, learning the painstaking attention to detail that this work requires. In addition he developed an art-to-wear clothing and jewelry line during this time, as the Millennium approached. The present incarnation of his business, Bazyli Studio, was launched in 2002. Peter based it in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin together with his life partner and artist, Skye. They combined their talents and efforts to create their unique, one-of-a-kind, sculptural beaded jewelry line. Their work has national recognition and has won numerous awards. Although Peter continued to design art-to-wear in the 2000’s, most of his energy went into hand crafting Bazyli jewelry. In 2012, he went back to his first passion and began designing and creating art clothing on a full time basis. In 2015, Peter and Skye opened Bazyli Studio Wearable Art Gallery in a building adjacent to their home and studios. 

Peter’s work has always been inspired by the natural world. He has most recently developed an art clothing line integrating his own toxin free, one-of-a-kind, plant-dyed organic textiles. He works with the natural fibers of linen, cotton, silk, hemp, wool, organic when possible. He experiments with local Door County plants, nuts, berries and flowers in his natural dyeing processes. He does botanical printing along with Shibori techniques. He uses his masterful skills to manipulate textiles in a variety of ways, including surface design, texturing, application, quilting and felting techniques. He also creates his own patterns for his signature coats, jackets and vests. In developing his own plant-dyed textiles he has realized his long time dream of creating clothing with a softer ecological footprint. His deep love, appreciation and respect for the breathtaking beauty of the Door County Peninsula is reflected in his work. He looks forward to many more years of discovery and experimentation in the field of natural dyeing and in creating objects of beauty.

https://www.bazylistudio.com

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Randy Carter is a film and television editor and director.  Born in Flint, Michigan, after 8 years in the US Navy, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the Vancouver Film School.  Based in Los Angeles, Randy has been a professional editor for 25 years. 

Randy’s focus as an editor has always been on clarity of storytelling, molding each film until it tells the story in the most interesting way, while never placing style over substance.  His credits include films and TV shows for Netflix, Hallmark, Lifetime Television, Ion, UpTV, SyFy Channel and many others. .  His latest project is the Lifetime Television original film, The Gabby Petito Story, which is based on the harrowing true story that gripped the nation of a woman trapped in an abusive relationship, which ended in her tragic death.

In the past few years, Randy has started directing projects as well, including three films for Lifetime Television.  He still considers himself primarily an editor, however.

Tune in Nov. 20th for "The Case of the Christmas Diamond" on the ion channel.
https://iontelevision.com/holiday-movie/the-case-of-the-christmas-diamond

Randy's Top 5 Inspirational or Encouraging Movies (soundtracks used in the episode). Be sure to go find these movies and watch them in their entirety!

1) Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=460kqdhminI

2) Wait Until Dark
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AOn6hqj9uQ

3) Chicago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVyhM8gHXS8

4) Star Wars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXDnFYu91vY

5) The Three Days of Condor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3uvjBO39WE

Randy's IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003739/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1#editor

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Kayla Peeters is an American Recording Artist. She was born in Wisconsin. She is best known for her solo piano recordings and her unique teaching approach. Kayla is a member of the Music Teachers National Association as well as the Wisconsin Teachers music association. She is set to release her latest composition Nocturne in G minor this fall.

Find out more at her website!

Top 5 Songs of Encouragement
1) A Thousand Years by Christina Perri
2) Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
3) Moonlight Sonata mvt. 1 by Beethoven
4) The Funeral by Band of Horses
5) The Prayer sung by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion

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RAMI BAR-NIV is one of Israel's most acclaimed and sought after pianists. He travels extensively and has become an international citizen, concertizing all over the world. 

Born in Tel-Aviv, he graduated with honors from the Ron Conservatory and the Rubin Academy of Music, and was the recipient of many prizes and scholarships. He won the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Competition and was awarded a scholarship to further his studies in the United States. After graduating from Mannes College of Music in New York, where he studied with the renowned Mme. Nadia Reisenberg, he won numerous competitions and embarked on a highly successful concert career. He performs regularly in North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and of course Israel, where he received the "Best Performer Award" from the Israeli government. 

He appears on TV and radio, in chamber ensembles, solo recitals, and as soloist with orchestras. He is always received with great enthusiasm. 

Often sent abroad by the Foreign Ministry to represent Israel in concerts, he has become an ambassador of goodwill for Israel. 

Rami Bar-Niv made history by being the first, and so far the only, Israeli artist to perform in Egypt following the Begin/Sadat Peace Treaty. 

Rami’s recordings for CBS and other labels in Israel and abroad have met with praise and popularity. 

His recordings and videos have been very successful on the Internet and he has often been at the top of the charts. 

His compositions are published, recorded and performed all over the world. Rami Bar-Niv offers music of great variety and contrast in style, and is an extremely versatile performer. 

Rami's master classes, workshops, and private teaching are loved worldwide and he is constantly invited to teach in five continents while on concert tours. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/barniv http://www.ybarniv.com/rami http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rami_Bar-Niv  

THE NEW YORK TIMES wrote of Rami: "Effective and Flamboyant" THE BOSTON GLOBE wrote of Rami: "An original major talent"

http://www.ybarniv.com/rami

http://www.youtube.com/user/barniv   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rami_Bar-Niv

http://rami.ybarniv.com/?page_id=198  

http://rami.ybarniv.com/?page_id=71  http://rami.ybarniv.com/?page_id=1275

Top 5 Songs of Encouragement
1) Dvorak Symphony No. 9  in E minor Op. 95 "New World"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9RT2nHD6CQ&t=2372s
2) Dvorak Concerto in B minor Op. 104
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJSlmoXpzfM&t=1810s
3) Tchaikovsky, Symphony Nos. 4, 5, 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urj66hSbIiA&t=22s
4) Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, Arthur Rubinstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Yoyz6_Los&t=109s
5) Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64:1, Jascha Heifetz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0tqdhbnpn8

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