Follow Your Curiosity

Replay: Art's What's Gonna Save Us with Domenic Sciortino

Over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I'm replaying two of my favorite episodes from this past year. Domenic Sciortino isn't a name you're likely to have heard before, unless you live in York, Pennsylvania. He's an old friend of mine whose day job as a barber belies his experience with art and creative expression, which includes drawing, music, and a Beastie Boys tribute band called the Brass Monkeys. Dom's passion for the arts and his vocal advocacy for creative expression are inspiring and infectious.

Check out the show notes for this episode here, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Crushing Classical with Tracy Friedlander

Tracy Friedlander is a classical musician and host of the Crushing Classical podcast. Tracy and I talk about how she came to play the French Horn, what it's really like to audition for and perform in an orchestra, the largely untaught art of listening, and what happens when your musical dream turns out not to be quite what you wanted...and how musicians have started to make their own new paths outside the orchestra world. Even if you're not a musician, this is an inspiring interview for anyone who's felt like the existing paths don't fit them.

You can find show notes, including links to Tracy's podcast and artists she mentions, at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Bringing Death into Life with Tara Sroka

My guest this week is Tara Sroka, a creative end of life planner who helps make this often taboo topic more welcoming and even fun. We talk about how her mother's passing continues to inspire Tara, ways to remember and honor those who've gone before us, taking fear out of the process, and how to use the idea of your own death to make your life more meaningful.

Check out the show notes and links for this episode here, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

"There Is No Magic Path" with Kristen Good

My guest this week is Kristen Good, a graphic designer, branding expert, and life coach. We talk about perfectionism, self-worth, vulnerability, self-care, and the willingness to get out there and do what you love without getting hung up on the nit-picky, irrelevant details that often stop us from doing our creative work.

As always, check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Finding a True Path with Michelle Ward

Michelle Ward, aka the When I Grow Up Coach, has literally made a career out of staying true to herself, and helping others do the same. Michelle's dream from childhood was to be on Broadway, but after graduating from NYU's Tisch School and going to audition after audition, she realized to her dismay that it was not likely to happen for her. She decided she needed to find something that worked for her—that was true to her creative spirit and fed her soul—and that she wanted to help others do the same. She joined me to tell her story and how it's led her to something unexpectedly perfect for her, and what she learned along the way, from the power of authenticity when auditioning to figuring out what else might meet her creative goals when acting fell through.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

The Power of Ritual with Cat Kessler

Cat Kessler wants to bring more ritual and reflection to your life, and she's started a business called Opt Inward to help you do just that. She joins me this week to talk about how she discovered the importance of ritual in her own life, what modern ritual can look like and how we can fit it into our lives, where ritual and self-care intersect, the writing of Madeleine L'Engle, and what we can learn about spirituality, creativity, and ourselves from the book and new TV series Good Omens.

Find show notes at fycuriosity.com., and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Conservatory vs. College with D'Anna Fortunato

My guest today is a highly acclaimed mezzo-soprano who has sung a wide variety of music and operatic roles. She has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood, with conductors including Leonard Bernstein. I met D'Anna Fortunato when I was a junior at Bucknell; she joined us to perform Aaron Copland's "In the Beginning," which I also discussed with Dr. William Payn in our last episode. D'Anna joined me to talk about her own musical journey, including the difference between a university music program and conservatory, the value of doing your artistic homework, and what she's learned from teaching and encouraging the creative spirit.

I've included some links to her performances in the show notes at fycuriosity.com, so be sure to check them out!

Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Aiming for Excellence with Dr. William Payn

Today’s guest has been an important part of my life, and a big influence. A composer of music for choir and handbells, a respected festival conductor, and a former professor of music and director of choral studies at Bucknell University, he’s my college choir director, Dr. William Payn. I spent four years singing for him in Bucknell’s Rooke Chapel Choir, where I learned more than just great choral music. We talked about his history with music, from childhood on, the experiences of conducting vs. composing, how to encourage people to do more than they think they can, and how a particularly memorable choral performance at the American Choral Directors Convention—a rarefied experience for us all—came to be.

Listen to us sing Aaron Copland's "In the Beginning," and two of Dr. Payn's compositions, at the links at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Chasing Curiosity with Vicky Cook

As you know, I'm a big fan of following your curiosity, so you can imagine how excited I was to come across someone else who finds it as key as I do. That someone is Vicky Cook, a coach who focuses on helping woman 40-ish and above get through midlife doubts (dare we say crises?) and finally do the things they're really here to do. We talk about identity, especially when it comes to women who are moms, about and how curiosity can get us through rough times. Vicky also tells us how she found, and what she finds, in her somewhat unusual hobby (spoiler: she's a silversmith).

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!

Singing a Different Tune with Amber Petty

Amber Petty attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, taught musical improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade, and starred in an off-Broadway show based on the 50 Shades books. She also discovered that the life she’d imagined and the one she was living weren’t the same, and shifted into writing. She also helps ordinary people build confidence about singing at SingADifferentTune.com. We talk about the realities of life as an actor; dealing with rejection (and whether that’s harder as an actor or a writer), how “overnight success” really works, why singing is such a vulnerable act, and more.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!