Is there a song behind every dramatic beat of your life– a rhythm to your reason for being? Finding your place in the music industry isn’t an easy task done solo, and every musician needs a sounding board. So, whether you dream of composing symphonies or simply want your voice to be heard outside the shower, get comfy with creating your track to success at the SoFA!

SET UP

1. Chow Chat (15 minutes)

   • Who would ever sit on the sofa without some goodies to snack on? No one. That’s why the literature salon for SoFA will have baked treats, free for everyone to eat! And if you want a say in your dessert options, go visit our Instagram for the poll (I’m hoping the raspberry brownies win).

     • Musicians can make beautiful melodies alone in their bedroom, but finding that rhythm with other individuals is often another story entirely. Finding that trick to harmonizing with others won’t happen over night, but the 23rd is a start. We want everyone who sits at the SoFA to be relaxed, and you can’t do that on an empty stomach. Now is the time to get to know the people around you, and get some food!

2. Creative Circle (30 minutes)

   1. Now that you’ve become familiar with the people you sit with, it’s time to push those square cushions into a circle and get creative! With our hosts guiding the conversation around Music using quick prompts and exercises, this is the time to hold fast to those fleeting visions we so often dismiss. Use this moment to get/give critiques and praises, pitch new concepts, present, and perhaps even find another creative to collaborate with!

      • Topic conversations will center around the seductive yet destructive siren calls of Music— think the pitfalls and crowd-surfs of major alluring artists and albums.

3. Artist Talk (25 minutes)

   • Guest Artist: Sheila Dunn

   • Presenting Topics:

     - Defining success. 

     - Creating and growing relationships. 

     - Navigating space/time for creativity in a busy career. 

     - Finding a path to being relevant and true to your path as a musician for a lifetime.

     • Dr. Sheila Dunn earned her Doctor of Music degree in vocal performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (a program second to Juilliard nationally). Since joining UWF in 2007, she has taught applied voice, opera workshops, and regularly performs and presents masterclasses at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

     • Dunn maintains an active performing career in opera and as a concert artist and recitalist. Select roles range from, but not limited to, Kitty Hart (Dead Man Walking), Beth (Little Women), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), and Johanna (Sweeney Todd). In 2019, she performed a solo concert as part of the Les Dimanches Musicaux concert series at The American Cathedral in Paris. 

   • Q&A: Each presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A to open the dialogue between novices and the established artist in their field.

4. Wonder Workshop (25-35 minutes)

   • Bring out those song journals and instruments because the last portion of the Salon is dedicated to those who would like to flesh out their work and receive live feedback from experienced student musicians and songwriters. The musical editors for this workshop are the talented Sammy Rose and Dylan Daily!

     • As we will learn from the Artist Talk, even established artists can’t do what they do alone. Revising and refining your pieces is something that can go on forever with only one set of ears and eyes at your disposal. So give someone else a look, we’d be happy to listen and read. And who knows, we might suggest something you’d never even think of, unless you were with us— on the SoFA!