… if it’s fighting, she fights. If it’s sewing, she sews.” I have come back to that quote too many times in the past few years. As I mourned with my students for their fallen friends and grieved for sudden illness or senseless violence… as I shuddered my home and rushed by flaming hillsides… as I closed my door and locked a year away in confusion and solitude… Jason Robert Brown’s words always come back to me.
When life offers darkness and sadness, violence and fear, the human spirit answers with light and beauty. What can one small person do in the face of a global tragedy? Be a beacon. Spread hope. For me the answer is, do your job. Create something that matters. Something to inspire faith. Transcend this moment and lift your voice. These are the moments that try men’s souls. Every generation has their moment(s). It’s what we do with these moments that define us. As a singer, I have always made it my mission to lean into beauty – to curate a luminous artistic life and depth of spirit. Whether it be by encouraging the talent of others or singing and creating myself, I strive to do my small part to cultivate light. This year has offered me new and exciting opportunities to reimagine this mission. Though this has been an unprecedented time, I am grateful for this period of reflection and inventory. In this darkness, I learned just how amazing the human spirit is and how much more beautiful a message is when it is shared. In that spirit, I gathered my three favorite singers and asked them to share in my mission of curating and creating something beautiful together. Our new quartet, Seraphour, was born.
As our churches and concert halls have been shuddered, we are singing. Though these spaces are quiet, we are keeping the flame alive. Making music that inspires the soul. Answering a dark year with a shared commitment to beauty and light.
Though personal, I hope this post inspires you to consider how you might cultivate that spirit of hope in your own life. And if you want to join Seraphour on our journey, I hope you will check out our website (http://seraphour.com/) or Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seraphour/seraphour-the-debut-album?ref=62r9vx&token=15def32e).
Wishing everyone a very Blessed Christmas and a 2021 filled with health, beauty, light and faith.