Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Sanders.
Hi Lauren, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always been passionate about the arts from a young age, so it was inevitable that I would pursue an art form. I started ballet when I was three and continued for ten years. The beautiful music, movement, and lines of ballet captivated me, along with the required pursuit of excellence. My creative expression was not limited to dance, and my parents would often say that if the house was quiet and they hadn’t seen me for a while, I was probably working on an art project of some sort. I had a habit of sneaking into my mom’s craft supply cupboards, and I would use her sewing supplies, paper, tape, and glue to make all sorts of dolls and bags. Another one of my favorite games growing up was playing “teacher.” Luckily for my two younger twin sisters, they always had a personal tutor! I loved school so much that I would set up a classroom at home, and I’d even give my sisters homework as their “teacher.” Through this play, I developed a joy for sharing my love of learning, and as time went on, this passion for teaching only continued to grow.
When I started the fifth grade, my parents told me they wanted me to choose an instrument to play in either band or orchestra. I had already played piano for a few years, and although I enjoyed playing some pieces on piano, it wasn’t my favorite. I wish I had a unique and exciting story behind choosing the flute, but I chose it simply because my best friend told me she was going to play the flute. I wanted to sit by my best friend in band class, and the flute looked shiny and pretty. I’m a sucker for pretty things. At the time, I was entranced by the gorgeous melodies I’d heard while performing as a dancer in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker the year before but hadn’t realized that it was the flute!
When I started seventh grade, my parents put me in flute lessons, and it was at that point that I began really practicing and getting excited about music. The incredible teachers that I’ve had over the years truly sparked and ignited my passion for the flute to this day. Through hearing my teachers play in private lessons and following their instruction, I could hear how beautiful the flute could sound and learn about the endless ways to improve my playing. Around the middle of high school, I decided to pursue a career in music, and so I began participating in as many music opportunities as I could, including honor bands/orchestras, competitions, the local youth orchestra, and AP music theory. At the same time, I took my first art class as a senior in high school. I wanted to try visual art just for fun, but ended up loving it and having more success during my first year than I could have imagined. Due to these successes and my enjoyment of it, I decided to add studio art as another major in college the following year.
My undergraduate and graduate degree years were some of the best years of my life. I feel immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to pursue my dreams and learn while working with some inspiring individuals. During my undergraduate degree, I studied both Flute Performance and Studio Art. I consistently found ways that the two art forms correlated and fed off of each other. Each has their own language and elements used for creative expression. When working with visual lines, I could imagine note lengths and vice versa. When working with phrasing, I could see shapes, and when working with colors, I could hear different timbers. I don’t have synesthesia, but these music and art elements provided great inspiration for me. It wasn’t until my graduate degree in Flute Performance that I finally began truly synthesizing the two art forms in practice more. I had a huge “Aha!” moment when my flute professor, Dr. Terri Sánchez, asked me to play something while actively thinking of visual art elements and dance. I had spent so much time analyzing how these elements related, but I hadn’t really explored them in practice as much until this point. This major realization led to my final graduate presentation and my continued practice and research with creative imagination to this day.
After graduating with my master’s degree last year, I moved to Houston, launched my private teaching studio, and started gigging in the area. I truly feel like I am living my dream and have immense gratitude for what I get to do every day as a freelance flutist performing and teaching. The community of musicians in Houston is one of the most loving and welcoming groups of people. There is also an insane amount of skill and talent here with no shortage of amazing groups and performances to attend or be a part of. In addition to collaborating with other musicians for various performances, I started Duo Renah, a flute and cello duo with my wonderful husband, Micah. We perform for concerts, events, and weddings. My rapidly growing teaching studio is also at the heart of my creative projects right now, and I love sharing my musical knowledge and passion for playing with my students.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Though it was temporary, one of the setbacks I’ve had in my musical career thus far was financing my education. I was fortunate to receive scholarships for both tuition and living expenses in undergrad. When I applied for my master’s programs, I was accepted into some wonderful programs, but even with a significant tuition scholarship, I couldn’t afford living expenses. I was crushed when I was accepted into one of my dreams schools but couldn’t attend because of finances. Instead of giving up, I took a gap year and worked as much as I could with the hopes of attending graduate school the following year. My personal mentor taught me how to budget, and one of the flute professors from a school I was accepted to offered to teach me lessons over Zoom during the summer. This guidance was invaluable and aided in my strength to continue fighting for my dreams with purpose. In some ways, waiting an extra year was even better because it was 2020, and musicians couldn’t perform much during this time of social distancing, so my graduate school experience would have been affected by that.
During my gap year between undergrad and graduate school, I taught music masterclasses through a local charter school, worked at the mall, and was a supervisor at a coffee shop. The hours were often very early and very late, not leaving much time for sleep. I took on as many work hours as I could, and nobody around me understood why I was working myself so hard, but I knew where I was meant to be. It was a very busy year, especially when the season for graduate school applications and audition videos rolled around, but my dream kept me going. I’d listen to flute music and sketch customers during my work breaks at the coffee shop. My coworkers would say that I looked blissful when I came back from breaks. I was able to escape to my happy place of music and art and remind myself of my goals during those times. It kept me inspired.
My less-than-ideal situation made it that much sweeter when I received a graduate assistantship and saved enough money to attend graduate school the following year. This temporary setback led me to trust in God even more and to rely on Him. I developed resilience and had to decide how much I was willing to put into making this happen. I appreciate what I have even more and am glad that I can better understand my students who may have financial limitations and help guide them to make their dreams become a reality as well.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I work as a freelance musician, which includes teaching the flute and performing professionally. I take great pride in building my own business and being my own employer. The freedom and flexibility of my job complements the creative mind well. Creativity is often spontaneous and unpredictable, so having a career with a more sporadic schedule allows for windows of time in the day to brainstorm when an idea strikes. I love that I can make what I want of my schedule and run with what excites me.
Most of my creative energy lately has been focused on my teaching studio. I have so many fun projects and ideas for teaching and running my studio that I’m excited about. At the moment, I’m most excited about my upcoming summer flute studio recital and providing my students with an encouraging space to celebrate their musical growth. Music is meant to be shared, so having performance opportunities and experience at a young age is essential. A lot of musicians have performance anxiety, and most would agree that practice performing is one of the best things you can do to help with that. I’m a huge proponent for fostering a positive learning environment and mindset in my studio. I’m my students’ greatest cheerleader, and I teach them how to be a cheerleader for themselves, too. Playing music can feel discouraging when we’re all striving for a level of perfection that doesn’t exist, but when we base our success on our progress and enjoy the journey, we can find freedom in the process. I hold my students to high standards and don’t hold back from honestly addressing areas that can be improved upon, but I also focus on teaching with kindness and building their confidence in their own abilities. Joyful music-making is born out of practiced self-compassion, confidence, and a generous heart.
Another performance project of mine that I mentioned earlier is Duo Renah, a flute and cello duo composed of me and my dear husband, Micah. The bright, soothing woodwind timber of the flute and the dark, rich string timber of the cello provide a complimentary pair. We often get asked about how we came up with our duo name. Renah is a combination of the last parts of our first names, and it apparently means “melody” and “joy” in Hebrew. It’s fitting because it brings us great joy to perform together. Music and our faith is actually what brought us together in the first place when we met performing in New York a few summers ago. Micah and I currently enjoy performing together around Houston, with our most recent performance being at the Lyric Tower for their lunchtime noon concert. We also perform for weddings and other events. We make a great team because I enjoy helping organize our performances and programs, and Micah enjoys creating arrangements for us to play. He’s a skilled arranger, and we love to make our clients’ events unique with custom arrangements for them. Music can completely change the atmosphere and mood of a wedding or event, so helping bring our client’s visions to life with meaningful music is greatly rewarding.
There are many incredible musicians and artists, and each of us contributes our own unique voice and experience to what we create. Our creations are an expression of all our life experiences and who we are. This is inevitably what sets us apart from each other. I’m passionate about leaning into the unique ways in which I view life in my own work and helping my students discover this for themselves too. Throughout my undergraduate degree, I explored the relationship between the world of sound and color/lines that I was immersed in as I majored in both art and music. This came to a culmination in my Master’s degree when my flute professor remembered I have a background in art and dance and asked me to play a musical passage again with those artistic elements in mind. It was a pivotal moment for me that instantly added more dimension to my playing. I felt like fireworks were going off in my brain as I imagined movements and colors that corresponded to the music I was playing. It was like an instant creative loophole or shortcut, and suddenly, there was much more musical intention, meaning, and interest. I wasn’t just playing the notes on the page, but they were brought to life by my imagination from life experiences. I expanded upon this creative connection and based my final master’s degree project on this moment, merging elements of music, psychology, and imagery. I enjoy using these ideas in my performance and teaching methods to this day and am continuing to expand upon this research.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Many of my favorite childhood memories revolve around my grandma and spending time at her house in the countryside of the California San Joaquin Valley. I spent a lot of time with my grandma growing up. She was my babysitter when I was really young, and I was able to see her almost every weekend once I started attending school. My grandma was a woman of great faith. She was a hard worker, and I know that she did everything with excellence for God’s glory. One of my favorite memories that still affects me to this day was witnessing my grandma take my older cousins to the bus stop for school in the mornings when I’d stay with her before I was of school age. I would watch her tell them the same thing every time before they went on to the bus: “Remember to whom you belong. You are the child of a King.” When I asked her why she would always tell them that, she said that she figured they’d behave better and not get in as much trouble if they knew they were a child of God. She knew that so much of what we do flows from our identity. Knowing who we are has a direct effect on our actions, which can shape the course of our lives. Believing that I am a child of God and being able to witness God’s faithfulness in my life is an immeasurable gift. It is the most important part of my story, and the rest is an outpouring of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: laurensandersflute.com
- Instagram: @lauren.sanders.flute
- Facebook: @duorenah
Image Credits
Kate Yu Photography
Ladies Musical Club of Seattle
