We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Theresa Steward. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Theresa below.
Theresa, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Despite what I often heard when I was younger, I’ve learned through experience that most of the time, life paths are not linear. And it is perfectly fine to change your mind and take a different route; you may even change your mind more than once to find what really fulfills you. Those changes, those risks, should be encouraged and not feared. Sometimes, it seems strange how I’ve found myself where I am today, but as I look back, I remember the risks and leaps of faith I took to get here.
When I graduated from the University of Virginia in 2004 with dual degrees in Architecture and Music and a mountain of student loans, I gave little thought to my career path. Architecture had been my primary focus across those four years of college and music, secondary – something I knew I wasn’t ready to let go of. I’ve played piano since was six years old; it was my only extra-curricular activity for most of my childhood. However, I was always told that making a career out of music was too competitive and not realistic. So, I took on my father’s dream for me of pursuing architecture.
Upon entering “the real world,” I knew I was lucky to find work right away in such a competitive market. But despite having some great internships at some successful firms, I felt lost and disconnected with my work. I fell into a deep depression and struggled with self-identity, and I felt like I was forcing someone else’s dream to work for me. After I knew something had to change. Change began with throwing myself into a yoga practice, which helped me gain clarity in self-discovery. Practicing yoga created rare moments where I felt like I was doing something for me and no one else. It was the first time I realized I didn’t always have to do what someone else was dictating. I could discover my own path.
After three years of the cliched “trying to find myself,” I came to terms with where my heart was. I had little time for music while working, and I felt the emptiness of that void. I decided to leave the design field and re-enter the field of music by going back to school to pursue graduate degrees in musicology with the new intention of entering academia.
After a few years of studying overseas, I returned home, broke and burnt out, for my final year of writing my dissertation. I once again felt stuck. There were no academic jobs locally for me to apply for and despite applying all over the country, nothing was pulling through. I was not prepared to be unemployed and then under-employed for years. Depression hit again as I was living at my parents’ house, feeling like I wasn’t leading my own life again. Especially now being in my 30s, it just felt like I had failed at being an independent adult. But, something told me not to stop moving, even if I didn’t know where I was going. Once again, I turned toward yoga, but this time, I expanded my interests in various fitness classes and mindfulness trainings, becoming certified in yoga, pilates, and barre. These trainings were big investments for someone who had very little income, but they helped me at least get part-time jobs teaching at local gyms. To save for these trainings, I was teaching piano lessons, and eventually, I picked up a side job playing organ and piano at a local church.
And then, I found a small opening in academia, teaching one class at a university. One class turned into a near full-time adjunct schedule. For the next four years, I was overemployed and underpaid with a nearly 3-hour commute, 4 days a week, in addition to fitness teaching, church playing, and piano teaching. Once again, I felt burnt out and despite being in the field of music, which is what I wanted, I felt like academia was zapping the joy out of my passion. I loved teaching, but I was tired of having no voice as an adjunct professor and not being taken seriously as a young academic. But I was having trouble finding full-time work elsewhere, and I was exhausted working 7 days a week. Between lecture prep and grading, fitness class prep and lesson planning, and music preparation for rehearsals and Sunday mornings, I had very little time to do anything creative. When I did have any moments to myself, I was just too tired to do anything but fall asleep on the couch. I had that feeling again… that I knew something had to change.
So, I took another risk. I left academia, despite spending years in school preparing for it, and took on a position as Church Administrator at the church where I was already playing. Between admin work and music, I finally had a full-time job that felt more stable. I had agreed to commit to my new role for a year while I figured out my next move. What seemed like an “ordinary” job, however, was nothing but for me. Stepping into this new position was more of a risk on paper because I’m not even Christian, but Muslim. Yet, as a Muslim woman, I still felt spiritually connected to this community of faith because of their loving, authentic welcome of all who enter their doors. Their genuine welcome of me for who I am is what made all the difference.
Even so, I still did not think working full-time at a church was where I would land for the long-term. Then, the pandemic hit. And more than ever, I realized that for me, being fulfilled meant fostering connection with other people and between other people. I began to understand how music could be such a powerful vehicle for this connection, and I began sharing daily musical offerings online during the height of pandemic lockdown. I found new ways to share music, but more importantly, to help others still feel connected to the joys of music, to their spirituality, and to each other. This was the side of music that had not been taught in all my trainings and degrees. I had been conditioned to view performance and musicology as competitive fields or simply “higher education,” and did not even think about other avenues that existed for a musician who wanted to share music on a deeper, more personal level.
I quit most of my other part-time jobs and now focused on this one, full-time job. All of a sudden, my evenings and weekends became freer, and I wasn’t constantly sleep-deprived and overworked. And this meant more time for creativity in various forms. Leaving academia meant that I actually could make a difference through art and music without the unrealistic parameters of competitive environments telling you what’s good and what’s not good enough. My art is not dependent on others to validate its worth. With this freedom, came more freedom of expression which made me a better musician. I let go of expectations, of judgments, of competition (which is a mantra I would open my yoga classes with), and focused on the feeling and the connection I was creating in the moment.
Now, I play more music than I have in decades. I also founded a concert series that raises money for community non-profits and those most in need. I’ve still been able to do other things I love from time to time like teaching a community yoga series at the church. I still write and publish academic articles and have now been writing more about my spiritual journey with music and what it is like to be a Muslim woman working in a Christian environment. I have also deepened my creative art practice on my own terms, and I’m no longer afraid or self-conscious to share it with others and have even sold a few pieces.
My big “risk” has been to evolve into the person I wanted to be and felt most comfortable being; to always be my true authentic self and to embrace the things in life that I love. In order to achieve this, I have learned to always keep moving forward even through the low points, even if it feels like no progress is being made at all. I don’t regret any part of my journey because I can see how each step of the way has led to the next. And now, I realize that I didn’t actually leave any of these parts of me and my career behind… instead, I get to use all these skills in new and much more soul-fulfilling ways. Some days, this seems very piecemeal, but I’ve grown to embrace the diverse nature of what I do across multiple roles. I think it’s how I’ve always lived life to a certain extent – nurturing multiple passions, and I’m happy I get to see all of them come to life in different ways.
Do I think that my journey has come to a head where I am today? No. Over the last few months, I have stepped into the adventure of parenthood and I’m working on finding a new rhythm to work, play, and family life. Even starting a family can sometimes seem like a risk in this world! Now, as I have entered a new chapter of becoming a mother, I am excited to see what new and exciting paths of creativity lie ahead.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I currently serve as Pianist and Organist as well as Church Administrator at Grace Baptist Church of Richmond, VA, and I am the Founding Director of the Grace Concert Series, a non-profit music series that offers free performances to the public while collecting donations to benefit non-profit organizations and charitable causes to help those in need in the Greater Richmond community. I am also a musicologist, whose academic work has focused on Iranian popular music studies, but more recently, I find myself writing about my spiritual journey as a Muslim working in a Baptist church.
In addition to my performance and musicological work, I am a creative visual artist as well as a certified mind-body instructor. My visual art includes dream-like abstract watercolor paintings, mixed media creations that evoke explosions of color and texture, and playful fantasies and florals. Outside of the images shared here, more of my work can be found on my website: www.theresaparvinsteward.com.
My passions are many, but they all share the common theme of nurturing connection. I aim to create a greater awareness of global music cultures through my musicological work, and I strive to craft powerful and prayerful moments of joy and gratitude, peace and reflection, through music performance, visual art, and the practice of mindfulness. In addition to concert performances and in worship services, I share music in a number of sacred spaces, for weddings, funerals, and various other occasions. I particularly love developing a personal relationship with the people and families that I’m working with to create the most intimate and personalized music experience I can give.
I’ve started delving more into interfaith work due to the nature of my role working at a church, and I enjoy working to create safe, interfaith spaces focused on peace and healing. One of my proudest recent accomplishments is co-organizing “Peace Begins at Home,” a community-wide interfaith event for healing and peace this past spring, which interwove art, music, and poetry with education from community leaders about the important work that’s being done in our community to help build more bridges and less walls. I hope to continue fostering these gatherings to connect individuals to organizations doing life-saving work in the community for all people.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think that one of the best ways society can support artists is to think not only of monetarily supporting them but also, how they can spread awareness of artists and their value in the world. Artists thrive when they feel seen, heard, and celebrated. Word of mouth, references, kind words on social media, and encouraging feedback are always welcomed. Helping artists make connections with businesses and organizations as well as other creatives also helps draw attention to their work in new ways.
Collaboration is can never be overrated. Artists and creatives look at the world in different ways, and they often have a different understanding of people around them, too. They are also great at multi-tasking since they often have to take on multiple jobs to make ends meet. So, pairing them with more “traditional” roles and integrating them even into corporate environments may allow us to better learn from each other. I think if more business owners and CEOS can be open-minded about welcoming more creatives into the fold, their businesses will succeed and profit further, in ways that they may not expect. Creatives deserve to be given the chance to help others in new ways. And in doing so, others can help them make a living from their skill sets.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
There is often a romanticized notion around being an artist or a creative; this idea that we are creating solely for the love of creating and that no matter the circumstance, we are just bound to our art for art’s sake. But, creatives are more than that and need more than that to thrive – they are often what creates connection between people, between communities, between ideas. And while art may be a calling that is hard to ignore, artists still need to make a living from this calling.
I’ve been asked in the past to do things for free or for significantly low pay and told that “it would be great exposure,” which is always a red flag phrase for any artist. As a musician, I’ve experienced that sometimes people don’t understand why my time is valuable and think that I just show up and play for the love of playing, with little effort. But what goes unseen are all of the years of training, skills, and experience that have been put into that one moment of making music. There is much behind-the-scenes preparation before the “showing up” that people don’t see. So, we can’t just be paid as a “normal” job, at a “normal” hourly rate. And we cannot live off of exposure and a few tips.
Another misconception is that creatives are simply “born with talent.” While some may show their gifts early on, the majority of us work hard to get where we are. Sometimes people just think I was born with a musical gift that they don’t have. But, from the age of six, I’ve invested time and hard work into my craft to get to the level I am at today. Perhaps, there is musicality in my bones somewhere, but more than that, there’s been dedication, determination, and perseverance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theresaparvinsteward.com
- Instagram: @fancy.tea
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.fancy.steward
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-steward-bb96b2b/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fitnesswiththeresa6848
- Other: https://www.rvagrace.org/grace-concert-series
Image Credits
Piano images: Patience Salgado