We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Corinne Horvath a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Corinne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I’m the Donor Relations and Education Manager for Wintergreen Music, a non-profit arts organization based in Nellysford, Virginia. We present the Wintergreen Music Festival, which takes place at Wintergreen Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The Festival takes place during the full month of July each year, featuring classical music with a sprinkling of bluegrass, big band jazz and pops.
Post-pandemic, we faced some challenges that required us to re-evaluate our education arm (Wintergreen Music Academy), which had been part of our fabric for 23 years. As a musician myself with three degrees in music and arts administration, I was eager to help build a new program that would push the boundaries of our industry and provide an experience I wish had been available when I was in school.
The LEAD Cooperative was born in the fall of 2021 and we launched the pilot program in summer 2022. LEAD stands for Learn, Explore, Adapt and Diversify, and was created for students on the cusp of their professional careers. The program invites between 20-30 students 18+ who are interested in gaining professional experience in the music industry. We offer six programs, limited spaces to maximize time with faculty, and we worked incredibly hard to create a tuition-free model for all accepted students.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I identify first and foremost as a musician. I went to Fredonia State University in upstate NY for my undergraduate degree in clarinet performance. After that, I attended Florida State University for my masters degree in clarinet performance on a graduate assistantship. Following graduation, I remained at FSU for my doctorate in clarinet performance and arts administration.
I had always really enjoyed crafting as a young girl, and especially enjoyed making jewelry. A musician acquaintance of mine’s mother had a business making glass beads, and often invited me to her studio to help out. She would always pay me in beads, and I would leave with designs swirling in my head, ready to be created! In high school, I began working part-time at a bead store, where I would assist customers with designs, create jewelry samples for the store, and teach classes.
When I left for college, I stopped creating. Music school was demanding and the dorm-room lifestyle didn’t exactly lend itself well to the tools and materials needed to create. Since I didn’t take any breaks between my three degrees, you can imagine I was pretty burnt out by the time I started my doctorate. I knew it was the right choice, but I needed another creative outlet to de-stress. I started creating jewelry again at a little desk in my office, a friend’s mom invited me over for a house party, and I haven’t looked back since!
I started my jewelry business, Texture and Tarnish in the fall of 2019, and have been enjoying being a silversmith and working with precious metals and gemstones. I’m almost entirely self-taught with the exception of a few classes here and there at a local arts center. I travel to approximately 6-8 art shows per year on top of my full-time job at Wintergreen Music.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think there’s a common misconception in our society surrounding creatives. It’s easy to classify us as “free-birds” who are just living day-to-day; a starving artist mentality. The truth is, most of us work insanely hard to get where to want to be. The demands of music school were unlike anything I could have imagined. Practicing for 8 hours per day on top of attending classes, completing school work, studying, and playing in recitals and concerts required a self-discipline I didn’t even know I had in me. Getting into music school not only required great grades and SAT scores, but also required you to audition and show the faculty your best playing in less than 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes decide whether or not you are accepted. Let’s take a second to digest that. 10 minutes to decide whether or not everything you’d been working toward for years was worth it.
To provide some perspective, my husband is a pharmacist and went to school for 6 years to receive his PharmD. He’s an incredible pharmacist and well-deserving of his degree. I attended school for 7.5 years to receive my Doctorate of Music, all while my husband reminded me that I had to work so much harder for my degree than he did for his. Considering he’s in the medical field and I’m in the music industry, something feels imbalanced here. I share this story only because it think it sheds some light on our societies perspective of creatives and our ability to have successful careers. The funny thing is, almost everyone I know that is not a creative consumes and enjoys art in some capacity on almost a daily basis. Most of us don’t expect everyone to understand or enjoy what we do, but respecting that we’re making a difference in our communities (big or small) and living fulfilling lives is the best anyone can do to be supportive. Attend our concerts, buy our art and share with your friends!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
My answer to this question is in two parts.
The most rewarding aspect of being a musician and jeweler is getting share a deep-rooted love for something with others! It bring you together with like-minded people and even offers opportunities to connect with folks you never thought you would have anything in common with. A few examples of using art to change lives includes having someone come up to you after a concert with happy tears streaming down their face as your performance reminded them of a loved one they lost. Or, having someone with arm-raising restrictions get emotional as you design an earring that can be put on with one hand. It’s little moments like these that remind us why we do the work we do!
The second part may sound a little selfish, but I also create art just for me! I remember many times as a child feeling upset about one thing or another and going into my room to play clarinet. It took only a few minutes for the tension and stress to disappear as I entered my happy place. Now, I often find myself heading to the jewelry studio to create, or to the sewing machine to sew a garment or small project. It provides such a fulfilling sense of self-worth for me. Taking a raw material and transforming it into a wearable piece of art is really darn cool!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.textureandtarnish.com
- Instagram: @textureandtarnish
- Facebook: @textureandtarnish
Image Credits
Photo of jewelry with black background: Mx. Bex