We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Slaubuagh. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.

Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I recently started a program I call “Music Together” where I take my microphone, amp, guitar, and some simple percussion instruments to assisted living facilities and play an interactive show for some of the residents. I play a few songs to get them warmed up, and then play a couple from my phone we can all dance to together. After that I hand out wood blocks and egg shakers to everyone so they can play along with the next few songs. The participation of each resident differs a lot. Some are really interested in playing an egg shaker and some just flat out tell me no thank you. I’ve had residents be excited about playing an instrument at the beginning, but then forget it’s in their hand just a couple minutes later. One of my favorite feelings in the world though is when I start singing a song they recognize and you can see their eyes light up. Music embeds itself in our minds in such a powerful way that even when we can’t remember much else, music stays with us. I think the music we listen to settles into our bones and becomes part of us. One lady tells me at the end of every program that she loves music because she remembers her dad playing the piano every day when he came home from work. I’ve heard that story probably 5 times now, but last time it was a little different. She told me about her dad and then tears started filling her eyes. She told me that she’s been lonely and wants to run away. But she finishes by saying “I hope you come back soon. I just love music. Please promise you won’t forget about us.” My heart melted. I have 2 more shows currently booked for that group, and I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. I always aim to make music accessible and interactive with as many groups as possible and moments like this make it all worth it.

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have been singing for as long as I can remember, and started playing instruments around 11. Like a lot of kids, I did have grand plans of being a musician when I was little, but I put those dreams aside pretty early on. I thought that I would have to become a big pop star to ever make it work, and that is not the life I saw for myself. In my early 20s I began building my repertoire and playing some small shows at bookstores and coffee shops. I continued to build my audience and venues for the next few years, and then I got the opportunity to teach early childhood music classes through my regular job. This was a huge step because after a few rounds of classes I realized that there are more ways to make money through music than just performing. Fast forward a couple more years and I was finally ready to leave my 9 to 5 to pursue other creative endeavors full time. It’s been about 6 months and I have taught multiple early childhood classes, classes for adults with disabilities, interactive music for seniors, and individual lessons. I’ve also added some community events including a monthly bar sing and a live game show hosted at a local brewery. All while looking for more spaces to play, picking up writing again, and building community. My biggest goal is to create spaces with my art where people feel safe and accepted. If I could communicate one thing it would be that we are not puzzles that need to be solved so we don’t have missing pieces that will magically give us the answers to the questions we ask ourselves. Every one of us has depth and complexity and we are whole and genuine people even without knowing all the answers.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love the moments where I can see my art creating or strengthening connections between people. There have been times where couples slow danced to a song I’m singing and it felt like a very intimate moment that I got to be magically a part of. Once or twice on a particular cover, Dolly Parton’s version of I Will Always Love You, I noticed someone with tears in their eyes, and it’s incredible to me that the sounds I’m making are making a path for these emotions to come through. My favorite moment like this though was after an outdoor gig I did at a farmer’s market. It was a very hot morning and I almost passed out while playing my set, but afterwards someone from the audience came up and handed me a piece of paper. On it she had drawn a picture of beautiful plants surrounding me while I performed, and the words “The world blooms when you sing.” That was 5 years ago now, and I still have the picture to remind myself that my creative work does make a difference to individuals.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

While I do a lot of performing, the bulk of my income currently comes from classes, workshops, and sponsored programs. All of the non performance work I do has the same goal of sharing music with people who may not have the resources to access the arts on a regular basis. I have early childhood development music classes where I do my best to instill a lifelong love of music and learning. I do a class with adults with disabilities that culminates in a performance at the end of 8 weeks, giving them a chance to learn new skills and show their friends and family. I do workshops in senior living facilities where I bring percussion instruments for them to play along with me. I also run a program with a local business to pay local musicians to do workshops in music classrooms in the area, getting kids interested and excited for different types of music. All that said, I want to continue working towards making arts and arts experiences accessible to everyone. One day I’d like to consolidate all these opportunities and have a business that focuses solely on arts outreach, but I have a few steps to take in between now and then.

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