We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rebecca Hass a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rebecca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was recording my first album in 2018. It was a long journey toward building confidence in myself as a composer, but once I started sharing my work more often, online and with fellow composers, it became easier and easier. In 2017, I participated in the 100 Day Project, a global art project where you share your work online throughout the challenge, and wrote 8 measures of music per day, which grew into many of the compositions on my album Florescer. I am proud not only of the accomplishment of writing and recording the music, but for funding the project via grants and crowdfunding, which was a really fun and rewarding way to involve my audience in the whole process!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a pianist and composer who plays many styles but I specialize in Brazilian music, which I’ve been obsessed with for almost 20 years. I released my first album of originals and piano arrangements in Brazilian styles, Florescer, in 2018, after doing 2 100 Day Projects of composing in 2017. I also launched Coaching for Creative Wellness in 2018 to help other musicians and artists pursue their creative dreams while also taking care of themselves. I learned about burnout the hard way, because I thought I had to work constantly in order to achieve “success” (which can mean so many different things), so I’m really passionate about helping others unhook from toxic productivity culture and be kinder to themselves. We don’t have to push ourselves into burnout and hopefully we also can work in a way that allows us to enjoy the process, and also enjoy our lives!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In 2010, I was applying to attend grad school for collaborative piano, and was rejected by all 4 schools where I applied. The application and audition process, along with other simultaneous stressful life and work situations, pushed me into pretty severe burnout and anxiety. Looking back, I’m actually very glad this worked out the way it did, because I was trying to fit myself into a path that wasn’t truly for me, and it was an amazing wake up call that led me to take a deep look at my life and health, and make choices that would nurture me.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
That I needed to be constantly productive in order to succeed. My story of burnout from 2010 was not the last time I fell into the toxic productivity culture trap – it repeated itself (to a smaller degree) in 2017, and that’s when I stopped trying to work constantly in order to prove my worth, and started exploring the idea of compassionate productivity – productivity with a purpose, that enables us to be our best, healthiest selves. I’ve learned that we really do our best work when we allow ourselves to take breaks, work at a sustainable pace, create our schedules around our energy cycles, and integrating self care and self compassion into the whole process.
Contact Info:
- Website: rebeccahass.com, coachingforcreativewellness.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebecca_hass/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaHassPianist
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-hass-30004972/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebeccahasspno
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rebeccahasspiano
Image Credits
Photo 1: Sarah Eichstedt, Photo 2: Leslie Plesser