We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shawn Carter Peterson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shawn Carter below.
Shawn Carter, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I’ve always known I wanted to be a professional artist. I started playing piano at the age of 4 so I have very few memories of not working on my artistry. Of course, I didn’t know then what being an artist actually was. I did, however, know that I liked performing. My first public performance was around 6 or 7 and I was hooked from then on. Over the years, my performances began to include musicals, choral recitals, straight plays as well as dance performances in college. I knew that I wanted to be a well rounded artist so I continued to explore all aspects of my performance persona.
Shawn Carter, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an artist who acts, directs, produces and plays classical piano. Professionally, I started my creative journey performing in plays at small theatres in Hollywood & the North Hollywood Arts District. Being a theatre major in college, I wanted to start with what I knew. While performing in those productions I took various acting classes and workshops to hone my craft in, what was for me, a new medium – on camera work. Eventually, I began to book commercials and over time, began to watch my imdb page grow. Once i began to book more work I was able to take the time to begin directing various projects…from music videos to short films to pilots for television – scripted, unscripted and lifestyle. That is when I created my production company, Maestro Entertainment. I chose the name, Maestro, as a nod to my classical piano beginnings Many of my projects came because people had seen my work and felt that I could help them bring their vision to life. I’m proud of that because I really just wanted to do good work. I wasn’t necessarily seeking “gigs” but when I focused on following my vision and creating things that I could be proud of, the work came to me. My work can be very musical in tone, probably because of my musical roots. I think that’s why people like it.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Society can best support artists & creatives by first acknowledging that Art is important! Creativity is important! We have to cease looking at Art as a “side” hustle. Stop asking your friends if they are “still doing the ‘acting thing’.” or the ‘music thing’”. Creative arts are valid paths to follow. Artists help shape culture and American society has tried to minimize its importance. Its importance is minimized unless it can be monetized. Art has been taken out of most American curricula. That is appalling. The more we see art as an integral part of human education, the more society will see it as necessary and once its necessity is understood (and not seen as a threat) then will be able to create and support a thriving creative ecosystem. Many creatives are doing this work and shoring up our creative communities around the country. That’s a beautiful thing, but the creative community needs allies, as well, who are willing to support us en masse.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
A story from my journey that illustrates my resilience? When I moved to Los Angeles, I began to hear that I needed to “focus” on one thing. The one thing I chose to focus on was acting. So I put my musicianship aside. I literally never played the piano. It wasn’t until a good friend from college came to visit me and realized that most of my LA friends had no idea that I played the piano. A sin. I’d purchased an upright piano from a good friend and it just sat in my Hollywood apartment collecting dust. Occasionally, I would dust it off to help someone with a vocal audition but never did I actually play for myself (or anyone else for that matter). After a long hiatus, I felt the call to get back on the 88s. When my fiancée (now my wife) and I moved into our home, she nudged me to get back on the bench and we found a lovely baby grand on craigslist. It sat idle for a little while before I actually started playing again. I slowly began pulling out old music I used to play and dusting off the cobwebs. It felt nice. I contacted my piano teacher from back home and told her that I was playing again, slowly but surely. A little while later, I got an email from her about a piano competition that you could enter online. I took it as a vote of confidence from her and a challenge for myself. I entered the competition solely as a reason to practice. A couple months later I got an email from the competition. I didn’t open it because I thought it was just the usual, “Thank you for your submission.” form letter and didn’t think any more about it. A few weeks later I received another email. I opened it and it was asking for the winners to let them know if they would be performing at the Winners’ Recital in New York City. I opened up the list of winners and lo and behold, I was one of them! Wow! I really was shocked! And then I realized that I was being invited to perform at their Winners’ Recital…..at Carnegie Hall! Suffice it to say, I was blown away! Long story short, within 6 weeks I was in New York City, performing in front of an audience at Carnegie Hall! And I am ever grateful to Dr. Nancy Roldán for reminding me who I was and to my wife, Sy Smith, for nudging me and constantly supporting my artistic growth. Your artistry can stand the test of time, if you open yourself up to it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shawncarterpeterson.com
- Instagram: @shawnthemaestro
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawncarterpeterson
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/shawncarterpeterson
- Twitter: @shawnthemaestro
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MaestroEnt
Image Credits
Main photo – Peter Konerko