SarahMc Personali-Tease

Bio of Sarah McMahill/SarahMc Personali-Tease

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I am an openly queer composer/musician, poet/author, myofascial massage therapist, enneagram coach/educator, and multi-media artist. I played the clarinet with the St. Anthony Civic Orchestra from 2004-2020. I sang with Calliope Women’s Chorus from 2004-2011 and then with One Voice Mixed Chorus from 2011 to the present day. I wrote several piano, piano/clarinet, and piano/voice compositions during my middle and high school years. After college graduation, creating things got left behind. Shortly after the pandemic started, I started writing and composing more. I realized how much I missed the act of creating and vowed to make more time for that. I have since written and recorded 9 enneagram songs for voice and piano, a lament for solo clarinet, and two songs for solo voice. The 9 enneagram songs were premiered by Theresa Takacs and Dimiter Terziev in Kamloops, British Columbia April of 2022. I am currently working on an album called Mantra Dance and songs for SATB chorus with various instrumentation (Greenwood Rising (about the Tulsa Race Riot Massacre), I Honor the Place in You, and Ho’oponopono Prayer to name a few). 

I decided to start SarahMc Personali-Tease as a way to self-publish my music, poetry, and other writings.

Instead of pronouncing SarahMc like my name, I intentionally rhymed it with "ceramic" (sə-răm′ĭk). When a ceramic vase gets broken and put back together again, there are inevitably cracks and sometimes little holes. Put a light inside and you can see tiny fragments of light shining through. During my own healing journey, I have found my light getting brighter and widening the cracks just enough for me to be seen. Personali-Tease is part of my name because there are many aspects of my personality that wants to be expressed. Sometimes I want to play, enjoy the lighter side of life. Other times I'm honoring my shadow by recognizing the harder and difficult areas of life. I'm a member of ASCAP. 

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What Inspires Me

For some of my earlier compositions (the ones I wrote as a teenager) my inspiration came from my family, nature, other composers, cultures from around the world and their languages, history, and literature of various genres. As I’ve gotten older, I still get inspired by the same things but I’m digging deeper and broadening my perspectives. I’ve become more involved in social justice issues and am using music as a form of activism. One of my current projects is about the Tulsa Race Riot Massacre of 1921 that I‘ve entitled “Greenwood Rising” for SATB chorus and several instruments.  My own healing journey is another form of inspiration. More specifically the tools involved with my healing: the enneagram and the bodywork I’ve received (myofascial release therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture) to help manage chronic pain. I have a wide variety of musical interests ranging from classical, choral, jazz, bluegrass, folk music from around the world, big band, reggae, etc. You might hear some of those influences in my music. The same musical inspirations can be said for my art and writings.

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