Bio of Sarah McMahill, sole proprietor of Kintsugi Publications

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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, two songs for solo voice, arranged the solo voice compositions for SATB chorus, and recently finished a commissioned song featuring 2 voices, piano, cello, clarinet, and claves. 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), We Sing for the Water (in honor of Sara Thomsen, Sharon Day, and the Water Walkers), and Ho’oponopono Prayer to name a few). 

I decided to start Kintsugi Publications as a way to self-publish my music, poetry, and other writings.

In my art studies, I came across something called Kintsugi. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. What I'm sharing in my publications is my history, how I'm healing, and the journey that I'm on. My journey is one of many. I would like to help you share your story, too. Contact me and we can have a conversation on how that would look.

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 Did your musical group perform one of my pieces? Tell me about the performances and not only will you get the boost of promoting your event on my website and social media, but I will also get royalties from ASCAP for my compositions.

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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. This particular project is the start of a larger collection about revealing hidden histories. 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.