Bio of Sarah McMahill, sole proprietor of Kintsugi Studios and Publications

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I am a composer/musician, poet/author, myofascial massage therapist, enneagram coach/educator, and multi-media artist. I started studying music education at Doane College in Nebraska. I had a few experiences during my two years at Doane that influenced my decision to transfer to Southwest MN State University (SMSU) where I got my BA in theatre, English, and art. I then attended Saint Paul College to get my certificate in massage therapy. Check out a more detailed myofascial massage therapy bio at Heart to Hands Myofascial Massage. I started learning about the enneagram while I was at SMSU but it wasn't until 2011 when I had an experience that changed the direction of my career. Learn more about that at The Dragonfly Enneagram Center. 

I came to realize as I was doing some of my own inner work and therapy that everything is connected. We are a part of a whole. We are not just a mind. We are not just a body. We are not just a heart. We have all three; mind, body, and heart. These three work together to create a whole being. Different tools are used to tend to each of them. I found that doing bodywork tends to both my body and mind, the enneagram as a form of tending to the mind, and music & the arts as a form of my heart's expression. This was the inspiration behind the creation of Wellness Weaving.

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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 was involved with the St. Anthony Community Theatre for a few years. I was one of the villagers in Fiddler on the Roof, played clarinet in The Sound of Music and played bass clarinet and clarinet in The Wizard of Oz.  

 

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 began writing again with songs for each of the nine enneagram points for a workshop I co-facilitated with Roland Legge. As I was writing and recordings those songs, I felt my heart lighten up and I knew that I needed to make more time for creating through music and the arts. After the workshop I composed a lament for solo clarinet, two songs for solo voice, arranged the solo voice compositions for SATB choir, finished a commission for a friend's wedding featuring 2 voices and 4 instruments (piano, cello, clarinet, and claves), set one of my poems to SATB choir and violin and cello, set two of Andrew Burton's poems to SATB choir with more to come, and a number of instrumental pieces some of which are part of a collection that I've titled "Family Dynamics Collection". The 9 enneagram songs were premiered by Theresa Takacs and Dimiter Terziev in Kamloops, British Columbia April of 2022. Some of these songs are now available for purchase at my store here and at JWPepper. Check out my full list of songs, commissions, and works-in-progress here!

 

I am currently collaborating with Kanklés player Emilija Karaliūtė, CBC award-winning poet Andrew Burton, Canadian author and founder of The  Awakened Company Catherine Bell, Wyandot of Anderdon nation, and Turkish neuroscientist and poet Özgü Işık Hafızoğlu.

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There are a few different albums I'm in the process of creating. These works-in-progress are:

Family Dynamics Collection

Mantra Dance

Hide and Go Seek/Olly Olly Oxen Free

Whispering Thunder

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I decided to start Kintsugi Studios & 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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Report a Performance

 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.