Daily Inspiration: Meet Clara Brill

Today we’d like to introduce you to Clara Brill.

Hi Clara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to Austin in 2008 to study violin performance at UT’s Butler School of Music, an experience which enabled me to receive both a bachelor’s and a masters’ under the wing of the incredible violinist Prof. Sandy Yamamoto. Within my first month in Austin, I met and became involved with local multi-instrumental ensemble Mother Falcon, who had already made a big impact on the scene through dynamic, moving performances and music. We toured for several years, performing at NPR’s Tiny Desk, SXSW, Festival D’Ete de Quebec, and many venues both well-known and holes-in-the wall. We gained experience scoring both for film and in collaboration with local puppet collective Glass Half Full and Trouble Puppet Theatre, including project Petra and the Wolf (featuring an original storyline and music inspired by Prokofiev’s famous piece for children). Meanwhile, Mother Falcon continued our commitment to our summer education program, the Mother Falcon Music Lab (MFML). Founded in 2012, MFML’s aim is to inspire the next generation of creatives to find their voice, learn from one another’s strengths, and collaborate to create unique original music and art. MFML has become a business that operates year-round through the passion of our team, which I have been privileged to be a part of as a co-founder, teacher, member of our first administrative group, and eventual Program Director. It continues to play a central role in my career, which additionally includes participation in multiple creative projects, a home recording studio, performance for events, and my private studio of wonderful violin and viola students.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The pandemic has demanded innovation and resilience. The Mother Falcon Music Lab has been fortunate to continue providing programming virtually through the steadfast support of our instructor and student community, as well as a generous pandemic relief grant from the Better Business Bureau. From the outset, the Mother Falcon Music Lab has been a labor of love. We bring the highest level of intention to the experience we provide which includes a commitment to accessibility. In order to maintain this level of quality and student support, we fundraise year-round for our need-based scholarship program and invest in informative, interactive workshops about the program across all Austin area school districts. We additionally aim to pay our acclaimed artist instructors and guest artists at fair rates for their time and energy as opposed to a volunteer-based model of staffing. These core values are at odds with a mindset that would support the financial growth of our business, and we have been challenged to find ways to break out of a cycle of breaking even. We have found immense support from our community through small donations, and sponsorship through the Austin Creative Alliance has enabled us to receive funding through the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division as well as tax-deductible donations. These are among areas we plan to develop as we pursue sustainability and growth with the leadership of our new Executive Director, EvaClaire Wright.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a co-founder of a very collaborative business, the role of Program Director has always been one in which I analyze and synthesize the work I already see MFML instructors performing in order to intentionally solidify our identity and impact as an educational organization. The following statement is therefore both a description of what we do and product of what I do: “The Mother Falcon Music Lab centers creativity as a catalyst for self-discovery, innovation, and community connection. Guided by acclaimed artist instructors and prominent guests, students are empowered to find inspiration and explore ideas from inception, development, to delivery.” MFML brings these ideals to all aspects of our organization, working as a team to produce and problem-solve for our curriculum and business goals. Our artist instructors invest a lot of care into the experience we curate, which has made a huge impact on our ability to improve what we do year after year.

MFML’s unique curriculum has developed into what I would describe as a “method” (examples of other methods include Orff, Suzuki, or Montessori methods). Known as the “MFML World,” we unify students around concepts as a basis for their collaborative work. We then develop this concept through ‘environment’, ‘character,’ and ‘narrative’, to finally arrive at the moment when this can be shared through ‘performance.’ It is difficult for me to hold back on describing these areas with more detail, so I hope the readers can enjoy their own interpretations or connect with us for more information. To paraphrase a quote from Stephen Nachmanovich, we focus on what our students want to say, rather than the rules of the grammar (while providing a wealth of technical support, as well). This allows our students to participate fully at any skill level while fostering a community that is curious, values diverse perspectives, and uplifts one another through the formation of impactful art. Students’ ‘worlds’ are explored through an array of artistic mediums including songwriting, animation, branding, web development, photography, and more. One of our students had their first experience with podcasting at MFML and has since gone on to produce a national award-winning podcast on the art of tattoos! We could not be more proud.

To support this work, I am a member of a small team of administrators whose goal is to sustain and expand our business operations. This includes grant writing, fundraising, and strategizing content and sales for programming.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
As a preface, I’ll provide some history. All members of Mother Falcon, young as we were, felt inspired to share what we were doing: Imagine a chamber orchestra, except, not only are you conducting yourself, you’re also writing the music you’re playing. The writing process is completely organic, guided by intuition and shaped by one another’s’ ideas or feedback. This essentially describes being in a band, and the multi-instrumental aspect of strings and horns doesn’t preclude Mother Falcon from this category. What we really wanted to do was break down these norms and empower the next generation of creatives to try this process as well; we were sure they would create extraordinary things. As suspected, bringing together people with a variety of perspectives and skills to collaborate on one idea results in some of the most inventive and compelling original products. This continues to inspire us to do what we do.

Members of Mother Falcon could not have started a program like this in our early and mid-twenties without an enormous amount of support. The initial summer program was set up a decade ago with the support of Emily Marks, now founder of Lionheart Youth Theatre and also an early supporter of Girls Rock Austin. She additionally showed us how to provide free workshops in schools as a form of engagement and recruitment and connected us to funding from the City of Austin. We were also supported early on by friends like composer Graham Reynolds, who volunteered in our first years as a “guest artist,” helping us to establish this aspect of the program. KMFA has been very involved in making space for MFML to engage with a classical audience and partnered with MFML to launch our first podcasting curriculum. Other partners include the Armstrong Community Music School and the Soundwaves Program at East Austin Prep., at which MFML recognizes Patrick Slevin for his consistent support since day 1. We continue to reach out for advice and shared support within our community, including from our friends at Glass Half Full Theatre and Austin Classical Guitar. We truly admire the creative community in Austin and are so grateful to be a part of such a collaborative and supportive space.

I invite you to become a part of MFML’s community by contacting us at the email provided. We are always ready to engage with new students, sponsors, donors, artists and organizations who resonate with our mission. Together, we can create our “world”!

Contact Info:

• Email: mfml@mfml.org
• Website: www.mfml.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mfmusiclab
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/MotherFalconMusicLab
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU6kj5zGZEQ1fw6uf-gNpLg
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mother-falcon-music-lab-austin
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-802575347

Image Credits:
Images by Shea Carley.