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Operatic soprano/voice teacher/therapist Patricia Martinez, who's based in the Kansas City area and performs with the musical collective Sacred & Secular, discusses how her interest in music began, what led her into teaching music and her spiritual journey.  She also sings an aria from "Adriana Lecouvreur," an early 20th-century opera (music by Francesco Cilea, libretto Arturo Clautti), performed at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and later mixed by Nick Sanabria. Notes: Patricia Martinez has two websites where she can be reached. The one mentioned during the episode is https://www.artistcounseling.com/. Her other website, which includes her career bio and wasn't mentioned, is www.patriciamartinezsoprano.com.  For additional samples of Nick Sanabria's work, visit http://www.nicksanabria.com/. For more information about composer Francesco Cilea, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Cilea.  For more information about librettist Arturo Colautti, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Colautti. Original music featured in this episode: "Midnight Moonlight Meditations" and "St. Adele's Waltz" (For Piano), composed by Shawn Roney, performed by Sacred & Secular.  "Midnight Moonlight Meditations" is available for streaming in its entirety on multiple platforms, including Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/track/3GYwlyzQ052uoRhSZU2Kgp. "St. Adele's Waltz" is featured on "In Solitude," Sacred & Secular's debut album,  available on multiple streaming platforms, including YouTube Music. To listen to the song in its entirety, visit https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3y6GK0Edn-Q&feature=share.  To stream "In Solitude" in its entirety on YouTube Music, visit https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n_78QgdhLloJ4Fof5j2lXEqC1bnfyCaCU.   Support the show

Host Shawn Roney offers New Year's wishes for 2021. Notes: Music: "Auld Lang Syne," traditional, arranged by Shawn Roney, performed by Sacred & Secular.  Support the show

Podcast host Shawn Roney shares what's new with Sacred & Secular, the music collective he founded, and muses briefly on his decision to include Randy Newman's work in the collective's repertoire. Notes:  Music featured: "St. Adele's Waltz," composed by Shawn Roney, performed by Sacred & Secular, included on the forthcoming album "In Solitude"; "Silent Night," music by Franz Xaver Gruber,  included on the Dec. 10, 2020, episode of "Ray County Voices." Here are some links to the outside material under consideration for recording by Sacred & Secular:  "Suzanne," written and performed by Leonard Cohen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svitEEpI07E; "Burn On," written and performed by Randy Newman, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUo4AzZ90qg; "Angel from Montgomery," written and performed by John Prine, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6cagWYTGCY;  "Jesus," written by Lou Reed, performed by the Velvet Underground, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w7MztmsG7E. Support the show

#SongsEtcHost Shawn Roney shares some future plans for the show and his musical collective, Sacred & Secular.Notes:  Music featured: "St. Adele's Waltz," composed by Shawn Roney, performed by Sacred & Secular; "Minuet for a Melancholy Guardian Angel," composed by Shawn Roney, performed by Sacred & Secular. Phillis Wheatley's poetry is easily accessible online. I encourage you to check it out. Links where you can read her work include https://www.poemhunter.com/phillis-wheatley/ and https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/phillis-wheatley. For more information about Barnaby Bright and to listen to music by Nathan and Becky Bliss as Barnaby Bright, visit https://barnabybright.com/. To check out "Ray County Voices," also hosed by Shawn Roney, visit https://www.buzzsprout.com/996223. #RayCoVo Support the show

Unlike typical "Songs, Spirituality and Stuff" episodes, which run about 30 minutes, this one is brief, featuring an update on a Sacred & Secular project and the recitation of a John Donne poem being considered for musical adaptation by program host/Sacred & Secular founder Shawn Roney.Notes:For text of Donne's sonnet, visit https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/holy-sonnet-xvi-father/.The music featured in this episode is an excerpt from "St. Adele's Waltz," an original composition by host/Sacred & Secular founder Shawn Roney.Support the show

#SongsEtc Phyllis Hopper, a member of the musical collective Sacred & Secular, shares how she came to play the cello and the instrument's positive influence on her life. Other topics include her faith journey and her projects outside of Sacred & Secular. Host/Sacred & Secular member Shawn Roney shares an excerpt from a collaborative work in progress between Ms. Hopper and himself, inspired by poet Emily Dickinson. He also discusses plans for the music, pending a decision by Harvard University Press regarding whether the work is under the copyright claim of HUP or in the public domain. Notes: Check out Phyllis Hopper's arrangement work at https://phroglis.wixsite.com/mysite. For more information about Emily Dickinson, visit https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/. An excellent essay on Dickinson's relationship with faith is posted here: https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/emily-dickinson/biography/special-topics/emily-dickinson-and-the-church/. To listen to the Andre Previn-Barbara Bonney rendition of Aaron Copland's adaptation of "I felt a funeral in my brain," the poem mentioned in this episode, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLAJyMUvNrg. Writer and scholar Rebecca Balcarcel offers a fascinating analysis of "I felt a funeral in my brain," including an alternate way of interpreting the work. Her analysis, posted on YouTube, is in two parts. For part I, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ISE11zqic. For part two, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6B6nCnpc0U. Support the show

#SongsEtc Wichita, Kansas-based musician and composer Craig Owens shares how he entered the world of jazz and the Baha'i faith, and how his faith has influenced his music. Notes: To view the Craig Owens Wild Child Bodo Ensemble's 2018 concert at the Fisch Haus in Wichita mentioned near the end of the interview, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT047d31H_Y&frags=pl%2Cwn. "The Seven Martyrs of Tehran" by Craig Owens and the Bodo Ensemble, also mentioned during the episode, is available on multiple digital platforms, including Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5oD9ntxp9qSVu2PbMthpPy. To view the CBS News report on the Baha'i faith, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmNWatW17kc. The music featured in the episode is from "Midnight Moonlight Meditations (Baring My Soul Version)," composed by Shawn Roney and performed by a solo incarnation of the music collective Sacred & Secular. To stream the composition in its entirety, visit https://open.spotify.com/album/0LtrrcY9XJuBy0K9eiFaZp. Support the show

#SongsEtc Speaking from his country home near Polo, Missouri, Sacred & Secular member Robin Harvey discusses his spiritual journey, how his faith shapes his music and his involvement with the Bob Boerger Band, whose other members include Jerry Sprouse, and Sacred & Secular member Sandy Myerchin. Robin and host Shawn Roney play a duet of the "Ode to Joy" theme from Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Opus 125. Uses of "Ode to Joy" in 20th- and 21st-century history are discussed. Notes: Check out the Colorado Symphony's performance of "Ode to Joy" while under quarantine here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p09hpKAv9Jc. Listen for Sacred & Secular's performance of "Ode to Joy" in the "Ray County Voices" podcast series. Support the show

#SongsEtc Sacred & Secular founder and podcast host Shawn Roney shares some details about his spiritual journey and "Songs, Spirituality and Stuff." Sacred & Secular member E.E. Pointer discusses the influence of Buddhism on his art, particularly in his ongoing work with the River Cow Orchestra. Shawn shares an excerpt of "Miles the Monk, Minister of Musical Mantras," featuring E.E. on trumpet and Shawn on bass-programmed keyboard. For more information about E.E. and his art, visit http://www.eepointer.com/.  Support the show