Show Notes
Gaelynn Lea plays the violin like a cello — a technique she discovered almost by accident, one that would eventually carry her from a small-town orchestra to NPR's Tiny Desk Concert and, later, to composing the original music for Broadway's revival of Macbeth, starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga. In this episode of Constant Wonder, she talks with Marcus Smith about her unconventional technique, the unexpected opportunities it opened up, and how her songwriting continues to evolve.
Gaelynn Lea was born into a family of artists, with musical parents and an early start in youth theater. But everything changed in elementary school, when an orchestra teacher encouraged her to try holding the violin like a cello — a small discovery that would shape the rest of her career.
Guest: Gaelynn Lea is a violinist, songwriter, composer, disability advocate, and author of "It Wasn't Meant to Be Perfect: A Memoir."
Photo credits to Mike Madison
More from Constant Wonder
A chance encounter with milkweed changes Allison Fragakis' life and soothes her grief over her mother's death. In this episode of Constant Wonder, Tennery Taylor explores how a variety of mystical experiences keep Allison's deceased mother close.
Hosts Marcus Smith and Tennery Taylor explore some of our favorite lost-and-found stories from previous episodes of Constant Wonder.
After the death of a close friend, Erica Buist found herself consumed by anxiety about dying. In this episode of Constant Wonder, she tells host Marcus Smith how she set out to face that fear by visiting death festivals around the world, and found more celebration than mourning.
George Forster didn't begin life as a revolutionary. He was an 18th-century botanist whose life ended in Paris during the Reign of Terror. In this episode, historian Andrea Wulf tells host Marcus Smith about how, as a teenager, Forster sailed with Captain James Cook through the Southern Hemisphere and around Antarctica. Forster developed a transcendent love for the people he met along the way. And, as Andrea Wulf followed in his footsteps, she felt the distance of 250 years collapse on itself.
Tim Kovar leads climbing tours high up in the canopy of massive trees. In this episode of Constant Wonder, he tells host Marcus Smith about how he used to fell trees as an arborist. But now, he's traded in his chainsaw for ropes and climbing saddles; so, instead of cutting trees down, he can take regular people high into old-growth canopies to experience unparalleled views of nature. The trees have taught him to be more in tune with the natural world and with himself.