Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Hale.
Sean, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In addition to being the Artistic Director of Awaken Ensemble, I am the Director of Music and Worship at First United Methodist Church of Arlington. The choir was really created out of necessity as part of an event I was planning at the church. In 2017, we were doing a Benefit Concert for an Arlington ISD program called Families in Transition. This program helps provide funding and support for students in AISD that do not have permanent living situations (i.e. living in shelters, cars, friends houses, etc.). The concert was planned to feature several local choirs, but I had a choir cancel fairly close to the concert, so I formed another choir comprised of friends of mine that are professional musicians in DFW (music educators, voice lesson instructors, music therapists, college music students, etc.). The choir really had a great sound and only had one two hour rehearsal before the performance. After the concert was over, I had several people in the choir say how much they enjoyed being a part of it and wanted to do it again.
In 2018, I created a series of choral-centric worship services at First United Methodist Church in Arlington called Evensongs. I was so impressed with the quality of the singing and the enthusiasm the choir members had that we decided to formally apply to become a non-profit. As of February 2019, we are a non-profit organization working towards our 501(c)3 status. We have put together an incredible board of directors that is helping to shape the vision and structural governance of our choir so that we can have the largest reach in the most creative ways possible. So now, in 2019-2020 we are having our first official season of concerts and are working on some wonderfully enriching collaborations with other organizations within our community to have the highest impact possible. Our next concert is October 11th at 7:00, we will be joining with the Arlington Master Chorale for a concert at Trinity United Methodist Church.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There has been a large learning curve for me in running a choir that is not a part of a church or an academic setting. There have been challenges in learning about how to start a non-profit organization and laying the groundwork for sustainable success. Through this process my wife, Mary Hale (co-founder of Awaken), and I have had so much support from people as we navigate how to get this choir going. FUMC Arlington has also been incredibly supportive as it has hosted almost all of our concerts and events to date as well as provide other resources as needed.
The other challenge that we face is finding the time to organize and plan. Mary runs her own music studio out of our house full-time, I work full-time at FUMC, and we have a fun, energetic 5-year-old girl that just started kindergarten. It’s been a challenge to find the time to plan both musically and organizationally, but we are learning the best and most efficient ways to use our time and really enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with our friends.
We’d love to hear more about the organization.
Awaken Ensemble tries to use the intrinsic power of music to bring out the good in others. With the many things in our society today that try to play on our differences, we try to unite people by speaking to the inherent goodness of the human spirit. We all know that music has the power to calm us down or hype us up, so we try to capitalize on that quality of music by bringing important messages at the forefront of our performances. Awaken Ensemble gives high-level choral performances that speak to the human spirit in order to enrich the community in which we live.
In August, we held a concert at FUMC Arlington where we partnered with a small business called Restoration Threads. Restoration Threads sells apparel and uses the proceeds to support foster care awareness. During the concert, we had speakers from Restoration Threads talk briefly about important issues, facts, or ways ordinary people can help in foster care without having to be a foster family. The music paired with what the speakers were saying to drive the message home that we can all do something to help. As part of the concert, CASA (court-appointed special advocates) had a table in the reception after the concert. We had 2 people sign up to potentially be advocates through CASA where they would help speak for foster children in the court process.
We also have a scholarship fund through Awaken that helps provide music lessons to children who cannot afford it. The children are found through our relationship with Arlington ISDs Families in Transition program. We believe music is a vital part of education and every child should have the opportunity to participate in music. Since the choir is made up mostly of music educators or college students (mostly at UT-Arlington) learning to become music educators we have a strong desire to use our connections within the choir to support music education throughout DFW. We are working on planning workshops in the future to help support all levels of music education.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This one is actually with my full-time job at First United Methodist Church of Arlington. Last spring our chancel choir and orchestra performed the Mozart Requiem. That is a monumental task for any choir and I believe we really did an incredible job. They sang with passion, beauty, and a deep understanding of the text. It was an incredible experience for everyone that was involved and I was honored to be a part of it.
Pricing:
- If you would like to donate in support of our efforts, our funds are currently run through FUMC. You can donate through their website by saying in the comments box it is for Awaken Ensemble here: https://secure.etransfer.com/EFT/BlockCode/donation1.cfm?d2org=FUMCArlington&d2tool=donate
Contact Info:
- Email: awakenensembleinfo@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AwakenEnsemble/
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