Ep. 31: Massachusetts Musicians Produce Inclusive Music Festival

Thriving Musician Podcast

Mara Penatzer and Cait Simpson are creative partners who co-founded Dwellings Arts, a non- profit dedicated to creating arts events that center work by artists who identify as women, non- binary, LGBTQ+, and/or POC; providing artist resources and paid performance opportunities; safe(r) workplaces in the performing arts; and financially accessible workshops/retreats/ residencies and professional development for artists. They perform together in music/poetry projects The Greys and Dirty Words. Mara studied jazz piano performance at the University of North Texas and composition at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a faculty member in piano and composition at the Community Music School of Springfield, a teaching artist for CMSS’s El Sistema-inspired Sonido Musica program, and a piano accompanist for various ensembles/recitals at the music school. In addition to performing currently with The Greys and Dirty Words and as a solo pianist, she toured and recorded with hip hop theater project Mixed-Race Mixtape. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in clinical social work. Cait is a performance artist and writer living in Northampton, MA with her partner and small gaggle of pets. She is the vocalist and 1/2 of the writing team of jazz inspired indie rock group The Greys. She also performs with her spoken word/original music group Dirty Words. She has experience in organizing events and fundraisers as well as advocating through creative works. She works a day job but can otherwise be found focusing her energies on her new non-profit Dwellings Arts and writing her first book- also called Dirty Words. Thanks for listening and keep thriving! Show notes: www.SpenserLiszt.com/blog/TMP31 4 Simple Steps to Save an Emergency Fund (FREE PDF Download): www.SpenserLiszt.com/EmergencyFund Join the Thriving Musicians closed Facebook group: www.Facebook.com/groups/ThrivingMusician Email questions, comments or nominate a Thriving Musician to [e-mail] Follow Spenser online: Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SpenserLiszt Twitter: www.Twitter.com/SpenserLiszt Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SpenserLiszt