Artistry with Heart: A Musician’s Wellness Podcast

"Creation is not linear. Ideas orbit us like stars and moons—we grab them when we’re ready, and they reveal their purpose in time."
2024 Music Educator Grammy Nominee, Prof. Coty Raven Morris is a versatile musician and educator at Portland State University, takes us through her early life in New Orleans and how the loss of her mother and grandmother shaped her passion for music and social justice.
She discusses the healing power of music, the importance of sharing authentic stories, and her non-profit, Being Human Together, which seeks to normalize difficult topics through music and connection.
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Coty Raven Morris is the Assistant Professor of Choir, Music Education, and Social Justice at Portland State University and founder of Being Human Together, a budding community normalizing difficult topics through  music education, conversation, and connection.
She is a sought-after clinician, artist, and speaker across the country. Her most recent acknowledgments include being a nominee for the Portland State University George C. Hoffman Faculty award,  Finalist for the 2024 Music Educators Grammy, and was just named a Quarter-Finalist for the 2025 Music Educator Grammy.
You can learn more about Coty here
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This holiday season, Artistry with Heart is spotlighting Being Human Together,a non-profit founded by Coty Raven Morris.
In Coty’s words, “Love is a Verb” - and as teachers, we need to be preventative about oppression as we embrace and learn about our beautiful and diverse community around us.
In a world that seems so divided right now, we need more resources for our communities to learn from, and teach the next generation how to unite under our fundamental humanity and embrace the diversity of our individuality. We need both to make the world a more beautiful and effective place. 
Tis the season to spread love and light to those around us. and support our local non-profits! Check out the holiday episode below where you can hear all about this incredible cause.
Click the link here to make your donation!

Sofia von Trapp is an internationally renowned vocalist, performer, songwriter, and producer who has a deep-rooted musical gift that is both empowering and magnetic. She studied voice and music business at the Berkeley College of Music, toured the world as a professional musician for 15 years with her three incredibly gifted siblings, The von Trapps, and is now producing and songwriting music of her very own. 
This episode was produced and edited by the incredible Victoria Billones.
In this conversation, we talk about following your heart, tuning into your intuition, listening to the voice of love and not fear, and so much more. I gained so much insight and inspiration from my conversation with Sofi, and I hope you do too. 
 
This resource is here to support you on your creative journey, wherever it may lead you. I’d love to hear from you about where yours, and how this conversation resonates with you.

In Episode 5 of Artistry with Heart, I dig in to an insightful and inspiring conversation with Dr. John Pickett, a virtuoso classical pianist who received his doctoral degree at Indiana University, and was a professor of piano for 33 years at Central Washington University. Since his retirement, John has dived into composing and singing his own original material which can be found at johnpickett.bandcamp.com.
 
In this conversation, we talk about finding inspiration everywhere, summiting your own personal Everest, admiring the good in others, and so much more. 
 
This resource is here to support you on your creative journey, wherever it may lead you. 
 

In this episode, we dig into an inspiring conversation with Professor Lisa Ann Marsh, an incredible pianist, instructor and composer who is notorious for her ability to lead injured musicians to healing.
Lisa has a striking ability to write compositions that fuse the natural and supernatural worlds while deeply embodying the complexity of human emotion. 
In this conversation, we talk about dreaming big, debunking perfectionism, putting your spirit before your ego, and so much more. 
I gained so much insight and inspiration from my conversation with Lisa, and I hope you do too. This resource is here to support you on your creative journey,  wherever it may lead you. 

In Episode 3 of Artistry with Heart, I dig into an insightful and inspiring conversation with Matt Meighan, a deeply poetic, insightful and profound songwriter whose soul radiates from his lyrics, vocals and compositions.
Matt inspires musicians of all levels and genres to tap into their musical voice through the medium of songwriting, and always from a place of authenticity and truth.
In this conversation, we talk about trusting your path, the Inner Critic vs. the Inner Editor, strategies for dealing with performance anxiety, the power of community in creativity, and so much more.
I gained so much insight and inspiration from my conversation with Matt, and I hope you do too. This resource is here to support you on your creative journey, wherever it may lead you.
Get in touch with Matt at mattmeighan.com
Reach out to me and let me know your thoughts on his episode at artistrywithheart1@gmail.com or Instagram @steph.bernards or on TikTok @ArtistrywithHeart.
 
Podcast Produced and Edited by Vic Billones

In Episode 2 of Artistry with Heart we hear from Cynthia McGladrey, an incredible vocalist, emeritus instructor of studio voice, and body mapping educator with so much wisdom and insight to share.
She teaches throughout the northwest in workshops, master classes and music educator consultations, specializing with vocal and handbell musicians. 
Her emphasis is sharing Body Mapping information with fellow musicians to promote balanced, efficient, and expressive movement for music educators and musicians of all ages. 
Get in touch with Cynthia at cynthia@bodymap.org or find her at bodymap.org.
Subscribe to the Artistry with Heart newsletter here and let me know your personal takeaways from Cynthia’s episode at artistrywithheart1@gmail.com or find me on TikTok and Instagram @ steph.bernards.
 
Edited and Produced by Vic Billones.

You’re listening to Artistry with Heart, a Musician’s Wellness podcast. Today we are having a conversation with Justin Copeland, an incredible jazz trumpeter, educator and composer whose improvisations and original compositions exude incredible intentionality, virtuosity and depth. He has studied and performed all the way to the doctoral level and has been an active performer both locally and internationally with many incredible musical groups. For more from Justin, like and subscribe to his Spotify and Youtube channel!
We are building a support community for creatives. Putting yourself out there takes courage, and this podcast was created to help support you! If you have any questions or stories you’d like to share, find me on Instagram @steph.bernards or email me at artistrywithheart1@gmail.com.
 
Produced and Edited by Vic Billones.

No matter who you are, or what you do, if you’ve ever created something that you’ve put your heart and soul into, you’ve felt the fear of the Creative. Artistry with Heart is a musician’s wellness podcast that goes beyond the curtain and into the musician’s mind.
We are building a support community for creatives. Putting yourself out there takes courage, and this podcast was created to help support you! If you have any questions or stories you’d like to share, email artistrywithheart1@gmail.com or Instagram @steph.bernards. 
 
Produced by Vic Billones. 

This is a bonus episode featured in A Journal for the Musician's Soul featuring Jack Budekke, a pianist, guitarist, composer and educator whose improvisations and compositions come straight from the soul. He holds several music degrees with an emphasis on jazz, and has a wealth of wisdom, bravery and grit that makes everything he does as a musician incredibly inspiring. The piece featured in this episode is his original composition Su Hermano Siempre. He'll tell you all about the beautiful and heart wrenching story behind this original piece, as well as his vulnerable share on wrangling with an anxiety disorder all the while striving to allow his music to be a service to those around him. For more from Jack, visit his website buzzardsovervienna.com.