We were lucky to catch up with Brian Hanner recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brian, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
The simplest answer is I stopped searching for my purpose and discovered it was sitting next to me the whole time. I knew that I wanted to be a musician fairly early. After 2 university degrees and about 15 years as a professional, I walked away. But the music was always following close behind. Sometimes in the shadows, sometimes out in the open. The problem was, I was expecting a career as a musician and music teacher to somehow make me feel successful or to help me escape the issues in my life and relationships. Purpose doesn’t work that way.
Purpose is simply the gift that you have been given and that you have to give. It’s a quiet voice that doesn’t say much and doesn’t feel the need to repeat itself. I learned to listen and to realize that music is just a part of the fabric of my life. What I do with that purpose is largely up to me, and there isn’t a single way to live out that purpose. I’m just a musician, and as long as I’m engaged in musical activities that I genuinely enjoy, that’s all there is.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a freelance percussionist and recording engineer and producer in Tucson, Arizona. I’ve pursued many other interests and careers, but music is home. It’s a source of comfort, challenge, frustration, ease, and true joy. I knew in high school that I wanted to be a musician, which is funny, because I wasn’t going to participate in music programs at all when I made my first elective choice in sixth grade. Now, some 40 years later, being a musician is so much a part of my identity, that I can’t imagine what it would be like not to be a musician.
As a performer, I spend most of my time in the classical world. I’m the Prinicpal Percussionist of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra in Flagstaff, Arizona. I still live full-time in Tucson and have performed with almost every professional orchestra or classical organization in Arizona. When I’m not busy with that work, I’m an active drum set artist, playing everything from pop to Americana to World music.
And if that weren’t enough to keep me out of trouble, my wife, Syndenn Sweet, and I own and operate Hanner House Records, working with many local artists to make it accessible and realistic for them to record and release their music.
My current big project is I’m performing Eric Ewazen’s Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra in October of 2024.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Learn to hear feedback and let it help you grow. Most of us, especially in the performing arts have a love – hate relationship with feedback. And sometimes the more appropriate term is simply criticism. I haven’t met a musician who likes to hear or see recorded performances of themselves. The same goes for real time feedback that you would get in a rehearsal or in a formal lesson or masterclass. But, it’s also something that you can’t improve without it. Sometimes the criticism is unwelcome or seems to come from someone who is unqualified to give it. The question is always, “What can I learn from those words?” It’s rare that even the most unwelcome feedback is worthless.
Learn to be comfortable alone. Any activity that involves a physical skill takes time to cultivate. And it will take much, much, much longer to reach a high level that you can even imagine as a beginner. Most of that time will be solitary. One more repetition, one more lap, one more time. Learn to embrace the loneliness of all of those repetitions. There are no shortcuts, so the more you are able to embrace or even enjoy the solitude, the more smoothly that time will pass.
Learn to be professional. If you say you’ll be there, be there. Period. Yes, life happens, but the other professionals in your field will only give you so many passes before they will stop calling. As a performing artist, you have to be able to deliver the goods, but if you aren’t in the room, on time and ready to deliver the goods, they will call the next person. There are few things more frustrating than being working with a peer who has so much potential who is so unreliable that you just can’t call them anymore.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I had a professor in graduate school named Christopher Deane. Chris was a consummate artist, composer, performer, and teacher. He passed away several years ago, and his lessons still ring in my ears. And his most powerful lessons were less about music and more about art and life.
Assume that the audience is smart. Your job is to rise up and meet them and contribute something to their lives. Send them home at the end of the night feeling fulfilled, curious for more, angry that you didn’t play music they like, or scratching their heads. Give them something to take with them that will help them grow, even if they don’t see it that way.
There is a world of difference between “I like it” and “it’s good”. We don’t have to like everything we see and hear in the world of art. Any art. That’s not the point. We will like some things and not others for a long list of reasons. The question is, is it good – meaning did the music, play, opera, ballet, etc. contribute something to humanity? We get to like whatever we want, but it’s a higher calling to see something you don’t like and still call it good.
When it comes to performers and auditions, imposter syndrome can be a massive challenge. The pressure for jobs in the performing arts is intense. These are Chris’s wise words, “Remember, you belong here. Love the music and it will love you back.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sadsaladstudios.com
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@brianhanner2889
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/brian-hanner-2022
Image Credits
Syndenn Sweet, Phill Kelly, Brian Hanner
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
