Dr. Carla J. Giomo
// Author, Composer & TeacherDR. CARLA J. GIOMO is an author, composer, and teacher living in Glendale, Arizona. Her Good Friday service setting “Were You There?: A Service For Holy Week” (2002), her setting of “Vespers” (2001), the recording of both pieces “Were You There?” and “Vespers: A Service Of Evening Prayer” (2003), and her “An Easter Fanfare” which is featured on The Concord Brass Ensemble’s “Gaudeamus!” (2001), are all available from GIA Publications, Inc. Her choral work “A Prayer For Peace”, composed in response to the events of 9/11, is available from Yelton Rhodes Music, Inc. Carla Giomo received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Denver, and her Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Giomo is also a gifted teacher and currently works as a Music Specialist in a west Phoenix elementary school. She has also written articles and a book which explore the notion that music can lead both the mind and soul towards transcendence.
Website: www.musicandspirit.com
Photo: Carla J. Giomo / MusicAndSpirit.com
Interview:
When I think of the spiritual element of music, I picture in my mind a Celtic cross. Imagine the typical Christian symbol, with the vertical and horizontal bars crossing each other, and add a circle radiating around their point of intersection. No doubt you’ve seen it. The vertical bar represents our connection with the divine, and it must be noted that the connection flows both ways. So, when I sing, or play my instrument, or compose, or chant, or hum, or dance to some inward tune, I am reaching toward God, the Universe, and Spirit, and I am open to being touched by God, the Universe, and Spirit in return. The horizontal bar refers to my connection with my brothers and sisters and, really, to all of life. To forget this horizontal connection turns my spirituality into a form of narcissism. I think that’s why I love making music when in a group, such as a choir or an ensemble. It reinforces the idea that in music making, just as in growing spiritually, I have a responsibility toward others, just as they support and challenge me. The circle surrounding the intersection of the vertical and horizontal bars represents wholeness, unity, the All. If we were to anthropomorphize the Celtic cross, you’d notice that the circle lays at the level of the heart. I think this reminds us that just as performing music engages all of ourselves, our body, mind, emotions, and spirit, so should our spiritual life. Not only that, but just as we musicians live and breathe music – I can hardly go a minute without some melody playing in my mind – so we are reminded to live and breathe every moment in a spiritual sense. We are asked to maintain that vertical, two-way connection with the divine, we are asked to remember our connection to all of life, and we are asked to hold this attitude constantly in our hearts.
“When I sing, or play my instrument, or compose, or chant… I am reaching toward God, the Universe, and Spirit, and I am open to being touched by God, the Universe, and Spirit in return.”
– Dr. Carla J. Giomo, author, composer, and teacher
