Daniel Weidlein shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Daniel, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Have you stood up for someone when it cost you something?
Absolutely, and I’d do it again. I lost a consistent contract as an orchestrator and music director, one that I had held for 5+ years, after a colleague of mine was unjustly fired. The hatchet has somewhat been buried, and I don’t want to get into to much detail for the sake of that colleague. But, broad strokes…he had been challenging the company to be better regarding equitable hiring practices (kudos to that, always!) and after a really ugly response, especially from some board members with financial sway, he was fired. I chose to write a public letter in the community coming to my colleague’s defense, and never got a call to work for them again after that.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I generally roll my eyes at the term multi-hyphenate…but it’s actually a great term, and totally applies to me. High level—I’m a musician! But I wear all of the following hats: instrumentalist (woodwinds, keyboards) // composer (my own work is in the “chamber-jazz” or third-stream genre) // music director (have lead bands on pop tours as well as musical theater ensembles) // music producer and engineer (I own and operate BioSoul Music studio in Silver Lake) // software developer.
That last one is not one of the hyphens I ever intended to add for myself…but over the last two years I’ve been developing a software sample-instrument that I’m really excited about and I’m just about ready to release it to the world!
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
What a fascinating question at a time where relationships between humans feel more fractured than ever. I’m actually working on a composition right now about the “blinders” and feedback loops that we fall into as humans, especially after trauma. We put blinders on a horse so they can complete a task, moving forward (and only forward). If they don’t wear them, they’re likely to get spooked. We as humans do the exact same thing, placing metaphorical blinders on ourselves by limiting our world views, hiding behind comfort, and “keeping our heads down.” This is a protective instinct that is completely natural. But, if we don’t challenge ourselves to step into other people’s shoes—to connect and try to understand others’ lived experiences—we hurt each other, and ultimately ourselves.
I think the same basic trauma work that works for individuals also works for relationships and communities. We have to tell our stories, and listen to others tell theirs. We have to give people the benefit of the doubt that their actions are usually out of fear, or lack of self-confidence, rather than openly malicious. And we have to be willing to sacrifice our own comfort for the sake of our neighbors.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
I used to be horrified that there was a witch in my basement that would come steal me away. And at a super young age, with no guidance (that I recall), I came up with a mindfulness exercise that totally solved the problem. I had to turn the lights on to leave the basement at the bottom of the stairs (and naturally, the witch would only come get me in the dark…). So, I had to count slowly to 10 as I walked up the dark stairs. The act of counting kept me present and focused on the act of moving forward. It never took more than an 8 count to get to the top, and I knew that the witch couldn’t get me unless I got to 10.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. It’s just not the whole me. I think most people can relate to the fact that it’s really hard to encapsulate all of yourself in a public facing way (and these days, that means mostly online). I have diverse interests, diverse emotions, and a passion for other people’s stories. All three of those things are hard to present succinctly and consistently, because the “real” me isn’t necessarily an entirely consistent, easily digestible image of a person.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Worrying about what other people think of me…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.biosoulmusic.com
- Instagram: biosoulmusic
Image Credits
Peter Carrier
