Video published by Daniel’s Music Foundation here on YouTube (link is external)
Smile-O-Meter Friday:
Episode 11 – Featuring Colton Purcell (Posted - Friday, November 4, 2022)
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[00:00:00.00] Text, Smile O Meter Friday with Daniel and Ken. Text, Daniel's Music Foundation.
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[00:00:05.69] Hosted by an unlikely duo who are just trying to bring a little sunshine into the world.
[00:00:12.98] Hi, everyone. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the autumn weather.
[00:00:18.08] We love this season-- cooler days, beautiful fall colors, and the holidays are right around the corner.
[00:00:27.30] I really enjoy the cooler weather and it always puts a smile on my face. You know what that means? It's time for another episode of--
[00:00:37.85] Smile-O-Meter Friday.
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[00:00:41.47] A subscribe bell appears.
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[00:00:43.31] You know D, I really can't believe all that is going on at Daniel's music. The center is in full swing with the in-person classes again, our online programs are going strong, we've given over 50 disability awareness presentations already this year, and the third annual Danny awards are coming soon on Saturday, November 12.
[00:01:07.40] It's going to be a memorable event. We are going to have some super talented honorees performing this year and we expect a full house.
[00:01:18.62] If you can't make it to Symphony Space right here in New York City, make sure to join us all online and watch the Danny awards streaming live. Just check out the link below for more information.
[00:01:32.76] Join us all. I hope he doesn't think that he's going to perform. I'll have to give him the bad news later. Today we are thrilled to have one of our 2021 Danny award honorees, Colton Purcell, an amazing pianist from Utah. Hi, Colton, good to see you.
[00:01:59.55] It's good to see you too, Daniel.
[00:02:01.85] Colton it's great to have you on Smile-O-Meter Friday. We really appreciate you coming on.
[00:02:07.04] Well, it's a great honor to be on here so thank you so much.
[00:02:11.03] Music has obviously been an important part of your life. Can you share with us what you love most about music and how you discovered it?
[00:02:20.33] Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. So my dad actually started teaching me when I was about 8 or 7. Well, he started teaching me as a therapeutic exercise to get the mobility in my hands and increase grip strength. Funny thing is I didn't realize that how much it really meant until college. So I went to college with the idea that I would become a drama teacher or something along those lines in the theater arts, and then I found I really didn't like that. I tried out for the music program at Snow College and actually made it in and slowly from that point on, I started discovering what music really meant to me and how much I really wanted to make a career out of it.
[00:03:14.72] You're getting an advanced degree as well, right?
[00:03:17.24] Yes, I am actually. It's a master of music and music technology degree. Basically it's just, overall, learning how to record properly and learning what really goes into the behind the scenes part of working in a studio and going into post-production. There's also a game audio track or a game audio emphasis which focuses on actually implementing audio assets and music into video games, which I always found interesting and that's actually the track I'm on.
[00:03:55.70] That's amazing, Colton, keep it going. And now I'd love to show everyone you're a wonderful musical talent. Let's check out this short clip from the Danny's.
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[00:04:09.60] Text, Colton Purcell, 2021 Danny Awards Honoree. Daniel's Music Foundation. The Danny Awards. Colton plays piano on stage on a Steinway grand piano.
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[00:05:38.24] He gets off his bench and bows to the crowd.
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[00:05:42.83] We loved having you perform at the Danny's in 2021. You know you're eligible again next year. It's every other year. But can you tell us about your experience?
[00:05:55.01] I had actually never been out to New York, period. And being able to perform out there in a solo capacity I was like, it was really such an honor. I absolutely adored it. I loved meeting everybody and actually meeting everybody was my favorite part of the whole thing.
[00:06:17.66] You recently performed in a musical called Different, can you tell us a little bit about your role?
[00:06:25.14] So it actually centers around a high school. I think it's freshman, his name is Henry. He has a form of autism and basically has trouble fitting in and finding friends. I was actually one of Henry's good friends in the show. The nickname was actually no filter Freddy, and my character had a form of autism, basically it was I didn't hold back saying things like, what they noticed and it was, basically, almost they sought to cast about as many people with special needs as possible, and in the end about 60% of the casting crew had a special need, including myself.
[00:07:10.61] Right now this is a newly written musical so what we're trying to do is promote the heck out of it. We're trying to make sure people want to actually do it because in all of our opinion actually this is a message that really needs to get out there. It's a message of inclusion and a message of just treating everybody like equals. We did have to tell a story with it so we had to start off the musical where our main character, Henry, was excluded and possibly cast out from the rest of the crowd because he was just that much difference. And we had to show his progression into a friend group and his progression as a character.
[00:08:04.61] Watching that I, honestly, for the whole musical the story was very relatable to me in my siblings. Even though I don't have autism, it was something we had both experienced as a family member who had someone with a disability and someone who actually does have a disability. It was just that experience from high school. We were both brought back to it and we were like, wow.
[00:08:34.49] Do you see progress being made over the years if you look back?
[00:08:38.21] I'm very confident that this message will get out there with you guys doing it and with the musical. It's given me a lot of hope that minds can change with all this, and I am just so happy with how-- I'm just so happy with that because it means that the experience that other kids and other people with disabilities will have in the future will very well possibly change for the better.
[00:09:10.34] Colton, I couldn't agree more. We have to keep working together to make progress.
[00:09:16.96] I'm just really happy to hear that because my experience of doing this on my own, of going through this and seeing how people have treated people like me in the past I'm like, it really means the world that you guys are working to inspire change so much and inspire a welcoming atmosphere here in the US. So I really just want to thank you for welcoming me into your community and helping to spread that welcoming and warm community across the country. It really means the world to me, so thank you.
[00:10:02.37] Colton, we really appreciate you sharing your time with us.
[00:10:06.11] Thank you. It's been such an honor. You guys are seriously rock stars.
[00:10:10.40] We really look forward to staying connected.
[00:10:13.33] I want to stay connected for as long as I'm alive.
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[00:10:19.07] Thank you. Likewise.
[00:10:21.11] Thank you, Colton. Really appreciate it. As we close out another episode of Smile-O-Meter Friday, we wanted to leave you with this slightly modified quote from Henry Ford that we often use and refer to.
[00:10:35.42] "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, in both cases you are right."
[00:10:43.10] Wise words to consider. Thank you for joining us for another episode of Smile-O-Meter Friday and--
[00:10:51.20] See you next time.
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[00:10:54.92] They point at us with both their hands. Text, Smile O Meter Friday with Daniel and Ken. Thanks for watching. To learn more visit DanielsMusic.org and subscribe to Daniel's Music Foundation on YouTube. A subscribe button and bell appears.