Musician Sheena Dhamsania knows how to rock a stage—and a classroom. The multi-instrumentalist and award-winning educator began a career in elementary music education nine years ago in Evanston, Wyoming, after graduating from Michigan State University with a BA in music education and bassoon performance. She moved to Jackson six years ago to accept a position as a music teacher at Wilson Elementary School. The move was pivotal. In Jackson, she learned to play the bass guitar from musician friend Grove Miller. When a bassist dropped out on the gig last minute, they started playing simple country and jazz tunes at the Pines. Today she sings and plays in The Risky Livers, Canyon Kids, Bri Moore, Sneaky Pete, and Brother Wolf, just to name a few.
The classically trained musician says her music strives to offer something authentic about herself and her surroundings. “There is a great music education professor at the University of Wyoming, Tiger Robinson, who exclaimed, ‘Authenticity over Perfection!’ at a conference we were both presenting at this past winter. That line has stuck with me, and although I am so very grateful for my roots in classical music and performing classically, I think it takes just as much bravery, maybe more, to create your own music and put it out there,” she said. “Speaking from a genuine place with your own music feels more cathartic than performative and although it’s scary, it’s worth it in the end.”
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