Meet Laura Gatz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Gatz.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My parents put me into piano lessons at age four. I was classically trained from age 4-18 and then started composing my own pieces. I found myself writing pieces when I was going through a tough time or feeling like I couldn’t express what I wanted to into words. The piano and music became my musical journal and has continued to bring me relief and euphoria in my twenties. I was encouraged by close friends to write music they could listen to daily, and that was when last year, I officially put out my first album on all digital distribution platforms. My piano has taken me to other cities, landed me in a country band, and most of all has been my true inspiration to create sounds and pieces that will bring others the same therapy and peace it brings me.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not always been a smooth road, there are many challenges to being a musician. I always wanted to be a famous pianist and dreamt of going to Juilliard to become that musician. I realized quickly how true the phrase “starving artist” was and I became nervous I would never make a living out of it. I look back and wish I took the leap and wish I pursued Juilliard because I truly see and believe now that if you love something enough, and have enough passion, you can make an entire life out of it and a very gratifying life in that. No money can compare to true happiness and doing what you truly love every single day. I have, however, found a method to incorporate my music therapy into my other career, which is nursing. Many patients have inspired me to write pieces and also I have been able to bring my music to them and their families in some of their hardest, grieving days. I have found it difficult to balance life, grad school, and my music at times, but one thing is, I have always found my way back to the piano as it is one of the major places of peace in my life.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am currently a pediatric intensive care nurse and pianist. I categorize my music into contemporary, instrumental, easy listening, and healing genres. I am known for my improvisation and soothing pieces, mostly inspired by the patients I have been involved with at the end of their lives and or in their times of healing. When I began my career in the PICU (pediatric ICU) 4.5 years ago, I did not realize what I would be dealing with on a daily basis. Seeing these kids fight for their lives and their families struggle to comprehend why this was happening to their loved ones, made me realize how precious life truly is. These babies, kids, and adolescents have taught me that even a terminal illness does not stop you from living every single day truly as if it were your last. In some of their last moments of life, their families wanted remembrance and happy moments with their child. I would go home on these difficult days and sit at the piano for sometimes hours. I would write over and over and let my emotions out from the day as we hold these emotions in at work. I then started taking my music and recording it and putting it on digital platforms that the public could access. I remember the first family I shared my music with and they asked for it every shift I was on to be played in the background of the room for their son. It brought them a little bit of comfort and relaxation in moments of high stress. I have since played my music quietly in the background for families and at the bedside for the kids in their last hours of life. It is those moments that make me realize that we all have something to offer this world, mine being piano for healing and music therapy.

Do you feel luck has played a role in your life?
“Everything will fall into place as it should.” I was writing my first album in 2017 and was in Atlanta, Georgia at the time. I went to meet up with friends and noticed a random girl at the get together with the same tattoo as I have (a bass clef and treble clef one upside down to form a heart). I commented how we had the same tattoo and she asked me what it signified to me, I told her I was a pianist and it was the only tattoo I could see myself with for the rest of my life. She said “do you have a keyboard? I’m a country artist and singer and need a keyboard player for Summer Fest, the largest outdoor music festival in the world in two months.” I told her I did and also explained I had never played in a band. She sent me her music later that night and asked if I could send back what I could do with it. I listened, learned it that night, sent back some clips of my piano added to the tracks and she asked me to come to rehearsal the next day. We toured for the next six months and it was the most amazing experience I have had as a musician yet. The way the world works in full circle amazes me and the people it brings into our lives makes me truly believe in good karma. The energy we put into the world on a daily basis will always come back around full circle.

Pricing:

• My albums are available on all digital platforms for $10 or less.
• I play more for music therapy than money.

Contact Info:

• Website: under construction
• Phone: 480-277-2534
• Email: lag349@gmail.com
• Instagram: @Lauragatzpiano

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