I am an elementary teacher, a citizen scientist, and a professional harpist. During the school year, I am a teacher, day in day out. Most of my life is consumed by my profession. I love what I do, and it isn't just a job. It's what I am meant to do with my life. During the summers, I can step away from teaching and focus on personal goals and projects involving my favorite hobbies: art, music, science and travel. When focused on art, in previous summers, I have painted my favorite spots around the world. Those paintings are now in my classroom. When focusing on travel, I have learned to scuba dive, sky dive, bungee jump, wake board, ski, and hike. I have shared those experiences with my students which has awakened in them a longing to travel and truly enjoy life and our world. Last summer, I married my best friend and love of my life, Jake Cotten. We traveled to St. John, St. Thomas, and Puerto Rico for our honeymoon. We snorkeled and discovered green sea turtles and sea urchins. We also identified a variety of tropical fish and I collected my usual sand sample from each beach. (I collect a sample of sand from every beach I visit. I'm still trying to decide how to display my samples in an artistic and geographic way.) This summer, I made it my goal to 1) learn about the Amazon and travel there with scientists 2) record harp music and make a music video. For the first goal, I am so thankful to have received this honor and opportunity from JASON Learning and the funding of this expedition by CoSN. I am able to go on a trip of a lifetime, where I can see explore a part of the world that houses the majority of life on earth. I leave TOMORROW for the Amazon Rainforest, a place I have dreampt of since a young child. Needless to say, I can't sleep tonight, because I'm just so excited!
In regards to my second goal, I turned my focus to my music before my trip to the Amazon. I am a professional harpist in Austin. I started playing the harp when I was only 5 years old. I studied for 12 years under the harp professor of the University of Texas at Austin, Delaine Fedson. While attending the University of Texas, I played in the Harp Ensemble of UT and also sang, danced and was a member of The Longhorn Singers. Throughout college, I continued to play the harp for weddings, business events and social occasions to pay for my college tuition. I am debt free in part by my harp! After attending college and receiving an education degree, I lived in Australia as a live-in nanny. private tutor and harp instructor for two children, ages 9 and 12. While there, I was still able to still focus on my goals of travel and music. I taught my two kiddos how to play the harp. In addition, I made a music video in Australia, featuring a song I wrote about what heaven might be like. I played the song at my favorite spot, along the cliffs of the northern beaches in Sydney, just 15 minutes from where I lived. To view that music video, visit this YouTube link: A Glimpse of Heaven by Hannah Neal Cotten When I returned from Australia, I started teaching at Hill Elementary as a fifth grade science teacher. I am about to start my fifth year of teaching. In teaching science, I have become even more enthralled with the world and how it works. I have become simply mesmerized about science and the pursuit of knowledge. I have my dream job and love what I do! I am able to teach and also learn as I do so. I am a life long learner and I am so fortunate to teach science and regularly move around, experiment, and have fun with my students! Although most of my year is focused on lesson plans, building meaningful relationships, and school growth and dynamics, I still love to paint, play the harp and travel and don't intend to stop. In pursuit of my goal this summer, I recorded my harp and vocals in a recording studio. I recorded 10 songs at Alta Vista Recording Studios in Austin. I learned a lot about the art of making music and professional tracks, and have a much more founded respect for recording artists. I am used to performing live and when I make a mistake, I learn to pass by it, without flinching, as to not allow the audience to even notice. But as a recording artist, the second you mess up, you need to stop and redo it again and again until it is perfect. The concept of passing by a mistake is not an option. That proves quite challenging. After recording a few of the songs, ranging from classical to contemporary, it was time for me to focus on promoting my harp business again. I knew that if I updated my website with new professional photographs and even a new video of my music in Austin, I would gain more opportunities to share my music with others, while also making a little money on the side for travel and other hobbies. This video is the result of my hard work. The Light / Sara Barielles Acoustic Harp Cover / Arranged and Harp and Vocals performed by Hannah Neal Cotten Below are pictures from behind the scenes of the video shoot. We filmed at Mayfield Park and Mount Bonnell in Austin, two iconic and beautifully natural scenes in Austin. We shot at sunset, as to highlight the theme of the song, the sun and love. My family made this all possible as they helped me load the harp in and out of my suv, move it across grass, rocky stone walkways, and up steep cliffs. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes a sacrificial family to make a harp music video on a cliff in the summer in Texas. But we did it! And many thanks go out to the videographer, Katherine Kirley of Reel Texas Productions. For more information, please visit her website: Reel Texas Productions, follow her on instagram @reeltxproductions, or email her at [email protected].
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AuthorHannah Cotten is a 5th grade science teacher at Hill Elementary in Austin, Texas. She applied for and received a teacher travel research grant through Jason Learning, and will be traveling with Jason Learning on a research trip with Dr. Meg Lowman. CoSN is sponsoring Hannah, funding her entire expedition! ArchivesCategories |