Little Sparks
Join Tara Windibank and Cecilia Blackwell, co-founders of the Hildegard Collective and hosts of the Little Sparks Podcast, as they chat about all things faith and music! We’ve custom-tailored a podcast just for Catholic musicians, for the purposes of building community and cultivating important conversations. With plenty of special guest interviews, inspiring stories, and musical drama, you can expect lots of deep conversations and a healthy dose of hilarity, as these former college roommates take you through the peaks and valleys of life as a Catholic musician.
Episodes
60 episodes
S5E9: Discerning Roles
Discernment - it can feel like a Catholic buzzword sometimes, with it's increasingly casual use in day-to-day life. But what does discernment really mean and why does it matter?For musicians, especially those forms that require the expl...
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45:25
S5E8: Music & The Gift of Motherhood
We have a very special guest on this week's episode - Cecilia's mom, Olivia Leskowicz! Sharing her personal story of growing up in a musical family, and balancing a budding career and a young family, this episode is dripping with wisdom and ins...
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1:02:24
S5E7: Let's Talk About Theology of the Body
Theology of the Body was one of the most widely known works of Pope Saint John Paul II, and its message has broken barriers in teaching us about our own humanity and the Divine Character of God as understood through His beautiful creation of hu...
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55:10
S5 Bonus Episode: Emotional Abuse
Following last week's episode, Cecilia addresses an important and easily overlooked form of mistreatment: emotional abuse. Broaching this difficult topic, Cecilia shares candidly from her own personal experience and healing journey.
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15:34
S5E6: Being Sinned Against
Power imbalance is an unfortunately common problem in the music industry. It can be personally and professionally devastating to be on the receiving end of unfair treatment or inappropriate behavior of any kind.In today's candid episode...
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1:01:21
S5E5: Saint Alphonsus Liguori
You may have heard of St. Alphonsus Liguori, but how much do you really know about his life?St. Alphonsus was a moral theologian, extraordinary musician, intelligent lawyer and much more. He suffered with chronic pain, experienced a tot...
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46:41
S5E4: Healing Injuries & New Age Practices
If you've ever experienced a performance-impacting injury or illness, you'll know well the feeling of desperation to find healing. For many musicians, this becomes a gateway to new-age practices, which can be encouraged by teachers, coaches or ...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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1:02:59
S5E3: The Virtues, Part 2
Send us a textAfter a deep-dive into the Cardinal virtues last week, we're back discussing the Theological virtues! Everyone knows these terms - Faith, Hope a...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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59:37
S5E2: The Virtues, Part I
When you think of the word virtue, what comes to mind? If your answer is somewhere along the lines of "dry," "old-fashioned," or "prudish," you need to listen to this episode! The virtues are actually good habits – which we all need to cultivat...
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1:06:27
S5E1: Moral Theology Isn't Scary
Join us for our first episode of season 5! Today we're chatting about moral theology, what it's all about, and why it's relevant for us today. A book we love on this topic:
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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45:51
Season 5 Preview
We are excited to announce that our Season 5 preview episode is here! Listen in to hear the theme of the upcoming season, what we’re most excited for, some super exciting updates on the podcast and more! Trust us, you definitely don't want to m...
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24:15
S4E10: Reflecting on Life & Our Favorite Season 4 Moments
Here we are at the end of Season 4! We're taking some time to reflect on our favorite moments from Season 4, as well as the big life changes we've each been experiencing between the beginning and end of this season. This has been such an incred...
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32:23
S4E9: Pride vs. Stewardship
Join Tara as she discusses pride versus stewardship, and the distinction that lies between them!What we're listening to:Tara:
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51:13
S4E8: Surrendering to God's Will
After an unexpected, short hiatus, we're back! Today, we're sharing our own career stories and how the Lord helped us to both surrender to His Will, and rejoice in it. What we're listening to: Cecilia:
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1:16:55
Bonus Episode: Let's Talk About Success
How do we define success, and what does success look like when we focus on what God wants, instead of the world? Tara's discussing these questions in today's bonus mini-episode through the perspective of her own struggles and dreams.
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17:33
S4E7: Catholic Composers Who Practiced Their Faith
Throughout music history, we can find numerous Catholic composers who were devoted to their faith. Today, we're chatting about the lives and examples of just three of these composers. We're covering Franz Liszt's inspiring reversion story as he...
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1:01:36
Bonus Episode: Lent, Practicing Music, and Intimacy with Christ
Andddd we've got a special bonus episode today on the Little Sparks podcast! Cecilia's talking about the purpose of Lent (hint: it's not to see who's the best Catholic), exploring definitions of intimacy and how they apply to learning a piece o...
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9:08
S4E6: Music Education, Family Life, and Being a Witness with Patrick O'Connell
This week, we're thrilled to be chatting with Patrick O'Connell, a music educator and conductor located in Massachusetts. We had a great conversation about his role as a music educator, balancing a career in music with the vocation of marriage ...
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55:57
S4E5: Bl. Dina Belanger – A Saint for Music Educators
Introducing Season 4's saint feature! In today's episode, we're chatting about Bl. Dina Belanger, a Canadian religious sister who attended a conservatory in New York to study piano prior to entering religious life. The order she entered was a t...
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34:53
S4E4: Coming Home, Music Therapy, and the Dignity of Life with Amelia Glikin
Today we're chatting about a musical profession that we've never had a chance to talk about before here: music therapy!Senior music therapy major Amelia Glikin sat down with us to chat about music therapy, and what unfolded along the wa...
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48:58
S4E3: Auditions, Performance Anxiety, and Redemptive Suffering
It can be easy to see how we can glorify God through music when we’ve finished a performance and hear from audience members about how deeply our music touched their hearts, or when we’re teaching a young child how to play something that’s chall...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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42:09
S4E2: "Lord, Bless It or Block It!" with special guest Sarah Barry
On today's episode of the Little Sparks podcast, we're sitting down to chat with Sarah Barry, an opera singer and teacher from Louisville, KY. We’re discussing career discernment, vocal music, and trusting in God’s plan every step o...
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54:59
S4E1: Beauty Calls Us to Evangelize
Welcome to Season 4! We're focusing on the many different careers in music and how we can glorify God through them. To kick things off, we're doing a deep dive into the relationship between beauty and truth, and how musicians, alongside all cre...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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35:40
Season 4 Preview
We are wildly excited to announce that our Season 4 preview episode is here! Tune in to hear the theme of our next season, what we’re each most excited for, and when Season 4 will be launching. You won’t want to miss this!
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Season 4
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8:22
S3E10: Season 3 Recap, Contemporary Hymn Draft Lists, and More!
We can hardly believe we're already at our season 3 finale, but here we are! Today's episode is the very first that we recorded in the same room with each other, and we had an absolute blast discussing our favorite season 3 episodes, plus a lit...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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48:13