Maya Elena (Music 2012) Performs for Dedication 2022

September 20, 2022

Maya Elena (Music 2012)

Dedication Day 2022 was September 19. Dedication is a Perpich tradition where new students and faculty/staff are welcomed into the Perpich community. The faculty speaker, Tory Peterson (Theater Instructor), spoke about our interconnectedness and how the rules of improvisation create a way of guiding us in the unknown and helping us with the craft of discovering the new. Our alumni speaker, Joetta Wright (Theater 2005), shared wisdom from her journey as a working actor. Our alumni performer, Maya Elena (Music 2012), played several songs and spoke about how “art is its process, not its product.”

“If I could offer one bit of advice to my younger self just entering the path of performing music; Art is its process, not its product,” said Maya. “Success is not measured by how far a product takes you or how much money you make. We live in a world that prioritizes productivity, try not to let that impact or change your creative process. As we’ve witnessed through the global event of the COVID-19 pandemic; stages and venues can shut down, the ability to see collaborators can vanish, along with opportunities and connections. Events like this call into question the value of art, how it’s shared, who it’s shared with, and why it was made. Placing value within the creative process itself is a practice worth cultivating. It has made my relationship with my music a healing one, valid at every stage of the process, and complete whether or not I share it worth the world. This way, success isn’t contingent upon external factors such as a number of views, dollar amount, or title. Your creative process is yours, and that alone makes it uniquely valuable!”

Maya is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Minneapolis, MN. She’s performed as a solo-artist for a decade, with her former band Illusion Valley, and toured nationally with the band Wookiefoot. Her creative endeavors have brought her across oceans to the jungles of Hawaii, the California coast, cruise ships in Istanbul, and mountains in Mexico. Maya derives inspiration from philosophy, existentialism, nature, interpretive dance, and the art of healing. Presently, she is a student of psychology working towards becoming a clinical mental health therapist, and is creating a series of yoga + live music events that will debut in Saint Paul in October, 2022.

Maya Elena (Music 2012); Tory Peterson, Theater Instructor; Joetta Wright (Theater 2005)

“Today is not the first time Maya has returned to Perpich, generously sharing her time and her music,” said Bob Frey, Social Studies Instructor and emcee of the Dedication ceremony. “Maya is truly a stellar, wonderful musician, part of a very cool legacy of Perpich alumnae making great music around the Twin Cities and beyond. We are very lucky to have her here today.”

Maya Elena links:
Instagram:  @mayaelenamusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MayaElenaMusic/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mayaelenaofficial