We recently connected with Sara Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

One of my earliest memories of knowing I was meant to be a performer was when I was about 4 or 5 years old. My parents had a classical music station on, and I was showing off the ballet moves I had learned at preschool—it just felt so natural! From then on, I was always putting on performances for my family, entering school talent shows, and eventually joining the music class offered at my elementary school to learn the violin. The rest is history!

Sara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started playing music at a young age, taking violin lessons, performing in community and school ensembles, and eventually studying violin performance in college. I’ve always loved singing, but it wasn’t until high school that I got more involved through the vocal ensemble and spring musicals. After college, I played violin in orchestras and freelanced around the city while teaching at various music schools and programs. In my late 20s, I wanted to break out of the classical world, so I started learning and playing with friends. Now, I’m proud that my genre-hopping has opened up exciting opportunities—playing with orchestras, recording for local artists, performing with different bands, and stepping into singing as part of a jazz duo with an amazing guitarist and great friend.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part for me is meeting new people who share the same passion, learning from other artists, and actually living out what I always dreamed of. Plus, I love getting to play music with my friends. Performing with in the duo, The Silva Jones Tones, has been such a fun experience because we’ve created a space where we can experiment without judgment, try out new musical ideas, and then bring it all together on stage.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

If schools offered more arts programs, it would be an important first step in developing a creative ecosystem. I’m honored to work with the Music Immersion Experience (MIE), which provides free music education to all students at Roosevelt Elementary in the San Gabriel Unified School District (SGUSD). Beyond MIE, SGUSD boasts an outstanding VAPA program and is a strong advocate for the transformative power of the arts in child development. Music and arts education should not be reserved for affluent communities—it should be accessible to all, especially marginalized groups that often lack the necessary resources and support. We must increase funding and support for the arts, especially in local communities, where too many organizations are forced to close due to declining audience attendance and lack of funds.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @sarajones_violin
• Other: I’m the current Site Coordinator for the Music Immersion Experience (MIE) Program. Please take the time to check us out and learn about this amazing program for young musicians.https://www.sgusdvapa.org/home