We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexia Benson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexia below.

Alexia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Last August, I made a decision that changed the trajectory of my entire music career — moving across the country to Austin, Texas to build an in-home studio and pursue my musical ambitions as an independent neo-soul/rnb artist.

I left behind my career as a classical composer and opera singer, prestigious grant opportunities, a network I established over many years, and skills I spent nearly a decade harnessing. You may wonder, why?

I’ve always been very passionate about learning many musical styles. I took the classical composing route to challenge myself to write music with live instruments and complex, longer lengths. As an opera singer, I learned how to use my voice to sing powerful arias and smooth, lyrical lieder. However, I realized I was putting myself in a box by investing years into the culture of only classical music. I decided it was my time to venture into new genres. At school, I fell in love with jazz, RnB, and neo-soul and began to realize the crossover between my piano and vocal style and these genres. I started hearing my authentic musical style blossom as I ventured more in this direction. It finally felt like me.

I’m glad I had time to explore my musical identity in these styles. It helped me cultivate a unique creative voice and taught me valuable lessons about commitment, paying attention to details, and going the extra mile to bring what was once an idea into reality. My classical side led me to be perfectionistic about my creations: this guides my process when producing my songs.

If I didn’t have a classical background, I may not have learned how to use my voice powerfully and skillfully as I do now or taken inspiration from the classical composers I love when writing my songs. I would not want my journey to have gone any other way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Alexia Benson, a neo-soul/RnB artist based in Austin, Texas. My songs are a musical representation of me, my experiences, and the stories that move me. I want my fans to feel that in their bones when they hear my music. I have been releasing and producing music with my partner Ryuichi Rex for over a year and have been performing in Austin for the past 6 months.

Previously, I composed music for orchestra, performed as an opera soloist for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, and have been performing/composing/arranging music for the past 8 years.

I will be releasing a new song titled “Feel Deeply,” which features elaborate piano and vocals. This track takes inspiration from my opera roots–wait for the ending! By the end of Fall 2024, I will have released my debut EP, featuring 4 tracks, one of which is “Moonlight,” which was released on all streaming platforms on June 15th.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I grew up in an emotionally unsupportive household. I was often criticized for my shortcomings and felt a strong sense of self-doubt and unworthiness. When I was 14, my father took his own life and my sense of self was never the same. After years of questions and no answers, I found a sense of purpose; to continue pursuing my dreams and living my life to the fullest because he never had the chance to. My dad wanted to be a professional musician but was afraid to make these dreams a reality. Even though there was still a chance for him to grow and experience happiness, he was gone forever, never able to reach his desires. I never want anyone to feel that it is the end–there is always a chance to experience a new beginning, no matter how difficult or painful your experiences may be.

Trauma is ongoing; it never fully goes away. There are days I wish I could ignore it. But this emotional turmoil is also the fuel that drives my resilience to pursue my dreams. I’ve made it my mission to help others be comfortable expressing their authentic selves and sharing their emotions.

For me, resiliency often means pushing myself out of my comfort zone to grow. When starting college, I made a personal effort to interact with people and be social. I was super shy, yet I challenged myself to observe other’s social skills. I grew more and more confident expressing myself after surrounding myself with others whose social skills I admired. Being an opera singer helped build my confidence and love for performing onstage. I got help for my anxiety after taking advice from friends who cared for my well-being. I learned it was okay to ask for help and that I didn’t have to do everything independently.

Creatively, I was also very insecure. During the pandemic, I spent hours improvising on the piano, exploring different harmonies and sounds, and recording myself singing. I practiced my opera arias and tried different singing techniques. I gave myself the creative freedom to explore my ideas without judgment. I had many moments during my bachelor’s and master’s when I felt I couldn’t handle being a musician anymore. But I never gave up–I kept my eye on the prize-my mission to inspire others and help them on their path to trauma recovery, including my own.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A close friend once asked me, why don’t you wear your favorite color, red? I told him that it would be too loud of a color to wear publicly–that I didn’t want to stand out. He then asked me, what if it isn’t too loud of a color to everyone else? Why do you believe that? I then realized that it never was too obnoxious to wear red–I had told myself that I shouldn’t to remain unnoticed. He told me I should wear my favorite color, because it’s MY favorite color, and I have the right to wear what makes me happy.

This made me realize that people often choose to do things the way they do for reasons they convince themselves to be true. It’s not because we are forced to do them. We become so afraid of changing our patterns that it holds us back from trying new paths that could benefit us.

For example, I was too afraid for years to put myself as the main center of attention as an artist who creates popular music. I labeled myself a composer-performer, or as an opera singer, trying on different roles and trying to force myself into a box that I didn’t fit into. I am not just one of these careers. I am Alexia Benson because of my passion for all of these interests and abilities, and there is room for each of them at some point in my life. Maybe not all at once, but a combination of some at a given time.

Now that I’ve made the decision to explore my interests as not just a composer and opera singer but also as a singer, performer, producer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, I feel so much more fulfilled with my life. I have the freedom to make my own decisions on how I should spend each day, how I wish to use my time to reach each goal, and how to spend my resources to benefit my life. I choose how I want to create each day and what my process will be, instead of using a formula prescribed to me by another person.

I think it’s important for us to unlearn labels and remember we are each unique. Don’t limit yourself because of one community you belong to you believe you should conform to or your parent’s beliefs of who you should aspire to become. You have the choice to make that decision for yourself each day, which I believe is one of the most empowering decisions you can make.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexiabenson.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexiabenson_music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562305954885
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexia-benson-57a85a23b/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexiabenson_music

Image Credits

Photos of me in orange jumpsuit — Photographer Jay Ybarra