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

Allie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

From my own experience, I’ve found that the best way to make a full-time living as a musician is to start developing music skills as early in life as possible, and by keeping an open mind by diversifying and broadening your skillset.

For a hobby, I started taking violin lessons when I was six years old. When I was in seventh grade, though, my private teacher sat me down and told me that she saw in me the talent and the potential to actually “make it” as a violinist, but that it was going to require years of diligent practice, patience, and persistence. Looking back – she was right! I had to make the hard decision at a very young age to forego the “music as a hobby” mentality and become career-minded, before I was even out of middle school! From that point forward, I began practicing 3-6 hours a day in between school, homework, and other daily life. I didn’t have much of a social life to speak of growing up, spending any time I could before and after school practicing my violin. My family and I didn’t even go on vacation that I didn’t take my violin to practice! I went through middle school, high school, college, and graduate school determined that my daily hard work was going to pay off one day, and finally, once I finished school, it did. Though this was a difficult mind-set to adopt at such a young age, I’m so glad I did, because it gave me the kick-start I needed to develop the skills and determination necessary to eventually succeed as a violinist.

Though my primary focus was violin performance throughout my education, I made the decision to also develop secondary interests and skills in other areas of music, such as teaching, arts administration, and music business. I took internships, small jobs, and classes throughout my education that allowed me to learn how to become a more well-rounded musician, and thus more likely to find sustainable work in the music field. It was during this time in my life that I began to realize how brutal and competitive the music industry was (and still is) for musicians, so I abandoned the narrow-minded view that all I needed was to play my violin to make a living. This is the mistake many musicians make going into the industry, not realizing that the vast majority professional performers (even some of the best and most talented) have to endure a freelance, contract, and part-time work lifestyle that alone isn’t usually enough to pay the bills.

That being said, I am now in a place where I am very financially secure with a stable career in music. I am currently a section violinist in the Richardson Symphony Orchestra and Plano Symphony Orchestra, and am the concertmaster, orchestra manager, and orchestra librarian at First Baptist Dallas. A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Violin (NCTM) of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), I’m also an active violin instructor, and enjoy freelance performing and recording around the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex. Previous work experiences include being an adjunct music professor at Tarrant County College, serving as the orchestra librarian at the Blair School of Music, and interning with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Allie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I pride my self in being a well-educated and professionally trained classical violinist with additional expertise in the areas of music education, arts administration, and music business. My diverse experiences and skills in the music industry allow me to efficiently and effectively serve and work in many areas of the field. Though my schedule is quite full with my various jobs and commitments, I am always happy to consult with others about my journey to thriving in the music field.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Music is such an important part of our culture; it brings people together and resonates with us in ways nothing else can. It’s a blessing to make a career of something so magical and amazing, and I love getting to express myself through playing the violin and creating music. It’s rewarding being a part of something so much bigger than myself.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My journey to get where I am today was certainly not obstacle-free, but I can say I was definitely blessed along the way. Fortunately, I had extremely supportive parents who were able to support my violin education over the years. I also started preparing for a career in violin early enough that my path through music school seemed to flow naturally from one degree into the next without too many obstacles. The struggles and challenges I faced developing a career as a violinist mostly came from the burn-out from long days of practicing – it’s natural to want to stop and give up when progress and development continues to get harder and more challenging. There would be days I felt like my technique and skills were going absolutely nowhere, so mustering up the patience and will to keep going took years of self-discipline on my end. I also struggled with the extremely competitive nature of the music industry, which forced me to always be extremely self-critical about my violin-playing – even now, it’s still easy to constantly compare myself to others in the field and aim to be “the best”. In the moment, these struggles often made me regret the decision to choose violin as my career path. Looking back, though, overcoming these struggles helped me grow as a person and into a better musician.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.allieviolin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allieviolinist/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allieviolin/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/allieviolinist
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxd2ZEZuCOmrLTEfxF1WEIQ

Image Credits
Carmel Studio Photography