Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ariadne Antipa. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Ariadne, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

In 2019 I had been living in Cincinnati, OH for one year, working on a doctorate in Piano Performance with a minor in Choral Conducting. One of the things I appreciated most about the music school I was attending was that they allowed students the option of completing a Doctoral Project as an alternative to a traditional dissertation. I’m first and foremost a classical pianist with extensive private teaching experience. But I’m also heavily involved with choirs and am deeply passionate about working with people, especially those who have been marginalized or “othered” by society. Combining my different skills and passions, I launched and directed a choir for adults in addiction recovery. The process of getting to a first rehearsal was an enormous amount of work; it took months to go from the first step of cold-calling dozens of addiction and treatment centers to find the right collaborative partner to the final step of our first rehearsal. The end result was exhilarating. We had weekly rehearsals and began singing at graduation and fundraising events at the facility. Best of all, the chorus was comprised of individuals actively on their recovery journey as well as staff members of the facility. It was this level of integrated community that made me want to embark on this project in the first place. Of course, there were other challenges. Along the way, I would tell friends and family about my project and I received some appalling responses. One in particular was hard to hear, when a close family member said “this seems dangerous, just make sure you never associate outside of the rehearsals.” This ignorant, painful sentiment was exactly the kind of attitude I was seeking to break down. The arts offer a unique opportunity to come together and see each other for the human beings that we are. Through music, specifically here through a choral experience, we were able to create music as one body, regardless of where we came from or where we were headed.

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 come from a family of classical musicians. Growing up, the question never was “would you like to play an instrument?” but rather, “which instrument would you like to play?” I began playing the piano at five years old and by 7th grade I knew I would pursue it professionally. I began winning competitions and played my first concerto with orchestra when I was 16 (a pretty colorful story in itself, but one that will first require a glass of wine or three). At the same time that I was on a traditional classical music path, I was growing up off-grid in the mountains of Northern California. My family was also heavily involved with the nearest Greek community which included regular participation in Greek folk music and dance events. These diverse aspects of my childhood equipped me to be comfortable in many settings and with many different groups of people, and played a part in the nontraditional path I have pursued in music.

My degrees are primarily in Piano Performance, with secondary focuses in Piano Pedagogy and Choral Conducting. But by the time I completed my doctorate, I was pretty lukewarm on the initial plan of going into higher education. I turned my focus to private teaching, private conducting, and projects which I felt filled a need within my community.

One of my most cherished projects I grew from the ground up has been Flight88. Entering its fourth season, Flight88 is a music series that offers classical music in a unique setting. Cincinnati is home to some pretty spectacular buildings, and and there is a beloved brewery, Urban Artifact, that operates from an old Gothic-style catholic church on the city’s historical preservation list. While the taproom downstairs is what used to be the priest’s quarters, the former sanctuary upstairs is now an event space. Through collaboration with the folks at Urban Artifact and Radio Artifact (their partner music company which helped make Flight88 a reality during its first season), Flight88 has slowly but surely become a beloved music series where Cincinnati residents can count on top-notch classical music every first and third Tuesday while enjoying a beer in a completely inviting and unpretentious setting.

In addition to my work running and curating every Flight88 concert season, I am an active performer, preparing solo and collaborative concerts where I have the privilege of working with not just incredible musicians, but personable and caring people. Similarly to what is a draw for me in curating Flight88 concerts is curating my own solo programs. The pieces I choose and prepare are significant in ways that go beyond the pieces themselves. I’m particularly eager to begin working on my next solo program which will be autobiographical in nature, traveling without interruption from pieces of intense pain and emotional turmoil to solace, beauty, and ethereal peace.

As mentioned earlier, the idea of teaching in higher ed didn’t feel like quite the right fit, but I am still passionate about teaching and about going where there is a need. I realized that nowhere is it more true than in the high school setting. For two years now I have been the choir director at Dixie Heights High School in a small city of northern Kentucky and it is the best decision I could have made. On Day 3 of my very first week, a fist fight broke out between two girls while I was taking attendance, half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunch, and a number of my students qualify for homelessness assistance. It is a place where people are growing up, where they are needing adults who care for and nurture them, where they are being cheered on and encouraged when they need it most, and if I get to be a part of that while also making music with them, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

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

This is such a vital question. While the answer is much more nuanced than one person can easily articulate, I believe an important part of it comes down to curiosity and connection. Artists being supported is obviously important, but I think that if we make that the sole focus, we miss the forest for the trees. First and foremost, can we be curious about what artists are creating? How do we do that? Being curious isn’t such an easy thing anymore. As a society, we are plugged in to devices that strip us of our curiosity – any moment of boredom is instantly filled by a magical glowing screen that fulfills desires we didn’t even have just moments before. The dire effects of smartphones and social media are well documented and continue to be, and one of those effects is that we seem to be less spontaneous and less curious. When waiting in line, we could either scan the wall for posters of upcoming events or we can scroll. On a free evening, we can look up local venues and venture out to hear some random person we’ve never heard of play cello and sing, or we can scroll. The list goes on. I hate to sound so cynical, but truthfully, I am worried. However, I don’t think it’s hopeless. I think there’s a small movement of people who are alarmed at the effects our devices and accounts are having on us – on our behavior and ability to interact with each other and our environment. My hope is that we tap into that movement, and encourage ourselves and each other to seek out live music, live theater, a local artist’s exhibit, or any number of creative ventures that humans are creating. My hope is that we as a society get comfortable being bored again, and that we might then get curious about what our neighbors are up to. Imagine the connections we then make! The effect could snowball, and our society could be one where an artistic and creative ecosystem thrives because people are curious, connecting with each other, and buzzing about what is happening around them that they can explore.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Money! I have spent a lot of time in various areas of my career educating non-creatives about why a musician’s hourly-rate is justified when, to them, it seems preposterous that the cost of their child’s beginning piano lessons can cost them up to $300-400 a month (or more). Whether it is in music lessons, offering church service music, playing a gig, or anything else where the creative is paid for their work, there is a learning curve for those who benefit from the creative’s skillset without realizing what it is worth. The most common explanation I give is that a person is not paying for one hour of work, they are paying for the one hour of work that is only made possible by the decades of arduous study and lifelong commitment to mastering the craft (not to mention the incredible amount of money poured in).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ariadneantipa.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flight88music
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@AriadneAntipa

Image Credits

Mike Aflitto