We were lucky to catch up with Ariana Abedini recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ariana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

It’s actually two – if I am allowed to share more than one. The first one is something I started right after the pandemic outbreak and it’s titled “I CAN PLAY THAT TOO”. It is a series of collaborative piano covers, initially online, which was created in an effort to unite pianists from all over the world. In these episodes, pianists play different parts of the same piece. I still remember the very first time I went live on Instagram to announce this – up to that point, I would just upload piano covers. I simply felt the need to create something that would promote collaboration instead of competition. I wanted us, musicians, to have an environment in which we would learn from and support each other. I can’t described how thrilled I was to see this eventually becoming a reality this past November in Colorado, USA!

The second project I wanted to talk about is a music education series which I’ve started recently along with Henle Verlag. It’s called “Understanding Classical Music” and it’s a series about classical composers and their works. The purpose of this is to promote a better understanding of their compositions and help with the approach when learning/ performing them. Another reason why I decided to start such a project is because I wanted to make classical music available to a broader audience, not necessarily only to (classically trained) musicians. This project is in collaboration with Henle-Verlag, a German music publishing house that specializes in Urtext editions of classical music. These editions, since they are as close to the composer’s original scores as possible, inspired me to start filming the series’ episodes around the world instead of inside my studio and, more specifically, in the country where each composer was born and grew up in. I thought this would make for a more fun and engaging way of learning about their story and works!

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’ll start by saying that I’ve always been interested in a wide range of things, but if I had to choose one word to best describe myself and what keeps me going, that would definitely be “adventure”. And let me elaborate: I started playing piano when I was 10 years old – I would see pianists on the TV and I knew I wanted to become one. So I signed up to a conservatory in my town in Greece. Ever since, I never stopped, despite the difficulties. For it was – and still is – a way of expressing myself when words fail, a way of communicating something deeper with my audience. Pretty soon, I figured out that just sitting down at the piano and practicing wasn’t capable of keeping my interest for long. I knew I had to do something different. I also knew I had a huge love for nature. That’s how I started taking my electric piano to beautiful landscapes and playing music outdoors.

Apart from music, I developed a passion for Psychology, which later became the field of my studies. I loved observing people’s actions, trying to understand their motives, why they think and act the way they do. I remember that friends and family would come to me with their problems and I loved helping them gain a better understanding of the situation or problem and find a solution.

People usually ask me how come I didn’t pursue a music career exclusively. For me, the answer is simple: I didn’t want to sacrifice any of my passions, that’s why both my BSc (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and MSc (University of Derby) are in Psychology, but I also have a piano diploma from a Greek conservatory. That’s how I ended up combining these two: I knew from personal experience what stage fright felt like, so I wanted to help musicians understand and overcome it.

To sum things up, I am mostly focused on the “I CAN PLAY THAT TOO” project, the series of collaborative piano performances, which I mentioned earlier, as well as the “Understanding Classical Music” and the Masterclasses for overcoming anxiety and stage fright.

What I am mostly proud of is seeing people reach their full potential – we all are capable of great things, it’s just that a lot of time we don’t believe in ourselves enough or we don’t take the time to take a look deep inside us and figure out what is going on.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Absolutely! I want to spread the love for music and make it available to anyone who wishes to enjoy it. Music knows of no borders – that should be the case among musicians too. That’s why my projects are music-related but also human-centered, The “I CAN PLAY THAT TOO” series aims to unite musicians from around the world and promotes collaboration instead of competition. “Understanding Classical Music” serves the purpose of making classical music more approachable to non-musicians (or to non-classically trained musicians).

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To be able to express myself in ways other than just verbally. Music helps me communicate something deeper with my audience, something pure that’s coming from within.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.arianaabedini.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ariana.abedini
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ariana.abedini
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariana-abedini/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/ArianaAbedini