We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ariel Avilez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ariel, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I started singing and dancing when I was a toddler literally. The moment I could walk and talk I was trying to be the center of attention entertaining my family with my songs and dances. It didn’t take long for my mom to notice it wasn’t just something cute I was doing it became a driving force for me. I loved everything to do with creating a story through dance or singing. I’n hindsight growing up I of course just thought my dream would completed if I became a famous singer selling out shows dancing doing what I love. When I became an adult it became so much more than that. I wouldn’t say that I had a horrible childhood-in fact I was very blessed and fortunate but I had some trauma that made an appearance in my childhood that I had to work on and maybe even still work on in my current life. That being said I started a non profit geared toward troubled teens-that changed my world entirely. My first event was more than what I had prayed for and I knew I wanted to get more involved and knew I wanted to incorporate music. I am a singer songwriter and i perform locally as an artist, by day i am a vocal instructor. I recently just opened up a music studio for creatives to rent the space out for their own craft and to come take singing lessons from me. In the interim I donate time to troubled teens that have a desire to create musically and teach them how to use music as a positive form of coping and rebuilding. This means a lot to me being able to find an official space of my own because I don’t have to ask anyone for permission to donate free time I just do it.
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.
It has be a very long time coming and to be honest there’s still so much I know needs to be accomplished but I am just trying to appreciate every milestone no matter how big or small. Becoming a vocal coach happened so randomly for me. I never thought I was good enough to teach anyone until people started asking me if I could teach. Once that started happening I started to think about what kind of instructor I’d want to be. And I remember growing up my mother spent her last dime for the best instruction but in the end we always had to research on our personal time how to find auditions and talent competitions etc. I told myself if I could not only teach a creative how to perfect their talent and where they can use their talent based on their dream paths then I would be more than just getting paid to teach someone how to sing or write a song I would be helping them develop their talents. So that’s how Stvdio Concepts music space came to life. I was able to recently find the perfect suite that allowed me to give my lessons and host creatives session along with providing a tiny desk performance corner which artists can use to document themselves with a creative background. It’s so hard to find places that feel like home and that are affordable. That is what I strive for this place to be for anyone who requires services.
I was recently laid off from my corporate job and in hindsight it was a blessing. Because I was able to go all in on this concept and all in on my dream as well. Ultimately the goal is to be fully sustainable by my business but for now I’m just thankful for the artists trusting me with their talents that’s an honor in of itself.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source for me has been being active as a local artist. Being out performing, competing, featuring- just being in front of the crowd showing them I don’t just talk like I know how to do something but I put it into action. That has given me so much momentum.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I feel like my entire journey has made me show resilience ha! I don’t mean that sadly either, but I think I consider myself the underdog quite a bit. I’ve had a talent producer with the voice twice and got cut just before the chairs, I’ve never been the flashy trend hopper type of artist and don’t do things “for clout” I’ve accomplished many things like having songwriter publishers and performing at a songwriters round in Nashville and performing for a music festival and yet somehow I feel like it’s always been just that, so I thought. I hadn’t realized that just because I’m not a super famous celebrity it doesn’t mean I don’t have something super incredible to offer my students and that is the fact that I shamelessly keep trying and keep going. Getting laid off unexpectedly was one big one for me since I have a family-but hours after praying and just thinking it was exactly what was needed for me to persevere. Every set back is a setup for a comeback.
Contact Info:
- Website: Stvdioconcepts.com
- Instagram: Itsarilexx
- Tiktok: itsarilexx
Image Credits
Flower photos @Vivophotography