We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carey Durham a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Carey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I’ve always considered myself a student of violin. Growing up in a family of teachers, I learned to see my life experiences as lessons and opportunities to get better! I was 6 years old when my parents started me on violin. My mother would take me and my siblings to our music lessons on a weekly basis.
In my youngest days learning violin, I’ll admit that I considered it a chore. It’s a tough instrument to learn and doesn’t yield the sweetest of sounds in the beginning! But with every step of progress and every year of growth, I became more attached to the violin. After a while, I just considered it a part of who I was! These days, I have no clue who I’d be, had I not leaned to play!
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’m a classically-trained Jazz & Blues violinist based out of Atlanta. I specialize in providing entertainment for weddings and a wide variety of other private/public events. I’m also a seasoned studio session player, skilled in the arts of studio recording and composition.
My style is influenced by Blues, Jazz, Hip Hop, Classical, Reggae, and Alternative. Music and media has always served as a springboard for all of my endeavors. After studying musical performance at the college level, then acquiring a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta, I used my wide range of skillsets in music and media to create a business called The Mosaic Group. Its sole focus is connecting with people and bringing their creative visions to life through music, audio production, photography, and videography!
When it comes to musical performance, my strength is being able to cater to any environment! I use my art to evoke good feelings, and inspire listeners to be the best version of themselves wherever that may be! This is my purpose in life. In a lot of ways, my art is the purest way I can connect with the people around me. I’m my proudest, when I know a song I’ve played has resonated with someone’s heart. You can see it in their eyes. Feel it in the room. And hear it when when they tell you of how the music reminds them of good times!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I think of the time when I worked a corporate job and eventually quit to pursue a career in music. I was vetted with the company for over 10 years, starting as an intern in my senior year of Highschool, then growing into a full-time position in media and training development. In my younger days, it was an awesome opportunity. I learned how to be more structured, disciplined and diligent in my work. As I got older, I started to wonder why I hadn’t excelled as much as my peers did. I couldn’t find passion in my work, and for a time, I began to question and doubt myself into depression.
Meanwhile, I still created art out of necessity, but at the time, didn’t believe it could provide a level of security comparable to my ‘corporate job’. I was desperate to find fulfilling work in the field and took a promotion out-o- state. Being alone and away from home made me realize I was running away from my true passion all along. I was just too afraid to take a leap of Faith. After living in Charlotte NC for three years, I quit my job, moved back home to Atlanta and started my career in music. Today, it’s more stable than my corporate job ever was. I also make way more money then I did back then!
Life’s lessons are often heavy, but I’m so happy and grateful for all of them.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I can’t drive this home enough. Using my art to connect with people is the greatest gift! Sometimes, I feel like I even do this better through my music than having a vocal conversation with someone. The violin is really an extension of my expression. Being blessed enough to make a living doing this is so blissful to me! I have a job that almost never feels like work. I imagine this is what it feels like to be passionate about what you do! But more importantly, I truly enjoy being a student to it all. And infinite rewards come with striving to be better!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cdmosaic.com
- Instagram: @carey_durham
- Youtube: YouTube.com/careydurham