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

Cortez, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Some of the most meaningful projects that I have had the pleasure to be a part of have been at the Evergreen Children’s Chorale throughout the years. I started off with this company serving as the assistant director to their younger kids group called Prelude. Being a part of this group really cemented the fact that I loved working with young kids. So the next year I decided to apply for a director’s position with the older children’s group called Company that serves 5th through 8th graders. Since then, I’ve been completely overwhelmed by the amount of passion and talent that the children in this program have been able to show. One of the most meaningful projects that I’ve gotten to do with them is producing how our version of Seussical the Musical. I was so impressed by my small groups talent that I even decided to do the full show as opposed to a junior show.
This decision caused me so much stress throughout the semester but so much joy once we were able to put the show on for the community. All the way up until first show we were faced with so many issues that caused us to all be flexible. For example, during our first show, one of our lead roles found out she was sick with strep throat, so I had to step in and teach a child who wasn’t even in the group. All of that girl’s parts in one day. You always hear the horror stories of directors having to do this, but I never thought I would be faced with this. I can proudly say that our opening night was a success and a fantastic experience for all. The following nights of our show all felt so easy once we got our main role back.
I would highly recommend checking out the Evergreen Children’s Chorale out in Evergreen because there is real magic happening in those mountains.

Cortez, 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?

My name is Cortez Daniel and I am the co-founder of Tones Collective LLC. We began this company in Colorado to provide live music for others and offer other artists the chance to put together their own shows. Our main goals quickly changed once we incorporated. Before moving to Colorado, I served as a K-12 teacher in Sigourney, Iowa so I had loads of teaching experience. Shortly after arriving in Colorado, I realized how much of a need there was for passionate music teachers to work in the private sector and I can gladly say that I filled that role for so many people in Colorado. About 6 months into our businesses incorporation, we shifted almost exclusively to music education and music performance.
Fast forward to now and we have a partnership with our home school system, Clayton County Public Schools, one of the biggest counties in Georgia, where we provide workshops about post high school options for students, All-State Choir Preparation, professional development for teachers interested in learning how to teach in a more interdisciplinary way, and shows for students of all ages. We also provide commissions for performance groups. This year we’ll be creating two original choir pieces for our partners down in Georgia and we can do the same for you. We’ve traveled to places like California and Iowa to provide our services to so many youth. If you are interested in having us come and speak with any of your students or serve as a guest conducting please contact us at [email protected].

We specialize in sharing joy through music and motivating students to contribute their talents to the community. Our students perform well not because of the stress of having to do so but because they love what they do and audiences can see that.
I am so proud of the work that we have done and the fact that we get to help the students that came from our hometown back in Georgia and the youth in Colorado. We have grown from a small group of three musicians who just wanted to play music to become two musicians who are sparking joy throughout the community through piano, voice and composition.
Whether you’re 18 months or 65 years old, we can help you to achieve any of the musical goals that you have set for yourself and enjoy it while you do it.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with what we’re doing and support us with lifting up our community.
Join the Collective!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The best thing we can do to support a thriving creative ecosystem is to put our children in music courses early even if their goal is not to become a professional musician. The Arts serve as an outlet for all kinds of feelings and emotions that we may have throughout our development, and I know personally that it helped me to get through some very difficult times in my life. Even if you’re an adult who has a full-time job, I implore you to look into getting some private music lessons at some place, like the Colorado Music Institute. I have seen first hand what a few lessons in an unrelated field can do for a person who works in the business sector. Doing something challenging is so rewarding and self-soothing in a way. Everybody should be a part of this community because everybody can be an artist and everybody is creative.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

When I was young I had the pleasure of having an amazing music teacher named Dr. Kay Pace. This woman had previously taught at colleges but just by some chance she was my high school choir teacher. She was the first person to not only say that she cares about her students and me but also show it with her actions and her wallet. I could have never succeeded the way that I have without having her in my corner. Even today I still keeping contact with Dr. Pace because I respect her opinion and guidance. When I was younger I didn’t always have the finances to participate in things that I was qualified to be in, but with her help and support I was finally able to do that. I want to be that emotional and financial support for students who are in the same situation that I grew up in. I want to help students who deserve vocal or piano lessons but can’t afford them. I want to be able to look at a student who tells me that they can’t come on the group choir trip and tell them “yes you can because I’m paying for it”. I want to be able to look at a group of 70 singers and tell everyone “Don’t worry about the details, I’ll make sure all of you are taken care of. Just focus on the performance in front of you.”
If I didn’t have a person to do that for me, I don’t know where I would be today. Please support Tones Collective LLC so that we can serve as that community leader for the youth in Colorado.

Contact Info:

• Website: TonesCollective.com
• Instagram: @tonescollectivellc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonescollective?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tones-collective-641085277
• Youtube: @tonescollective9399