We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Victoria Theodore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Victoria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
I’ve been the recipient of many kindnesses. But this particular kindness arrived at the right time in the right way. Last week, I celebrated another birthday. I’ve always been someone who believes in celebrating every year: birthday, birthday week and birthday season! My primary love language is acts of service, so while diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, a beautiful act will bring me to tears.
For my gift this year, my sister created a compilation video of several of my high profile performances, and added a voice over asking everyone who might watch it to help spread the word about my music. Breaking through as a creative artist is incredibly challenging, especially given how much time we must devote to promoting ourselves, making TikTok videos and Instagram campaigns. The fact that she spent hours creating the video and forwarding it to all of her friends literally brought me to tears.
Every click, ticket sold, cheerleader / advocate / evangelist counts! Please follow, watch, listen, comment and share my content 🙏🏽🥰🎶
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 don’t remember a time before the piano. My mother says I’ve been playing since I was 2 years old. When I was 12, my father took me to see Andre Watts, an African-American piano virtuoso. I knew in that moment that I wanted to pursue music as a career. I learned to play classical, gospel, musical theater, jazz, pop, and whatever else came my way. It was all music. Genre didn’t matter. Intention and expression did.
I’ve had the best jobs in the music business. From Stevie Wonder to Beyoncé, Arsenio Hall to Lin-Manuel Miranda, I am so grateful for all of the experiences I’ve had and look forward to more! I now have my own band (EnSPirits, with my phenomenal partner, Dave Tweedie), and I’m on the creative team for two musicals with Broadway aspirations: MARIAN – about groundbreaking opera star, Marian Anderson, and CO-FOUNDERS – about unlikely partners changing the game in Silicon Valley.
I absorbed musical and life lessons in the conservatory, on the stage (with both the Master Blaster and The Queen Bey), in church pews, and on Broadway. Every gig, every rejection and every booking has led me to finally step forward from being a support artist, and into becoming an artist in my own right. My band EnSPirits just completed its debut in Europe this past summer and I’m hooked! Please follow me and my band for more information about our upcoming music and performances.
I still love music of all kinds, though I lean towards music that is thoughtful and rooted in passion that can only come from endless hours in pursuit of perfection, connection, or both. People who get to know me learn that I’m hard working, dedicated to craft and creativity, that I’m kind and considerate, and seek to make myself and the world a little better everyday. People who listen to my music learn that my writing leans toward the optimistic, fun loving and danceable! I hope that when people listen to my music, they’re uplifted, inspired to spread joy, and that they want to dance.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
After I earned my Master’s Degree at Stanford University, I moved to New York, with dreams of becoming a star. Alas, reality set in quickly, and I found myself working as a database designer and computer programmer for several fashion companies, and ran a modestly successful CD duplication service with a former partner. But I was not happy. I started programming computers when I was 11 years old, and though it was a profitable skill, my heart was in music.
One September morning, I woke up and decided to move back to California. It was the best decision of my life. I completely pivoted, and left the computer consulting world behind and became a full time pianist and piano instructor. Within a few years of making that decision, I was touring the world with Stevie Wonder. I never looked back…
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist are the relationships I’ve developed with other artists and with music itself. The music community is a tribe: we recognize one another and offer each other support and encouragement. The arts can be very isolating and lonely. Having a beautiful community of artists (and patrons! Did I mention that I have a Patreon page?), allows us to overcome the moments of self-doubt, the all-too-frequent bouts of financial struggle and the challenge of marketing and promotion. We go hear each other perform. We buy each other’s products. We tell everyone we know about our amazing artist friends, hope to spread the word, like true evangelists!
I am so grateful to have an international music community. My work and life would be nearly impossible without them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://victoriatheodore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriatheodoremusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091575425985
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriatheodore/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/VictoriaTheo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VictoriaTheodore
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/victoria-theodore-los-angeles
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@victoriatheodoremusic https://www.twitch.tv/victoriatheodore
Image Credits
Amina Touray