We’re looking forward to introducing you to Belinda Stohner. Check out our conversation below.
Belinda, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I’m pretty sure one of the reasons I became a musician is because I am NOT a morning person. So, I try to do things that help ease me into the day. It’s important for me to take the first hour or so for myself and not worry about work or look at emails. There’s a good chance the rest of my day will be a bit more rough if I don’t take this time to ground myself.
My morning ritual includes a dirty chai (that’s a chai with soy milk and a few spoons of espresso — try it!), listening to some news and/or podcast, and a slew of New York Times games. My body is pretty creaky in the morning these days, so I might do some light housework to get some movement in. Eventually, I’ll have some high protein granola that I’ve made myself, and I’m set. It’s the little things that make life good.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Belinda Niling Stohner, and I make things that change the way people think about classical music.
Those who know me best will tell you that I’m not really one to follow the herd, and my career as a professional violinist is no different. I try to think about how I can work on things that either aren’t the typical place you’d hear a violin or use it in a way that is different than what you might be used to. I want to know: how can we do it differently?
My string quartet Baby B Strings is best known for playing rock and pop music (think Queen, AC/DC, Lady Gaga, etc.); when I teach my students, I include songs from outside of the classical repertoire in their curriculum; and I am a part of a number of collaborations that include (separately) a poet, a singer-songwriter, a film-maker, and fairy tales. (That’s why I need all the dirty chai!)
I’ll make a quick plug for the film I’m working on called Rumpelstiltskin Meets Mozart. It started as a question of how I could combine my love of fairy tales and music but still make it feel fresh and exciting. I created the first draft of the script and score with Oscar Bustillo, who is a composer that I have had many laughs with. We workshopped it, and it’s been performed it all over the world; 8 years later, it’s finally being made into an animated film. It’s family-friendly, so you can bring your kids, but I think adults really love it too.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I feel like I didn’t start to emerge from my shell until sometime after I finished school. Maybe I was waiting for permission to start life or to be myself.
During this period, I was looking for any place I could make music. I was looking for gaps where I thought I could create something and add to what was going on there. Sometimes I asked for permission (at a post office) and sometimes I didn’t (at Jackson Hospital downtown). There’s not *really* a sustained busking culture in Miami, but you never know what is possible until you ask or try. I learned that I was ok with being turned down. But that was more of an evolution and not a specific “aha!” moment.
Then one day, I asked Constance Collins, the founder of the Lotus House/Sundari Foundation, if I could play at their fundraising gala for the Lotus House (a shelter for unhoused women and children in Miami). I didn’t know her — it was a total cold call. She said that the music for that event had already been sorted out but asked if I could provide a show at the shelter.
I am so grateful that I did it because that concert and those that followed were a stark reminder of how music can transport people into another place for a while. It was like we were at a party, and the joy that I brought to them was incredible. And that’s when I really felt the power of music in its truest form. There were no pyrotechnics or fancy dresses. Just pure joy.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
First of all, I don’t really dwell on failures. I don’t consider failures to be failures. The outcome might not be what you wanted or expected, but I wouldn’t call it a failure. If I don’t reach a goal, it’s more like “I was a bit too ambitious” or “I wasn’t ready yet,” and it’s an opportunity to learn and get better.
I think when you’re young, you look around and try to find your way by seeing what everybody else is doing. So, that’s what I did when I finished my undergrad: I took a couple of classical auditions in between working part time selling tea at kiosk at the mall and teaching lessons. I very quickly realized how out of my league I was and that I wasn’t ready to play at that level yet. Call it naivete.
Coming from a classical music background, I had this deep-seated feeling of insufficiency that is kind of embedded within the culture. There’s such an emphasis on perfection that it’s easy to lose sight of what the actual job of a musician is, which is to entertain and relay feelings and emotion through music. Don’t get me wrong: striving for perfection is how we get some of the greatest musicians of all time. But for me, I felt there was a disconnect between the player and much of the audience, and I struggled with this for awhile. But then a friend told me, “Just because you’re not in the NBA doesn’t mean you’re not still a really good player.” And he was right.
At that point, I still wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it as a full-time musician because, for many reasons, there wasn’t a clear path for me. There’s also not really a manual on how to freelance. In actuality, there’s no single way to become a successful entrepreneur or to build a brand, other than you have to really love it and put in a lot of hard work. Also, now, with the Internet, it’s easier to see so many different “do-it-yourself” models of success. Over time, with persistence and a lot of creative thinking, I found my own way. Sometimes you shouldn’t do what everybody else is doing because other people are already doing it.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
1. Eat good food.
2. Get enough sleep.
3. Take a hot shower before bedtime.
4. Quality time with loved ones.
5. Be kind to others; be helpful if you can.
These are non-negotiable over the long term.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
It’s hard to say. I think a lot of people would say that they would stop working, but in reality, I think I would end up working in some capacity still. I enjoy work, and I like what I do. It’s important to contribute positively to society.
I’ve made an effort to reduce the amount of time I spend on the road, and it’s significantly improved my quality of life. Driving, for me, seems like one of the least enjoyable ways to spend large chunks of your day. You only get today, today, and then it’s gone forever.
I’m pretty intentional about how I spend my time otherwise. I would probably allocate more time for friends and family outside of work. I am very conscientious about having quality social time. The sudden death of my father made me face my own mortality, and it really lit a fire under me. You can live your life to the fullest every day if you live with intention — even if that intention is rest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.babybstrings.com
- Instagram: @babybstrings
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/babybstrings
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/babybstrings
- Other: https://www.babybstrings.com/musicalfairytales
Image Credits
Cristina Isabel Rivera
Ferny Coipel
Alisa Ferris
April Nicole
