Violin Superstars!

One of the hobbies I had growing up as a child was playing the violin.  I learned how to play the violin when I was about 11 years old and  I was a part of my middle school’s orchestra. Having loved music all of my life and never having  the experience of playing an instrument before,  I initially was enthusiastic about joining our orchestra group at school. It was my first main experience of being in a group where each individual made an impact to cohesively make a beautiful outcome.  The violin couldn’t put together a beautiful piece without the flute, or cello, or the clarinet, or the bass or the drums. It was a real team effort. Getting the chance to perform  with my orchestra  and  even being given the opportunity to be the conductor  in some of the concerts we performed in is something I took for granted at the time.  It was such a phenomenal experience, but I have to admit though  at the time  I never really saw it as a “cool” activity and as a teenager I didn’t necessarily think that playing the classics like Beethoven or Mozart was quite that exciting. Boy, was I ever so wrong!!!

Fast forward many years later, if you ask me to pick up a violin now and play a tune,  you will unfortunately  find that I am unable to do so. =( =( =(   I gave up playing the violin in 9th grade and wish so greatly that I hadn’t.  Over the years I’ve found so many amazing violinists that I’ve loved listening to and who have made the violin continue to sound cool, romantic, exciting, and energizing. (especially in the realm of the electric violins) This past year  I have found 4 amazing indivduals that have stood out to me.

What’s so special about these 4  individuals  is that even though they are all playing the same instrument, they all have their unique style, put a  modern spin on playing the violin by showcasing music outside of the classics, they look like ROCKSTARS in their music videos, and their performances are ones in which I almost wish I was up there on the stage  with them rocking out to the violin each and every time.

Here are the AWESOME individuals below…..

1.  Mapy. I first found Mapy when I was searching for the video for one of my favorite songs of 2017, Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito.” I found her cover for Despacito as the music video ended on Youtube. Now, I look forward to listen to all of her covers of various songs throughout the year. One of the things I love about  Mapy is that she’s relatable- she spins some of the most popular songs of the year into her own style (has an island vibe) using the violin.  The cover below is one of my favorites from Mapy. Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”

2. Caitlin De Ville. Caitlin is a beautiful violinist from Zambia.  Like Mapy, she does amazing covers of various artists, but the song I linked below is one of my favorites.  What’s really cool about Caitlin is you can sense this fierceness and sense of confidence as she’s playing the violin. It almost gives you a feeling of empoyerment while listening to her and enjoying really great beats!

3. Hanine El Alam. For a little bit of middle eastern flavor, you need to check out Hanine. Having listened to Arabic music all my life, it was so cool finding an individual who uses the violin to bring out some middle eastern flair into the mix. She makes it look effortless and has some pretty creative videos as well!

4. Lindsey Stirling. Lindsey is probably  the most well known of the other girls I mentioned before. You may recognize her initially from the hit show “America’s Got Talent” where she was a quarterfinalist for playing violin and mixing dance choreography at the same time.  She didn’t end up winning the show, but she grew her career on YouTube where she now has  over 10 million subscribers. What I love about Lindsey is she mixes two of my favorite things—dance and violin at the same time. Her music videos are always fun to watch and have such intricate choreography especially for someone who is playing the violin the same time as dancing. I still don’t know how she combines the two!  Instead of linking a favorite YouTube clip of one of her music videos, I decided to add a clip of Lindsey’s freestyle dance with Mark Ballas  on Dancing with the Stars from this past year. All I can say is……. AMAZING!!!! I’ve watched it a million times and still can’t get enough.

Pretty awesome, right?!?! I hope you enjoyed the talent of these beautiful  ladies!

And don’t I wish that this 11 year old girl continued playing the violin. Who knows…maybe I could have collaborated with one of these amazing artists one day??? Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?!! Now,  I just have to get  my violin skills again!

So tell me….what was one of your hobbies as a child? I would love to know!

Until next time….

Bachinger XOXO

Sandra

Written by sandra