Meet Saraphina Violin | global electric violinist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Saraphina Violin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Saraphina, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
As my brand grows, I spend more time focusing on promotion and advertising on instagram and tiktok. I spend time creating content and posting, as well as engaging with comments that people leave on my posts. Much of my time is also spent in preparation for shows. As a musician I may only perform for five minutes on a given day, but so much time is put into preparing for those five minutes to be showstopping! Most of my life is spent on work, but it doesn’t seem so much like work because I enjoy it so much!

I spend time preparing for shows by exercising every day, at least once. There’s a good deal of pressure to be fit as a performer, but a lot of people don’t realize that we actually do need to be fit, otherwise we will be out of breath by the time thirty seconds has gone by! For fitness, I do lagree pilates, which is on a modified reformer machine like reformer pilates, but it’s even more intense! A lot of athletes use reformer pilates for balance and stability as well as to improve their muscular stamina and I love it. I also do weights classes, hiit treadmill running and lately I’ve been doing a lot of roller skating as cardio. It’s so much fun I don’t even realize I’m burning calories!

As well as exercise I have to prepare my music. Before a big show I practice many hours a day in order to perfect my musical selections so that they are perfect when I perform. I typically practice at thirty minute intervals and then take a quick break and get back to my practice.

The last step that goes into preparing for my shows is hair, makeup and wardrobe. Before a major show I think about the wardrobe as soon as I hear about the show. Making sure I’m wearing the right clothes and shoes to an event is a huge part of performance. I need to practice in my shoes so I can run around on stage without them falling off. The same goes for my clothing selection. It needs to be tight fitting and not get in the way of my show.

Before the show I usually spend two hours on hair and makeup in order to be fully ready to head to the show. I have invested a great deal of time into learning how to do my hair and makeup properly, so I usually do my own. Once my hair and makeup is done, I’m out the door, ready to get onstage!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Growing up as a classical musician, I never listened much to new music. At home, I was always practicing violin and piano, and listening only to Classical FM or the pieces that I was supposed to be learning at the time. At school with my peers I was constantly out of the loop in terms of television shows and new music they were listening to. I didn’t have time to listen to new music or wasn’t permitted to watch television except on special occasions.

Going from such a classical background, I’ve completely shifted course in terms of my violin playing. I almost exclusively perform pop, rock or current music and very rarely do I have the opportunity to play classical music anymore. How I transitioned to popular music is actually a funny story.

While I was studying classical violin performance at the University of Toronto in my third year, I went out one night in September to a nightclub. At the club I met this drummer who was performing at the club, and we began talking. We decided that I should perform with him at clubs and I began this journey of becoming a non-classical player.

As a classical musician, you’re taught not to engage with the audience, not to move around the stage, either look at your violin or at the music stand and to be straight-faced. I always read music and then memorized it.

Performing at events and nightclubs was completely different- it was a new challenge. I was brought back to my Suzuki learning days: when I used my ears to hear the music and then played it on the violin. I then started improvising on top of the music, and eventually I felt comfortable moving around and dancing while I was playing.

I now perform for audiences all of the world. I take pride in smiling and engaging with the audience. I love dancing around the stage and putting on a show! I also love my classical world and having the opportunity to perform with orchestras in classical settings. I wouldn’t change this career for anything!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I first visited the Phoenix area, I stayed at the Adeline hotel. I loved the pool and the pool parties they had on the weekends. My friends and I always love to hang out by the pool in our bikinis so that would probably be our first stop. Most of my friends and I are vegan, and we also love great food, so we would definitely check out Nobu – which has so many vegan options and everything is so tasty. There’s so much great Mexican food in the city as well! One of my favourite spots is Dilla Libre Dos. This restaurant has an entire vegan menu and features so many tasty dishes.

For sight-seeing I would definitely take my friends to the Desert Botanical Gardens and the Musical Instrument Museum. Old town scottsdale is awesome to walk around as well. I love the Scottsdale Fashion Square, and checking out the cool graffiti art in downtown Phoenix. At night we would walk around old-town and check out some clubs as well as the W hotel which has a great lounge.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I must recognize my parents for encouraging me every day to keep practicing and to never give up. My parents decided that I would start playing violin at the age of three. My mother started playing violin as well so that she could help me learn at home. She had a piano background from learning as a child, and she would practice with me on violin and piano so that I would improve quickly. At five years of age I was in the “Little String Orchestra” which was an orchestra located in my hometown of Brantford, Ontario, Canada. My mother was my stand partner in the orchestra which meant she would sit beside me and we would play together in the orchestra. Looking back, it was such a sweet time and it really means so much that my mother sacrificed so much time to help me learn violin and piano. I would never be where I am today if it wasn’t for the encouragement, support and sacrifice of my parents.

Website: saraphinaviolin.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraphinaviolin/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraphinaviolin/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraphinaViolin1

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtG50esVWjdA4PzfbtmP_sw/about

Other: spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6iQP3mrv8Aplmfw4FmrJhI apple music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/saraphina-violin/1493235310

Image Credits
Marjan Photography