Veronique: A Local Musician's Journey to Her Self-Produced Album

It's not every day that a classical musician takes the initiative to go from a parlor concert pianist to a recording artist. Oftentimes, the cost of recording alone will scare them away. But not for one local pianist, Veronique, who has released a self-produced, independent debut album, Chanson. This unique pianist granted me the opportunity to interview her in between practice sessions for her next album to share with her audience and fans a little bit about the road to her first album.

R.N.: What inspired you to become an independent recording artist?

Veronique: Like many musicians I know, family was probably the biggest inspiration. They suggested I share the music they loved hearing so much with a broader audience, who might also enjoy it. They also wanted to make sure I didn't let my God-given talent go to waste! And of course, my passion for the performing on the piano and my love of music in general was a definite part of that.

RN: What was it like to start from scratch recording in your own home with equipment you'd never used before?

Veronique: (Laughs emphatically): It was a steep learning curve at the beginning. Since I was recording in my living room pretty much by myself, I had to act as producer, sound technician, and artist all at the same time. I was using the MBox2 ProTools software on a laptop stationed on the floor next to the piano, so I had to hop up and down all the time between recording pieces to make sure everything was running smoothly as it should. There were always sound glitches, system errors, and all sorts of software nuances I hadn't yet familiarized myself with yet, and since I had just recently learned the bare minimum of ProTools, the whole process was run on trial and error at the beginning.

RN: How did you select which pieces you would play on your debut album? I know this can often make or break the career of a musician.