Today we’d like to introduce you to Anastassiya Petrova.
Anastassiya, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born into a family of violin players in Almaty, Kazakhstan. My musical career started at a very young age. At the age of 5 I already played my first 1-hour long solo piano recital. I consider myself a jazz musician with a strong classical background, however, I do believe that combining different styles of music creates something special since all the styles somehow interconnect. I’m a musician that explores and discovers new things on a daily basis. I got introduced to jazz music at the age of 14. I wanted to dedicate myself to sports, but the passion to jazz was much stronger. Since that time jazz became my lifestyle.
The principals of improvisation work for me when I go shopping, I improvise when cooking and when planning my day. Even though, music became an inevitable part of my life from the early age, I got my first degree in International Relations back in Kazakhstan. However, the dream of having musical education on the land of jazz – the US – was haunting me. I was lucky enough to get the full-scholarship at Berklee College of Music. Later on, I got accepted to the Berklee Global Jazz Institute program, where I have been mentored by renowned musicians such as John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ben Street, and Adam Cruz.
At Berklee I got introduced to a wonderful instrument – Hammond organ and started integrating it into my projects. I realized that organ jazz nowadays needs more attention and more players. This Fall I’m honored to perform with my organ jazz quartet for the first time at Monterey Jazz Festival 2018.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I do music (and yoga). I love composing, arranging, and performing. When I do music, I try to emphasize the process of improvisation led by intuition, and the energy exchange between fellow musicians and the audience. My musical influences include contemporary jazz pianists Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Brad Mehldau, and jazz organists such as Larry Goldings, Jack McDuff, and Joey DeFrancesco. One of my dreams is to travel around the world and spread jazz music and its mix with other styles. I want to discover a way to deliver this unique style to large amounts of people. Mixing styles is one of the ways to me.
I gain inspiration from everywhere. I like composing using the ideas given by the environment. Any sound could become a source of inspiration. Not only the bird’s singing can lead to a composition, but also a door creak, a broken toilet bowl projecting the drops falling at a particular rhythmic patten, any sound could be a raw musical idea.
To me music is a therapy. Musicians are psychologists in a way. I do music because I know it can heal. It can be more influential than just reading newspapers or watching news. Music changes people’s minds and seems to be a very safe way to help people with healing their hearts or even to carry a message to society. Being able to send a message within music and change the society is the art of being a true musician serving the society.
How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
Being a good person before being a musician is essential. Music reflects the personality. Your art is a mirror of your soul. Creativity is needed as well. Never stop exploring. Music can hide in a math book as well as math can hide inside music theory.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can find my music on YouTube, Soundcloud, Instagram, Facebook platforms. I perform in Boston and usually share the information over the social media. My website is currently in process of development. Subscribing to my channel would be a great support! Feel free to leave comments and share.
My next performances are scheduled for August 2018 at Panama Percussion Festival and at the Costa Rica Jazz Festival as a part of Berklee Global Jazz Institute trip and at Monterey Jazz Festival in September 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Jazzconda
https://www.facebook.com/anastassiyamusic
https://www.instagram.com/anastassiya_petrova_music/
Contact Info:
- Email: anastassiyapetrova@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anastassiya_petrova_music/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anastassiyamusic
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/Jazzconda
Image Credit:
Mark Brodie
Shimon Gambourg
Vita Kan
Olga Kisseleva
Micaella Cattani
Mikhail Popov
Taiga Kunii
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
