I met Chloe through TinaMarie Clark in NYC and was immediately taken by her talent. First TM showed me her Instagram where you can watch her do remixes of current hit songs with classical piano. I took piano growing up and actually was quite good when I was a young lady, so piano music has been a longtime love of mine. I respected so much her talent and drive and really wanted to feature her success on AOBF. Not only did she train at Juilliard, but she sold out the Walt Disney concert music hall with a standing ovation, she wrote the score for the Misty Copeland documentary and she consistently amazes me with inspiring work. I could listen to her play for hours… and sometimes I do, on Instagram. I loved getting to see this very special piano in her apartment with the most incredible view mind you… high rise, all windows – jaw dropping, a great environment to make music:) My senses were awakened with what I saw, how I felt and what I heard. We shot this on my actual birthday too, so that was really fun. She had an extra special birthday cake made for me… thank you again C.
A client of mine, Stellé Audio, has a campaign called We Speak Her. They make female focused design driven bluetooth speakers that have the best sound quality. I knew that Chloe would be a perfect fit for this campaign so Anna from Stellé and I took a trip to NYC to have a conversation with Chloe about the nitty gritty getting to where she is today. See below for a great Q&A and click here to watch our interview with @misschloeflower.
XX,
Alatheia
To us, pursuing excellence in a field you’re talented in, hard work, drive, discipline all represent ideal characteristics of what the art of being female means. Where do you think you got these character traits and how did you develop them?
I have always had drive and discipline since I was young. I developed these character traits by surrounding myself with people are are as disciplined and as hard-working as me, if not more. My closest friends were in pre-college with me or college students and in that circle, practicing and working hard was the cool thing to do.
Can you describe to us the feeling you get when you’re playing a song you love in front of a big and/or important audience and you’re just nailing it? What does that feel like? Seems like the pinnacle of awesomeness. So excitement.
Haha, “so excitement”! Such a Chloe-ism! It definitely feels amazing, but mostly because I want the audience to be happy. That’s why I’m there. I always look at music as a service, whether I’m performing, teaching or talking about music education.
We love your out of the box approach to classical music by incorporating fashion…
My mother has been taking me shopping with her since I was a baby, in fact, the reason I started taking lessons in NYC was because we were driving home from Tyson’s Corner in Virginia after a long day of shopping at Neiman Marcus. On the way home, we saw a piano competition happening at Radford University in Virginia (there was a big sign outside the university). I asked if my mom if we could stop by and let me watch the piano competition. After, I became friends with the first place winner and started studying with her teacher a month later. That was the beginning of my career in music. I was 11 years old.
I think because instrumental music has no lyrics, we as musicians have to find ways to express our personalities. I find expression through my fashion and my taste in clothing. That’s what it is to me, is an expression of my personality and my taste through clothing.
You are part of Stellé Audio’s WeSpeakHer campaign. Tell us what you love about their speakers and how you use them?
Outside of the obvious aesthetic reasons, I love the quality. This speaker is so amazing, I have been doing a lot of covers and a lot of work at the piano, and the Stellé Audio speakers are just the best! My process goes something like this… I go to the top hits online on my phone to find a song that inspires me to write a remix and then I play it back on the stelle speaker which is connected via Bluetooth to my phone. The sound quality is amazing and they even made a custom clutch for me with piano keys and my name. I take it with me everywhere I go because it’s a handbag and a speaker at once. A party in a bag they call it… Having a quality speaker to work with to write music is a game changer. I always have my stellé speakers on top of my piano and you can see them in my daily Instagram posts! What’s even better is that they are equipped with Alexa so I can voice command from the piano to play different songs. Love love love.
Tell us about this piano… Liberace is legit. How did you get connected with this piano and Liberace Found and how honored do you feel to have that special piano, the one he played, in your apartment?
Liberace has always been a love of mine, not just because of his style, but also because of his unapologetic personality. He was one of those rare artists that combine musicality, technique, and pop entertainment. I think that is exactly how he was able to capture such a wide audience. Classical music, at the time, was not popularized until Liberace.
It is such an honor to not only play his instrument, to have it in my home, but also to have the support of his legacy and Foundation. Jonathan Warren, the current president of the foundation, has become a close friend, and it’s such an honor to have him in my life and to have his support.
Exactly how does one get a piano this size into a sky rise NYC apartment?
There’s a common misconception that it’s hard to move a piano. It’s actually very easy, the legs come right off it’s like almost easier than the couch. Literally, the legs come off can you roll it in. It takes two humans.
We are fangirls of Misty Copeland and you wrote the score to her documentary… tell us about that.
I was given the opportunity to score Misty Copeland’s documentary by the incredible writer and director, Nelson George. It’s very hard to compose music for someone like Nelson, who is not only cool, but also educated, intelligent and sophisticated. It was not only a challenge, but a true honor to write for somebody of his caliber.
Tell us about selling out the Walt Disney concert music hall and getting a standing ovation with Babyface:)
I’m sure Kenny gets a standing ovation everywhere he goes. LOL. But for me it was an amazing feeling, and it was especially special to share it with him. He supported me before anybody else. We’re talking about one of the biggest producers and songwriters in the history of music signing a nobody classical pianist, so to perform on stage with him and to receive such a warm response was more than special, it was a milestone for our tour.
You went to Juilliard // how was that?
It was amazing, my teacher Herbert Stessin, was incredible and taught me so much.
We’ve heard of rumors of how intense the training for piano is at Juilliard, that teachers put razorblades between piano keys and such lol are they true!?
That’s what I heard ….
What was your training like growing up and practicing? What does it take to reach your level of excellence?
It takes a lot of sacrifice. While my friends were out partying and having fun and going to movies, I was at home practicing.
What are your top three favorite piano songs in the beginner, intermediate and advanced categories?
As a beginner, Suzuki method was great. I loved Clementi.
I don’t know if I can pick favorite songs, but I think in the intermediate and advanced levels, it’s always great to learn Bach and Beethoven.
Bach and Beethoven and like Chopin, don’t have musicality written in to the music, so the interpretation is left to you. I think that can help develop personality and individual musicality as an artist.
Who and what do you like to wear while performing?
I love fashion, I don’t have a particular style, I just love dope fashion.
I choose my outfit according to the song and my mood.
What are your favorite songs right now?
Again it really depends on my mood right now, I’m really into inspiring, peaceful, uplifting music I think the world needs that right now. I certainly do.
What’s on your current playlist rotation?
Classical, Gregorian Chant, and Hip hop!
What’s next for you?
I have a lot of music coming out in 2019, including music that is original, musical covers, and I hope music that will be listened to by young kids and encourage them to learn an instrument as well as demand music education in their schools!!!