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

Hi Connor, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Every decision made is a risk taken. By focusing on music, I’ve had to deprioritize other things I love dearly. However, growing up playing jazz music in Miami has been one of the great, invaluable blessings of my life. I got to experience beautiful things at an early age that normal people don’t get to experience at all. One such experience— which was also the riskiest one— was my debut album, ‘Then + Now’, which is available now to hear on all streaming platforms. In an effort to create the record before I turned 18, I packed my backpack each morning with my laptop, journal, flute, and pens, and worked outside all day long. Ultimately, I realized that I needed to sacrifice some of my perfectionism. Only through compromise could I achieve my goal in that small of a time frame. At the end of the day, I am pleased that I dared take on that huge responsibility because I drew immense meaning from it.

Risk-taking is as essential to discovery as tradition is to grounding. If you lean too far in front of your feet, you will topple forward in the name of progress—you spiral. If you shift your weight excessively behind you, you will fall backward onto the concrete of similarity—you stagnate. A mutual relationship between order (safety) and chaos (risk) is what leads to the helpful kind of change— a philosophy imbued in my art. Pursuing what is new takes courage. And without courage, I wouldn’t be capable of anything else good; I would sink at the sight of my dreams, or never dream them at all. Instead, I trust in the effects of hard work, as opposed to bargaining with the unreliability of mere fortune.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a jazz saxophone player, singer, and actor—born and raised in Miami, FL. Although I specialize as a jazz saxophonist, I also play other woodwind instruments, and other musical genres too. It brings me joy to play beautiful American ballads and swing tunes for people; I spread love with my horn, like a preacher with his Bible.

Anyone who has spent time around me knows that I am constantly humming. Recently, I have upgraded from humming to singing, with which I won the National YoungArts competition in jazz voice, and sang ‘Angel Eyes’ on my record. This past October, I started my training as a film and television actor. Since, I have signed with JL David Talent Agency and appeared in an Amazon Prime Series (airing in the fall). I will be attending USC in Los Angeles next school year, where I plan to study my passions, namely jazz music and acting.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In the late-1800s, my forbearer Ralph Middleton Munroe became the main pioneer of the rustic Coconut Grove, a village that preexisted Miami. Five generations later, we still uphold our family’s sailing traditions in Coconut Grove. I would take a friend to Ralph’s historic home on the bay, “The Barnacle”—which is actually the filming site of my new music video ‘Stardust’, available now to watch on YouTube. From there, we would set off to sail on Biscayne Bay. Just some miles east of Florida’s coast, on the other side of the Gulf Stream, is a small island that Ralph frequented. I would take my friends there as well, where we would spend our time in nature.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Thank you to my father, Charles Munroe, for so generously funding my ‘Then + Now’ album-project, and to my world-class saxophone teacher, Mark Small, for guiding me to that large goal. Shoutout to all the kind and prodigious South Floridian artists who contributed to my record, including my friends from Palmetto Elementary (Julian, Adam, Ian, and Diego). Thank you to Oliver Diez, Nicole Yarling, and every other mentor who devoted their lives to improving ours with music. Finally, I am ever-grateful to God for providing me with the faith and strength necessary to will my dreams into Being.

Website: connormunroe.com

Instagram: instagram.com/cconmunroe

Twitter: twitter.com/cconmunroe

Facebook: facebook.com/connor.munroe.739

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCFYrPAypcBIkD_pcfvx8Rw

Other: Tiktok: https://vm.tiktok.com/Jj9PNHA/ YouTube Official Artist Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIUK1n9DxILKMGGjcs5TIFA Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4XyZtiZL7LpDfgz964EVda?si=fB1Wz-xRRzuZ6YTwgQu8Cw Apple Music/iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/connor-munroe/1540206508 Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user50007299 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/artists/B08P7MRZ9Q/connor-munroe SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/connormunroe

Image Credits
Photography by Cornelius Tulloch, Charles David, and Connor Munroe

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