Meet Siobhán Cronin | Violinist

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

Hi Siobhán, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk taking has been one of the most essential elements of building my career. All of my greatest leaps in success have been a result of taking a risk: choosing to turn down a consistent, secure position in order to go on tour with an up-and-coming rock band, going against the advice of my teachers and breaking the rules of classical music in order to pursue my own genre of music making, moving to a new city with just a few hundred dollars where I knew nearly no one in order to build a career from the ground up. Even in my artistry as a musician, I take risks all the time in performance and composition. Some of the most exciting musical moments of my life have involved jumping in the deep end and doing something off the cuff and unconventional. Growth has never happened within my comfort zone, and choosing to take the path less traveled and believing in the quality of my own vision often against the advice of others have been the reason I have had the opportunity to grow beyond what even I thought was possible.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a classical crossover violinist born from the world of Bach and Beethoven but heavily steeped in rock and metal. As a performer, composer, and arranger I find ways to reinvent the art of violin performance by mixing genres and fusing classically inspired music with modern instrumentation and technology. While my education prepared me to take orchestra auditions and perform classical recitals, so much of my active career has been a mix of performing with classical ensembles as well as with major pop, rock, electronic, and metal artists such as Trans Siberian Orchestra, Michael Buble, Disturbed, Andrea Bocelli, Rod Stewart, Kygo, and now primarily in my current bands Starset and Lost Symphony. I have spent the last several years touring the world with Starset and playing hundreds of venues across the US, Europe, Russia and Japan as well as major rock and metal festivals As a solo artist I often collaborate with DJs and create classically inspired remixes of popular songs and often can be seen playing electric violin through a guitar-inspired pedalboard. My most recent album with Lost Symphony features metal renditions of classical compositions from Vivaldi and Paganini as well as some original songs that feature me performing violin alongside some of the greatest guitar heroes in history. Outside of that, as a composer and arranger I am often collaborating with different artists to write string arrangements or orchestrations for various styles of music.

Growing up, I didn’t have role models to look up to in this arena. I studied with teachers that came from the strict classical performance world, who believed that the only path for a career was to win an orchestra job, or play with a classical string quartet and they often told me that my dabbling in rock music, and taking gigs with bands was a waste of time. In school there was no crossover in the curriculum between classical music performance and music production and composition. Despite putting in the countless hours of practice and intensive classical audition preparation, I often had teachers take me less seriously, because of the fact that I would take unconventional gigs, or want to perform styles that were edgy and outside of their wheelhouse of classical violin performance. I always jumped at any opportunity to work in the professional world even when I was in school. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I was always of the mindset that I had to build my own future, and that I should jump at any chance to work with different artists and musicians outside of the classical arena, even if it meant having to miss a class, or be out of school for a few weekdays in order to jump on a gig across the country.

While classical music was always my first love, I didn’t always feel at home in the culture of it. I liked breaking the rules. I used to sit in my bedroom in high school and create distorted guitar backing tracks for the solo violin pieces I was learning. I would program drum beats to piano pieces I was learning. I dreamed about taking Paganini’s caprices and performing them through a guitar amp, or with a drummer. One of my first major rock concert experiences was having the chance to perform with Trans Siberian Orchestra. I was only 19 at the time (and continued to perform with them for several years after that) and when I got to step out on stage with my violin and play alongside some of the most legendary guitarists, singers, pianists, and drummers in the world of rock and metal, I immediately felt at home. That experience was life changing for me, because it opened my eyes beyond the confines of music school and the path of a classical musician, and made me believe that there were opportunities still out there to create my own genre of music that still allowed me to honor my love of classical music while taking risks and doing something different with it.

It wasn’t easy to carve out my path. I had to deal with a lot of resistance from teachers, from music school, from administrators who believed that missing school orchestra rehearsal in order to get experience in the live touring world was taking away from my music education. And while it is incredibly important to be a rock solid musician with a strong technical foundation, if it weren’t for building the groundwork for my career before graduating school, I probably would not be where I am today. I had to constantly trust my own intuition and stay committed to my vision and seek out mentorship and experiences outside of the classical world. I still feel that most of my functional education and learning as a musician has happened since graduating and I constantly have to continue pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and jumping into situations that are new for me in order to gather the tools and education that I need in order to continue building a career and making new music. When I finished my masters degree in music at the University of Michigan, instead of going on to a doctorate I jumped in my car and drove to Miami with basically no money, just with the goal of throwing myself directly into the world of performance in a space where I felt I could be experimental and edgy and jump at performing opportunities that I felt better matched my diverse musical interests.

Now, even as a professional musician with a steady career and income, I still face a lot of struggles in the entertainment industry. It becomes harder and harder every year to get anyone to pay attention and support your art. One of the projects I am most proud of, Lost Symphony, that is the true manifestation of all my musical interests combined, took years to get any sort of following. We had to invest hundreds of hours and three albums worth of material before we got any real media coverage or listenership.

My main touring band, Starset, was built from the ground up by our singer Dustin Bates (the mastermind behind all of it) based on the concept of fusing technology and music and combining the classic elements of violin and cello with heavy baritone guitars and outer space themed costumes. I can’t even count how many times people were skeptical of that concept at the outset (from rock fans to record labels) and how hard he had to push for years before it gained a massive following. Just this past year we were written up in Forbes magazine for crossing two billion streams worldwide.

A lot of people underestimate the incredible amount of work and dedication it takes to build something, often with no return for several months of even years. As music is so easily consumed now and people’s attention is so easily diverted on social media and other online platforms, it takes so much effort now to keep people paying attention, and you constantly have to outdo yourself and reinvent your own projects just in order to maintain your audience. You have to deal with a lot of resistance from people at all corners of the music industry who don’t understand your vision, or try to tell you how it should be done. And more often than not, if you are doing something groundbreaking, there probably isn’t someone to look to that has done it successfully yet.

If there is anything to take from my journey, it is that you always have to be five steps ahead. Don’t be discouraged by what people are telling you you should be doing instead of what you are doing. So many of the greatest artists, musicians and composers in history had to do things that were wildly unpopular for a long time before people caught on to what they were creating. You have to constantly seek out your own education and resources and find people who can jump on board with your ideas and your vision, because there will be plenty of people who will not. You cannot let those people tell you what your future can or should be.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is funny because living in Miami, this happens all the time. I am constantly having friends come to town looking to get the Miami experience. And, as such an incredibly diverse city with a truly international feel, the possibilities for unique and exciting experiences are endless.

As a musician and performer, the first thing I like to do is see live music. I would say hands down my favorite casual spot to see great live music is Lagniappe in midtown. For as much traveling as I have done, I have never found another place that achieves the vibe of that place. I have a lot of friends that are jazz musicians and they are often performing there, but additionally there are a lot of great national acts of various music styles that pass through. They don’t sell tickets, it is just like seeing music in your living room with a great wine bar and delicious food. There is also a huge patio outside if you want to step out and have a conversation. Another often overlooked performance spot is the Faena on Miami Beach. The hotel has a fantastic cabaret that performs multiple times a week and is a full on immersive experience. For a slightly more upscale sit down theater vibe, that is the place to go. In addition to those, some of my other favorite spots for live music and a good hang are Gramps in Wynwood, Churchills (for the punk rock dive bar fans), Floyd, The Anderson, and Blackbird Ordinary. For a more formal concert setting, The Arsht Center programs incredible concerts all year round (I often perform there) so if there is a good show in town I try to take friends to see a performance there also.

In terms of outdoor experiences or sightseeing, I always like to take people to Vizcaya to do the museum and garden tour (also great sights of the water), check out the Wynwood Walls, walk along the pier at South Pointe Park, rent kayaks from South Beach Kayak on Purdy Ave. or take a walk down Calle Ocho in Little Havana. For my friends that love shopping, the Design District is always a good choice also.

In term of restaurants and bars, I am very much a creature of habit and always hit up the same spots no matter who is in town. Moshi Moshi always has delicious sushi and they are open until 5 am every night. Versailles is a great spot for Cuban food right on Calle Ocho in Little Havana. Coyo Taco in Wynwood has the best tacos in town by my standards and also a very cool secret bar behind the restaurant if you are looking to hang out after eating. Similarly Bodega in South Beach has some amazing food with a secret bar in the back also. Planta in Coconut Grove is great for my vegetarian / vegan friends with a beautiful open restaurant with views onto the street. Also the restaurant at the Mr. C Hotel in Coconut Grove has incredible food all day long with amazing views of the water.

If I’m looking for a good bar hang with friends that are visiting, my top spots are The Broken Shaker at the Freehand in Miami Beach, The Corner, Better Days, and Sugar in Brickell
For my friends that like to dance or want more of a party vibe, I always enjoy a good night at Mango’s in South Beach. You could spend hours there and not see the whole place. I recently played a show at a relatively new venue called Le Rouge in Wynwood which also has a very hip vibe with live music and a fun crowd.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Annemarie Cronin, my mother, for teaching me that I should always believe in the power of my own vision and to stand up and be bold in everything that I do. Brock Richards, my husband, for always reminding me that I am more powerful than I believe, and for being my strongest support system in everything that I do.
My partners and bandmates in Lost Symphony, for giving me a platform to be creative and break the rules, and for teaching me that I can and should always create my own path in music
My friends and bandmates in STARSET, for giving me the opportunity to truly step out as a violinist into the world of rock and metal, and for challenging me to make the unthinkable a reality

Website: www.siobhancronin.com

Instagram: @siobhan_violin

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siobhan-cronin-8766b21a/

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/siobhancronin

Other: STARSET: www.starsetonline.com, @starsetonline Lost Symphony: www.lostsymphony.com, @lostsymphonymusic

Image Credits
Brock Richards