Today we’d like to introduce you to Tori Yaussy.
Hi Tori, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Well, if we go all the way back…my first instrument was the piano. My aunt and grandmother both played the piano as well, and I remember jamming away on their instruments as a very little kid. My grandmother’s piano now lives with me as an adult, and my aunt gave me my first piano lesson. When I was about 5 years old, my parents bought me a little electric keyboard that stayed in my bedroom, and I started formal piano lessons shortly afterward. Eventually, when it came time to choose an instrument for band in the fifth grade, I chose the flute because all my friends also chose the flute. We didn’t do “instrument petting zoos” back then, where the kids get to try all the instruments, and the music teacher places them on the one they took to the best. So, my flute origin story is nothing fancy! A year later I started voice lessons before flute lessons were even a part of my life. I think what I loved about the flute is that it posed a new challenge for me, something I had to work at more than piano and singing. I’ve always loved a good challenge! Now, as a flute teacher, I love using lots of different methods to help kids figure out what works for them because I know it took a lot of trial and error for me, too.
Once I started high school, I was obsessed with everything music! I was in band and choir, and eventually also played flute in the school orchestra and my local youth orchestra. I played piccolo in the marching band and then eventually became a drum major (the person who conducts the marching band). I learned the recorder to play for my school’s Madrigal Dinner and performed in the pit orchestra for the school musicals. Eventually, I was hired to play in the pit for other school’s musicals as a student. This pathway is common for kids who go on to have a career in music. I’ve seen my students go down this path now, and it brings back a lot of happy memories for me!
If there are any parents out there reading this, please, please, please encourage your kids to stick with the things they care about and always make an effort to support them in any way you can! You never know where an interest will take them later in life. Working in the field you care so much about can be extremely rewarding and—at times— not feel like work at all.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I was accepted at a prestigious conservatory-style music school for my undergraduate degree in flute performance, where I developed a strong sense of competition with my classmates. When I was in college, competition was encouraged, to the students’ detriment. I developed a serious case of perfectionism, which translated to obsessive practicing and hyper-focus on my studies and future career. This eventually led to me developing TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), aka “lockjaw.” Try playing the flute without being able to open your mouth! This required me to take a big step back and reevaluate the speed at which I was running toward my dream of playing principal flute in an orchestra. Back then, TMJ or any kind of performance-related injury was the “kiss of death” for a young performing career and not something to be spoken about publicly. No one could know that I was suffering silently, unable to play the flute for more than a few minutes at a time. It took a lot of physical therapy, going slow, and finding other ways to “practice” away from my flute for a while. I was also told then that TMJ was something I would always have to be aware of as a flutist since I developed it so early in my career. I am happy to say now that TMJ is no longer a bother with good body awareness and work-life balance. I still sleep with a night guard, but that is a small price to pay to be able to continue playing my instrument!
Part of the serious case of perfectionism also carried with it the development of severe performance anxiety. Because I was so hyper-focused on my art, anything less than technically perfect would send me into a tailspin of self-sabotaging negative mental chatter. Pounding heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating all over, uncontrollable shaking, jaw locking up… like I was having a panic attack at every audition I took. Unfortunately, this led to a string of poor audition experiences, which took a big cut out of my self-esteem and identity as a musician. It is a vicious cycle: you practice so much and care so much about having a good audition that you get in your head about it, have a bad audition, beat yourself up for having a bad audition, and prepare even more for the next one thinking it will be better, put too much pressure on yourself and have another panic attack in the moment, etc… This is very common for musicians on the “audition circuit.” It took a very long time, many auditions, and space from the competition of academia to eventually overcome this vicious cycle that so many performers find themselves in.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Nowadays, I am a freelance flutist, flute teacher, and podcast host. I gig around the city of Houston and still take auditions for local groups when they come up. I haven’t given up on my dream of playing in an orchestra as my job, but my priorities are different now. Most of my income comes from teaching private lessons and flute masterclasses in the Houston area. I specialize in junior high and high school students and focus on preparing them for auditions since that is an area I have a lot of experience in. I am known for having an extremely low turnover rate in my studio because my students love me! I think this is because I value having a good connection with my students and try to not take myself too seriously. This means we have fun in lessons! Having a low turnover rate allows me to coach the student throughout their musical career with great results. My students always rank highly in their region band, area, and all-state band auditions, as well as perform in the Houston Youth Symphony and participate in local flute competitions. I am very proud of my students and all their good work!
During the pandemic, I started a podcast called The Unclassical Musician, targeted at young professional musicians having the same struggles I experienced in college, graduate school, and as a recent graduate. This started a dialogue about mental health, emotional abuse in music conservatories, and unrealistic expectations in an outdated field of work. The podcast has been on hiatus since the world went “back to normal,” but I do intend to bring it back someday! I am proud of the transparency this podcast helped bring to the young professional demographic in the field of classical music.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
It is always pleasant to stumble upon some good luck, especially when least expected. In my senior year of college, Mathieu Dufour—the then principal flutist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra—moved to the Berlin Philharmonic, and many of his students ended up dropping out of their degree programs. This meant less competition to get to perform in the end-of-the-year gala concert at the Chicago Symphony Center. If he hadn’t left, I doubt I would have gotten to play principal flute for Brahms Symphony No. 1 at Symphony Center with my school’s orchestra. That was a dream come true for me!
Moving to Houston was thanks in part to a string of good luck as well. I never would have moved here from the Chicago area if it weren’t for a string of events that allowed me to get started with my own studio of young flutists. It started with a mentor offering me a bunch of students because he was downsizing, to a friend-of-a-friend leaving the area and needing to find a teacher for her students, to another flute teacher moving out of state and dividing up her students as well. This all happened within just a few months and helped me to get on my feet, as teaching was the only reliable form of income I had when I moved to Houston. Now, I see that this kind of thing happens all the time— it’s just a matter of who you know! I can’t believe that some of those original students I was gifted are graduating from high school this year already and going on to pursue music in college. It is a big full-circle moment for me as a flute teacher!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.toriyaussy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toriyaussyflutist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toriyaussyflutist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7MHQ8uzM69PVYkzfh7PTOw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tori-yaussys-flute-studio-houston-2
- Other: https://www.toriyaussy.com/podcast-episodes
Image Credits
Natalie Gaynor Photography
