Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrienne Crista Copeland.
Adrienne Crista, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I can’t say that I had one “aha” moment in my life where I knew I wanted to do music. It was a slow, gradual falling into love. But I knew from a young age that music gave me joy and comfort, especially since I always felt a little bit different than everyone else. My parents gave me my first keyboard when I was seven. I took piano lessons on and off throughout my life for about a total of three years. My first piano teacher told my mom that I had a special gift that not many musicians had, that she would play a song and I would play it right after her near flawlessly. It honestly wasn’t until college that I learned, ‘Oh, perfect pitch is what that’s called! Wait, not everyone can do that?’ But because I didn’t really read the music, I ended up learning piano better on my own, through self-study and exploration. I picked up a guitar at 15, that way too.
Flute was the exact opposite. I picked that up in middle school and studied it all the way through college with my music degree at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. I excelled so much at it, I would learn double the amount of music, or extremely difficult music, in an extremely short amount of time. I picked up singing formerly for the first time in college too. I knew I loved singing since I was a kid, so I was glad I got to feel that love I already had for it. So, I found myself involved in full orchestras and bands, jazz ensemble, rock band, Praise & Worship music… all those genres as well as pop, indie-acoustic, and most recently alt-R&B, hip-hop, and soul I’ve been listening to – You can probably hear traces of all of it in the music that I make and perform.
Outside of my own music, I lead Praise & Worship for the Sunday evening service and youth at Epiphany of the Lord church in Katy, TX as well as other events in the Houston area. I also teach private music lessons.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Although I feel music comes naturally to me, it’s extremely hard work. When I sit down to write music, I’m constantly battling the inner critic. And there were so many times in my formal training that I wanted to quit. Toward my final years of school, I felt like I was put in this creative box that I couldn’t escape from. It was “If you don’t play it this particular way, it’s wrong.” And I always struggled in a classroom setting too, even as a kid. It messed with my ego a lot. At one point, I actually sat outside my advisor’s office 100% ready to change my major. But I ended up skipping the appointment to go see Tenth Avenue North perform that night instead, and I ended up not changing my major. Because I saw that being on stage, connecting with others on such a personal, vulnerable level, I knew that was where I had to be. That kept me going. That kept me fighting in the classroom. And I’m grateful that it did. I learned so much that I don’t think I could have learned on my own. It’s helped me communicate and put down what I hear in my head so much better. After all, it’s often said that if you’re a music major and at some point you *don’t* want to drop out, you’re doing it wrong. So, I guess I did it right!
We’d love to hear more about your work.
My music often surprises people. I once had a professor tell me after reading some of my writing, “Wow. I wonder what’s going on in that head of yours!” I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. I’ve been told I’m a pretty deep thinker, and my thoughts come out in various, surprising ways, especially in my music. Lyrically, I’m a mix of flowery and simplistic, bitter and sweet. You’ll hear modern music like pop and hip hop, but I’ve also been surrounded by a more traditional type of music like jazz and religious. But then, you’ll hear jazz and folk and rock and soul in my singing. I’ve been compared to Adele and Amy Winehouse too. I just picked up a lot of pieces along the trail of my life and try to piece them together in different mosaic stained-glasses. And I just hope the light will shine through them, through my work, and people will look up at it and understand life a little differently, a little better afterward.
What were you like growing up?
I was a shy kid, with just a few close friends, and I stayed in my room a lot. But behind the bedroom door, I was a rockstar. I would dance and singing every word to the Cheetah Girls and Spice Girls. I would make my own choreo in my bedroom to Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” album and ask my sister and mom to rate my dances. I even got a karaoke machine and would turn off the scoring because it would fail me when I added my own ornamentation, off of the notes I was “supposed to sing.” As I’ve gotten older, I realized that I always had this desire to be a performer in some way. I was also really into crafting, drawing, painting, poetry, and writing. I had tons of journals for all sorts of things, and still do, actually. I’m pretty sure my parents knew all of this was happening behind the closed door, so they gifted me with my first instruments, which eventually led to my first song, my first public performances, which now give me an absolute thrill — and the rest is history!
Contact Info:
- Website: adriennecrista.com
- Email: adriennecristamusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: adriennecrista
- Facebook: adriennecristamusic
- Twitter: adriennecrista
Image Credit:
Robyn Tuazon, Joey Harvey, Alexandra Copeland
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