Her Story
About Taisiya
I was born and raised in Belarus in a musical family - both of my parents were musicians. My father was a concert pianist and my mother plays the chorus. I started playing violin when I was 4 years old with my mother, and she later sent me to music school. I continued in a special music school in our capital city, did college there, and completed my master's degree. In 2021, I came to the U.S. for the first time to do my second master's degree in Philadelphia, where I studied with a teacher I specifically wanted to work with. As soon as I finished, I moved to New York City, where I've been living for about one and a half years now. I've been playing violin for 26 years, and over the last 5 years, I've developed myself as a creative producer and music director. I create immersive art experiences and still perform my own shows. My daily routine includes practicing my instrument for 3-4 hours per day, taking work calls and meetings about upcoming projects, looking for venues, discussing materials with musicians and other artists, and sometimes performing at night. I'm constantly in the process of searching for ideas, beautiful sound, and beautiful art. One of my most notable achievements was performing at Carnegie Hall just 6 months after moving to New York - a dream my father never got to fulfill. I played all Rachmaninoff pieces, his favorite composer, as a soloist with a small group, and it was one of the most meaningful days of my career.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Taisiya
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my hard-working skills and my post-Soviet mom's way of raising me. Sometimes I was under pressure, but the result has helped me a lot now. I know how to motivate myself and I'm not afraid of working hard. Consistency is also key - I remember when I did my master's degree in Philadelphia, I was practicing 7 hours per day. My classmates were confused and asked if I was preparing for some competition, but I was just preparing for my future. I didn't have something particular I was preparing for at that time, but I just knew it would help me. And it did - when the Carnegie Hall project came, I was ready. I truly believe that if you work hard and do a lot, the universe sees everything, and the right opportunities will somehow come to you.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to never stop believing in yourself, no matter what others say. You always need to be honest with the art, with what you're doing. You truly need to first be in love with what you do, and just go forward and believe in yourself. If you're doing a lot, I truly believe that the universe sees everything, and your compensation, the right opportunities, will somehow come. Someone once told me that you need to do something every day, step by step, just build up, build up. No matter what, if you are not receiving any opportunities today, it doesn't mean that you will not receive them in a month or later. That's what really helped me when I did my master's degree in Philadelphia - I was practicing 7 hours per day, and people asked if I was preparing for a competition, but I was just preparing for my future. To summarize: work hard, believe in yourself no matter what others say, and just go forward. Try all the ways you can. Try to do everything before you give up. And don't give up.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering my industry is to prioritize self-marketing and networking. When I moved to New York, I met a famous lawyer who gave me important advice - he told me that living in New York City, I should prioritize my time with 40% going to self-development and 60% going to self-marketing and networking. That's what I would advise all women in my industry: don't hesitate to talk about yourself. Find a way how to sell yourself. Find your strengths and make an accent on that. Just go forward. And if you're not confident at some point, just point out those moments and work on them to grow. Just be confident and don't hesitate to sell yourself. Self-marketing is very, very important.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The most challenging thing right now is financial stability. A lot of things are just cooking up, and I need to figure out a way to not live from project to project. I want to build up something more stable, and I'm thinking about opening an agency or something in the future. There are a lot of steps toward that in terms of all the document stuff and other questions. Financial stability is the main challenge - I'm also thinking more about investments and passive income. I want to be safe because I'm an independent woman, and it's not that easy every day. It depends on the month and the time of year. But I tell myself it's an interesting journey I'm going through right now. I'm learning, and when I will be more successful, I will appreciate that even more because of this current time.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
First of all, I appreciate honesty - no matter if it's in my personal life, in relationships with other people, or in my career and work sphere. When I mean honesty in my work sphere, that's people's attitude to their business, how they're doing things, and whether they're truly in love with what they do. I cannot work with people who are not truly involved. The other important values are being hardworking and being flexible to accept others' opinions. You need to be open to this world, because nowadays we can observe a lot of changes like AI and what's going on in the world. As an artist, you need to be flexible and open to new possibilities, to extend your vision at some point. I love when people are open-minded. In my personal life, honesty and sincerity are key. I appreciate when people are intellectually developed - I like smart conversation. I also appreciate a healthy lifestyle because I'm a big fan of yoga, ballet, gym, and running. I think it's good to have people around who are on the same path with you.
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