Take five
We talk to the blind classical musician whose inspiration for much of her work has come through her love of horses and riding
with the blind classical musician Jessica Victoria
How did you become a musician?
My career path has taken many twists and turns. It’s hard to pinpoint, but one ‘aha!’ moment was after I participated in a music institute for two summers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. There I collaborated with some of the most gifted musicians I’ve ever met. These experiences fanned my passion for music into a flame of purpose.
I’ll never forget being 16 — driving down the windswept New Mexico desert highway with my dad, listening to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Iron Maiden’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. During those moments, I felt limitless hope for the power of music, and I knew that I wanted to make music that blurs and crosses genre boundaries.
Did you always want to be a musician?
I always knew that being a musician would be part of me. Some of my earliest musical memories include listening to Beethoven symphonies with my uncle after he’d taken me and my brother for a lunch of Greek, Indian, or some other intriguing cuisine we hadn’t experienced before. Another memory is of my brother and I performing shows for our grandparents from the lowered tailgate of my grandpa’s truck. At one point, my siblings and I had Les Miserables practically memorised.
What is your favourite instrument?
I love the harp! When I played other instruments, like the piano or the violin, they seemed like tools to me, but the harp is different. It’s a collaborator with a life of its own. I am also drawn to the harp because of its compelling presence in history and tales.
My love of storytelling also fuelled my decision to choose music as a career. For me telling a story transcends genre barriers. Sometimes that means spinning a tale with strands from the classical tradition, rock rhythms and instruments, and Celtic ornamentation. This art of fusion lies at the very heart of my purpose as a singer-songwriter.
When did you first ride?
I learned to ride on a feisty Arabian mare named Tessa. I learned English style, which I think is trickier to master than Western riding as you have to feel and move with the horse, and use your knees, rather than the saddle, for balance and to stay on. Some of my most exhilarating and joyous moments have been on the back of a horse.
Do you still ride?
I ride whenever I get the chance. One of my dreams is to have an Arabian of my very own.
What is it about horses that you love?
A good horse is a good friend and confidant. Also riding isn’t just a pastime for me, it’s a relationship of trust and confidence. When my horse and I are in sync, riding
“My brother and I would perform shows for our grandparents from the lowered tailgate of my grandpa’s truck”
can be a powerful, exhilarating experience. I feel like I can be free on the back of a horse, that I can throw away anything that keeps me in check. I can let my imagination run.
What is your most memorable riding moment?
Maybe it would be the moment when I cantered for the first time. Until that day, I had been learning to post [rise to the trot] and I thought a trot was pretty adventurous, but, when Tessa began to canter, I experienced such a moment of joy and fear mingled deliciously into one.
How does horse riding inspire your work?
Being ‘in the zone’, both in songwriting and performing, is like being on the back of a horse in so many ways. I attain the same exuberant freedom that I do when riding. The two activities inspire each other. The ideas for texts and melodies of some of my songs are woven into my memories and experiences of riding.
What would you say inspires your music the most?
For me inspiration comes from life experiences and, very often, from literature. Sometimes a song begins with a fragment of melody, sometimes with a lyric. Little by little, although sometimes quickly, the song takes on its own life.
How does making music make you feel?
When I’m on stage, I’m fully alive. There’s no feeling on earth like that synergy with an orchestra or a band where we connect with each other and with the listeners. If connecting with people through performance is the soul of my career, songwriting is its heartbeat and breath.