When one hears ‘violin’ the musical association that almost always pops into everyone’s mind is classical music. And why not? The instrument has been around since the 16th century and boasts a rich history reaching back to Monteverdi and Palestrina, through Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, up to Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and even modern composers. The other normal association with the instrument and classical music is its identification as a European art form. But in today’s age, these stereotypes are fervently being torn down by artists such as Edith Yokley. Of African-American descent, she is definitely “breaking all the rules” by growing up playing the classical violin which she continues to excel at, but then using that instrument to cross into the world of DJ and instrumental music. She was one of the first members of the Sphinx Orchestra, an orchestra composed of African-Americans and Latinos, the Chicago Sinfonietta, Soulful Symphony, and for her career performing with pop artists she has played with everyone from Common to Alicia Keys to J. Lo, Mos Def, Diana Ross and more.
At what age did you start violin and when did you realize you wanted to do this for a living?
I began playing violin at 2 and a half thanks to Sesame Street, Wynton Marsalis, Grover, and Itzakh Perlman. I’ll be honest, I don’t know when I wanted to be a musician. Now that I ponder this question, I have always had music in my life, and been pretty good at it. Making music for a living as a musician is just natural I guess. I honestly feel like I don’t work, like I’m blessed to get paid for breathing.
You trained classically and excelled in this field performing as a soloist, with orchestras, and as a chamber musician. What drew you to improvisation and playing with a DJ? How are the two genres similar and different?
I love this question. Yes, I was classically trained and while in graduate school at U of M (University of Michigan) at Ann Arbor, I took an elective class, the U of M Mariachi Troupe. I was the only violinist and began improvising. From there, I started hanging with the jazz students and learning from them. I then moved to NYC and started improvising in clubs and when I moved back home to Chicago in 2009, I started my company Dj Violin.com and began playing in the hottest clubs in Chicago. Later I started touring the country doing the same. So you see, it was quite the randomly natural evolution. Classical teaches you the rules so that you can have complete freedom and mastery in improvisation.
Can you talk about your company DJ Violin and some of the people you have performed with? It’s a very long list of high profile names you’ve played and recorded with! What are some of your most memorable collaborations?
DjViolin.com has been such a blessing as a way for me to expand my improvisational skills and encapsulate while continually creating my own musical idioms and landscapes. I feel it is much like the question of how/when did I know I wanted to be a musician,….it just is me.
I have had the fortune to work with many different artists both live and in the studio. All of them have been so gracious and personable and extremely particular/perfection driven, and true to their vision of their respective projects which I completely respect and admire! Recording with Common and Alicia Keys in NYC studios have been some of the most memorable experiences I’ve had. Both are extremely professional. Seeing the behind the scenes hangs, listening to them both about work and being a fly on the wall as they spoke with their peeps was neat. I also got to work with Faith Evans and her producer husband at Daddy’s House and that was AMAZING!!!!
You are also still involved with Sphinx Orchestra and Soulful Symphony. I think these are great inspiring ensembles for young minorities to be a part of. What do these two organizations mean to you and what is your feeling on the importance of music education, particularly when it comes to the African-American and Latino cultures?
Sphinx is a part of my heart! I was there in the beginning because it’s creator/ founder, Aaron Dworkin, is a dear friend from U of M. I remember us talking about our dreams of the future in terms of education, accessibility of education to minorities and creating a world where we were not the only one or one of 4 or 5 people who looked like us in classical music schools, conservatories, festivals, and other settings. The first Sphinx Symphony which convened in Ann Arbor was my very first experience in an all-Black and Latino orchestral setting and it was GLORIOUS!!!! I cried and still remember how we all seemed to feel the music the same way without having to be told how to express phrases and create colors! Simply put, I was musically with my tribe! I am also a member of the Chicago Sinfonietta created by the late Dr. Paul Freeman.
It is touted as the country’s most diverse midrange orchestra and has highlighted, as well as launched many young and young minority artists’ careers. I love this orchestra because it was my first professional orchestra out of grad school and had a whopping 10 black musicians which was amazing for me to see at such a young age! Soulful Symphony was my first PROFESSIONAL orchestral setting where I was a part of an all-black and Latino orchestra with a charismatic and extremely talented composer/conductor Darin Atwater at the helm. Darin’s music was a touchstone to the soul and each experience I have with this orchestra is healing and grounding!
I feel that music education and especially for minority youth is so important because many elements for success are taught through music. Spatial, computational, hand-eye coordination and small and gross motor movement are some of the skills learned and honed in the learning of music and an instrument. These can be extrapolated to every other part of learning and life creating a more balanced, creative, kind, appreciative, thoughtful, and happy individual. With youth, especially those in underserved communities where a bulk of my teaching occurred both in Chicago and New York, most of my students excelled in all other subjects after their music education began. As they mastered the material in their curriculum and techniques and proficiency on their instruments, they felt accomplished and a sense of achievement that spilled into every other facet of their schooling and lives!
For those who may not be familiar with the instrumental/DJ collaborations in house music can you let our audience know what it is, and what are the skill sets musicians should prepare for doing this kind of work?
My style of DJ and instrumental collaboration is much more accompaniment based whereas house music was a more even collaboration meaning the music was built around the instrument or the instrument and DJ worked together to create the track. What I do is more post-production in nature because the music is already created when I come to the table and I am improvising to what I hear. Sometimes I will create countermelodies, sometimes I vibe with the melodic line, sometimes I create rhythmic tension with the bass and drums, etc. I would say the skills one should work on for this type of playing is the knowledge of keys!!!! Being able to quickly hear the key of the music and just listening to a lot of different genres of music so that the fodder from which you can grasp germs for ideas is vast.
Do you have any future projects coming up that you are excited about participating in that you’d like to share? If, you can share them at this point (lol)
Prior to the Corona madness, I had a series of coffee shop performances coming up where I was curating the playlists to which I would be improvising and that is always exciting for me. That is all canceled now, but now I have time to really create something unique and I think I will focus my efforts on that now.
You have a very diverse career performing in various classical ensemble settings, your company Dj Violin, the Cover Girls and many others, excelling in all these genres. For young violinists in the academic world that are just waiting for that orchestral position to open up, working on a solo or chamber music career, or even just building a private studio… what advice would you give them? Do you feel more “classical” players should not be afraid to cross over and play in other genres?
Let’s face it, all violinists in music schools or studying music in any academic setting are being classically trained. I thought that was all I wanted to do as well at that juncture in my life, but mainly because I didn’t know any alternatives and the idea of improvising and going the path of the unscripted was horrifying. Until the Mariachi Troupe elective, I had no idea I could improvise, that I wanted to, and that I would love it! I would tell students to try something completely out of their comfort zone because you never know……….
For further information on Edith Yokley, please visit her website DJviolin.com, Twitter and Instagram pages
Photographs by Pixie Vision Productions (Main) & Lisa Li (Black & White)
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