Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Krontadt
Gina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I feel quite certain that I was born having music and the arts as part of me. There was never any question that I’d go into any other field, (except for a quick moment right before college when I considered going into fashion, but the best designers can sketch and sew and I wasn’t good at either!)
I grew up in a household where classical music was playing most of the time. By the age of 10, I was playing violin and studying with members of the Utah Symphony. One strict, by the book teacher, and a few years later, a teacher who “got” me and allowed me to swing my Bach Sonatas & Partitas. I had started studying music theory and arranging for jazz bands while holding down the concertmaster chair in the orchestras. I also was playing amplified violin with our college jazz band. We played at the Monterey Jazz Festival, McCormick Place in Chicago, Kennedy Center in DC, and a top jazz club, ( Donte’s) in LA. While in college, I was also inspired by some visiting faculty members who were some of the top artists, composers and arrangers of the era. This is when I started thinking about moving to New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles.
One day when I returned home from classes, there was a song on the car radio. I sat there until the song was over. I thought to myself at that moment, I’M GOING TO BE PART OF THIS. It was an Earth Wind and Fire song. Four years later, I was playing on my first of 3 EWF records.
I was also So lucky to meet and study with the top tier players when I first moved to LA. One of which was Sherry Kloss, (Jascha Heifetz’s assistant). While studying jazz improvisation with saxophonist Gary Foster, he told the top concertmaster of that time (Gerry Vinci ) about me. That opened more doors. Meeting these people, playing lots of music…gig after gig…my book started getting full 7 days a week playing for the greatest artists, playing for motion pictures, TV, and live shows, (all by the time I was 23.)
As this wonderful portion of my violin career wraps up (because of a botched shoulder surgery), I’ve played on 102 motion pictures, 54 TV shows, The Academy Awards, Grammys, Olympics, pretty much all awards shows…American Idol, The Tonight Show, The Voice etc, Recordings from Aerosmith to Beyonce, Aretha Franklin to George Harrison, Michael Jackson to Billy Joel, Rihanna to Taylor Swift, and Barbra Streisand to Stevie Wonder. Live performances with people like, Beyonce, Celine Dion, David Sanborn, Freddie Hubbard, Henry Mancini, Nancy Wilson, Lenny Kravitz, and Whitney Houston.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I feel that once I moved to town, doors really opened up easily for me. I don’t take that for granted for a moment. I know that not everyone has that experience.
But there definitely were some challenges:
The business has gotten better, but back in the day, (and to a lessor degree now), there has been disrespect and sexism towards women. A lot of comments and treatment I received were disgusting. I had never thought of how I would react if someone was physically or verbally inappropriate with me, but have been pleasantly surprised at how I handled some really ugly situations. I’m not talking about a subtle flirt, these were way beyond that. I wonder sometimes where we get the strength to stand up for ourselves, especially at a young age, but the older/wiser me applauds that younger me who kept walking with her head held high…determined to continue in the business that she loved.
Other challenges I’ve had to deal with are physical. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1987. It’s muscle pain that is still a mystery to the medical profession, so I’ve figured out what I can do on my end to make sure I can live the life I envision for myself. Every day there is a lot of self-care involved!
AND, I suppose the most recent challenge has been the most difficult…unfortunately! I had to quit playing violin last year. I had 2 shoulder surgeries a few years ago, and because of surgeries gone wrong, there is nerve damage. I’m now unable to play on the level needed in this business so I’ve recreated /repurposed my life. I’ve been hired to write and arrange for others as well as performing my songs at different venues in LA. The past few years, I’ve done several shows at Vibrato in Bel Air with my 12 piece band. Rhythm section, horns, strings, background vocals, and me out front singing to my arrangements. My next gig will be a house concert in October with an easy breezy 5 piece band. Can’t wait!!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been in the business a very long time, but because of what others have said to me, I hear that I was mostly known for my rhythmical playing, and my falloffs! That’s why I’m the FallOff Queen. 😉 Also, I never was late for work, and hopefully brought a good vibe into the studio or wherever I was. Never for a second did I take work for granted. I realized when I breezed into the studio world at 23 that someone else used to be in that chair, so the gratitude has always followed me to work.
I’m pretty proud that I’ve had the career that I’ve had, and have hopefully helped open doors for the next generation of young women. I also pushed another beautiful door open for myself… to stay creative since I had to let violin go…
It’s all a pretty interesting journey that we have the opportunity to navigate!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
This is a really good question. I think the main and most important lesson I’ve learned is if we have a true love and passion for something, we HAVE to do it. There will be bumps along the way. Everything continually needs a little tweak or re-imagining and then we just move forward from there. You want to be in a creative field? Be Creative and Create it!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://ginakronstadt.com
- Instagram: muzicbelle
- Facebook: gina kronstadt
- Youtube: Gina Kronstadt
Image Credits
Stefanie Fife Fotography, Rose Colella, Cat Conner
