In Tune with Identity: Creative Musician Portraits
Alexandra Huryn, Violin. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
As technology advances and our lives becomes more complex and automated, social isolation becomes more common and our basic human need for connection is at perilous risk. It is no wonder that the prevalence of depression has exploded globally over the past century. Providing a source of connection and sense of community for all people is at the heart of the work of Villa Musica.
Villa Musica is a San Diego-based non-profit community music center committed to making music accessible through education, performance, and community engagement.
The diverse faculty embodies the heart and spirit of their mission to bring people together to create community. They understand that social connection and ultimately harmony in society cannot be achieved in solitude. This is why they focus so much attention on providing a means to express a fundamental aspect of human creativity in the form of music.
Practice and preparation for a common goal such as an ensemble recital can be a powerful way to bring diverse people together to work together with a unique opportunity for acceptance and belonging.
Jesus Cervantes, Violin. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
Musician Portraits for Non-Profit Organization, Villa Musica
While the centers offers their lessons on a paid basis for those who can afford them, they extend the same opportunity for high-quality instruction across the region for those less privileged. None of this is possible without the talented music administrators and instructors who bring their unique experiences, personalities and passion.
Valerie McElroy, Flute and Conductor. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
I am so excited to be partnering with Villa Musica and have the opportunity to meet so many interesting and compassionate people while creating interesting musician portraits.
This portrait project was designed to honor these remarkable educators—not just as instructors, but as artists and individuals with their own inspiring personal stories.
You can support Villa Musica by donating to their efforts to deliver quality music education for young and old, regardless of economic status.
The Vision: Collaboration to Celebrate Individuality and Diversity in Portraiture
During my initial meeting with Villa Musica’s Executive Director, Fiona Chatwin, we quickly aligned on a vision for the project. This is such a great example of how I love to work with clients.
Fiona Chatwin, Executive Director, Villa Musica. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
We discussed the organization’s mission and the methodologies it currently uses to communicate its message as well as her vision for what she wants people to know about their organization. We discussed many ideas and have concrete plans to pursue several of them in preparation of celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2025.
Top of mind during our discussion was to find the best means possible to communicate the significant impact that Villa Musica is having on individual lives and the communities they serve.
There are so many examples of Villa Musica’s impact in building community and their goal is for this to come through more clearly in their messaging. As we discussed a longer-term vision for communicating the essence of Villa Musica, we began to create a longer-term strategic plan that would build on and leverage this early work in later assignments that involve the entire communities that Villa Musica serves. For further discussion on how to work with a photographer on humanitarian and non-profit projects, see my previous blog on preparing a humanitarian photography brief.
Musician Portrait Photography
As our first step, the most immediate need was to create a unified collection of high-quality portraits for their music faculty that highlights their diversity and talent for social media and communication with various stakeholders.
Andre Beller, Double Bass. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
We quickly agreed this couldn’t be a typical musician headshot session. Instead, I would work individually with each faculty member to create personal musician portraits that illustrate their contributions to Villa Musica’s mission but also reflect their unique personalities and journeys that have shaped their artistry and lives.
These portraits aimed to capture the essence of each instructor—not only in their professional identity but also in the personal relationship each has with music and the world.
Getting to Know the Artists
Jessie Neuffer, Voice. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
During each musician portrait session, I made a concerted effort to learn as much as possible about each faculty member. I found it incredibly valuable in my work as a musician photographer on this project to delve into the diverse backgrounds of each musician, and to discover their unique inspirations and approaches to teaching.
While I was seeking a sense of individuality in each portrait, I also aimed to achieve an overall unified artistic approach that reflects their shared commitment towards a common mission.
Their compelling stories and distinct personalities offered invaluable insight that ultimately shaped the choices I made regarding composition, setting, and mood for each portrait - especially as we experimented with more creative shots. This deep understanding also played a significant role in the final edit of the images that were intended to be shared with a broader audience.
It was absolutely critical that the images serve as a personal testament to the individuals and their remarkable uniqueness.
Finding Unique Settings to Photograph Musicians Within the Community Music Center
Given the expansive scope of this project and the large number of faculty members involved in it, as a practical matter we had to shoot each individual portrait on location within the various spaces of Villa Musica.
Jesus Cervantes, Violin. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
While many of the portraits leaned towards a more formal nature, I also sought to experiment with what was available in the music center building to provide a range of diverse backdrops that illustrate the unique environment in which many of the instructors teach, as well as reflect the distinctive personalities of each instructor.
Jude Weirmeir, Guitar. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
From busy classrooms and intimate practice rooms to even the long hallways that echo with music, each area of Villa Musica offered a fresh setting to explore and reflect on different facets of the faculty’s lives and teaching experiences.
Valerie McElroy, Flute and Conductor. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
These familiar locations within the music center not only allowed the instructors to feel comfortable and connected, but they also fostered an environment that encouraged interactions and creativity.
This led to the creation of authentic musician portraits that beautifully reveal the personal and professional energy they each bring to Villa Musica’s mission.
Nathalie Galvez, Violin. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
Photographing Musical Instruments as Extensions of Identity
David Aguila, Trumpet. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
Steve Willard, Guitar and Ukelele. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
For many musicians, their chosen instrument is not just an object; it is an extension of themselves and a vital part of their identity.
While the instruments undeniably contribute to the overall narrative, I aimed to create portraits that were less about the instruments as standalone entities and remained distinctly focused on the faculty as individuals with their own unique stories and experiences.
That said, many of the musician portraits incorporated the faculty member’s instrument not merely as a prop but rather as an essential and expressive part of their personal journey in music.
Some instructors held their instruments with a profound sense of intimacy and connection, while others moved in dynamic ways that vividly expressed the energy and joy they bring to their teaching each day.
Each musician’s portrait invited viewers into the instructor’s unique world, capturing the special bond and connection they have with their instrument, thus highlighting both their artistry and their passion for music.
Devin Burnworth, Trombone. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
Alexander Oliver, Piano. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
The Final Reveal of Musician Portraits: A Visual Story
After spending many hours photographing more than 30 artists at Villa Musica and editing through many exciting and varied images, it is time to offer up the most successful musician portraits to the faculty, students, and the wider community so they might have a fresh and unique perspective on this community of diverse and interesting faculty members. This blog contains a sample of the many interesting portraits that I co-created with the community music center faculty.
Zoey Jones, Piano and keyboard. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
Each image was created to honor the individual and their unwavering dedication, as well as the distinct personalities that collectively bring Villa Musica’s mission to life.
For the students, these portraits reveal their teachers as not only instructors but also as passionate artists, each with their own personal journeys and stories. For families and supporters, the musician portraits serve to invite a dialog to deepen their connection to Villa Musica’s vision, values, and overarching goals.
Remi Ha, Piano. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
A Rewarding Collaboration with a Non-Profit as a Musician Photographer
This project was more than a series of photographs or musician headshots; it was an exploration of the passion and dedication each instructor brings to music and their students. This was also part of my personal passion as a humanitarian photographer to engage with and photograph the people who make important contributions to society through meaningful work.
Working as a musician portrait photographer on this project shares many aspects with my other work for non-profit and humanitarian efforts around the world. I was able to meet so many interesting people, learn about their journeys and spend some focused time relating to them as fellow humans.
Chiara Capobianco, Harp. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
I appreciate the discomfort that many of them felt when beginning the session, and was personally touched and richly rewarded when we were able to create a genuine connection that allowed them to relax and reveal aspects of their personalities that facilitated some amazing moments of insight to them as individual fellow humans.
This is also a great example of how I love to collaborate with my clients; beginning with an up-front discussion that highlights the key needs and establishes a mutual understanding of the most immediate strategic objectives necessary to effectively advance the non-profit's mission in meaningful ways before embarking on the photographic assignment where I am trusted to deliver with my creative vision.
This project was a gift for me personally in so many ways. It allowed me to appreciate the faculty and staff at Villa Musica as individuals and as part of something that they can only accomplish as a unified community.
Clarissa Fallorina, Trumpet. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
In Closing: Musician Portraits that Honor the Faces of Music Education in San Diego
The images shown here are part of a larger portrait series that serves as a heartfelt tribute to the inspiring faculty of Villa Musica—dedicated musicians who passionately bring the transformative power of music to life through education, performance, and meaningful community engagement.
Jose Rodriguez, Guitar. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
Adrian Holtz, Double Bass. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
Through these evocative musician portraits, we have crafted a visual celebration designed to honor Villa Musica’s vital mission and the exceptional and talented individuals who work tirelessly to make it all possible.
With each image, I sincerely hope I have successfully captured something truly unique and noteworthy from each faculty member.
This work was made possible due to the generous support of this invaluable resource within the vibrant San Diego community and the vision of their leadership.
Villa Musica’s faculty genuinely embodies the remarkable and transformative power of music on community engagement and development. This music photography portrait project serves to celebrate the many diverse voices and identities that together make the mission of this exceptional non-profit organization attainable and impactful.