Meet Trissina Kear | Professional Pianist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Trissina Kear and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Trissina, why did you pursue a creative career?
Music was a constant part of my life since a very young age. I started playing piano at age 4, and by age 11 was accompanying ballet classes and a couple years later, choirs at school. I fell in love with the concept of playing with other musicians in a supporting role. Being surrounded by and educated with every genre of music growing up, helped keep the inspiration. I was taken to many symphony performances and truly enjoyed the indescribable feeling of hearing the whole orchestra hit an emotional point of the piece together. The same feel applied to being in choirs as well. Once I decided I wanted to do music as my profession, I never really wavered.

I majored in Vocal Performance (opera), yet continued to accompany on piano daily as my job during college. I enjoyed that more than the voice aspect, so that is the direction I chose. Years later, it is still what I do now and I wouldn’t change it for the world. The music business is always shifting and changing, so I have had to learn to adjust and revamp my career constantly. I like that aspect as well, as it is never monotonous.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Something I learned during the process of playing piano for several people or organizations, was how to set pricing, contracts, and how to stick to my standards for what I was bringing to the table. Many artists are used to the adage, “do this for free and we will give you great exposure”, which is truly just a way to take advantage of many people. It is rare those opportunities pan out to anything. Fight for what you deserve, and don’t take things that won’t be helpful for you down the road. When I launched a teaching studio in Los Angeles, I had to figure out exact wording for contracts for any new student. Things like liability insurance are so important when in a city of that caliber. Items like that are often not in the forefront of musicians minds, and then they get really short-changed or have a hard time making a living because of it.

I take pride in constantly reinventing and coming up with new ways to pursue business in my field. For example, I recently proofread piano music for a composer. A couple hour session on a zoom and looking over how to make it best playable and readable for a certain age level. Now, that is something I can add to my list to offer people. The pandemic especially stretched many of us to try to figure out what we can offer remotely. I even went into the world of book publishing while waiting for arts to come back as music was gone longer than most other jobs. Now I do both! While it was hard to figure out things then, now I view it as a fun challenge that keeps me interested in my own career.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently live in Tucson, Arizona which is a small yet bustling city! If a friend comes to visit from out of town, my number one requirement is bring tennis shoes! The desert is such an unusual place for many people, and Tucson is known for having the most saguaro cacti in the country. There are several hiking trails where the views are incredible and super unique. Some of the canyons have running water parts of the year from snow runoff in the mountains, which is also surprising for many to see.

While I mostly play classical, I enjoy attending jazz concerts. Tucson has quite a variety of options for the arts, so if a friend also likes jazz I would take them to The Century Room. It is becoming known as one of the top level jazz places on the west coast, and many NY artists travel just to play here.

Another must is tacos – you can’t go to Arizona and not eat tacos! There are many museums that show desert life and animals as well. Since people feel like they are in the wild west here, there are many fun locations like the old movie sets in Old Tucson or Tombstone that make for a day of old-time fun. The sunsets here are beyond amazing, and in the summers you can watch the bats fly out in droves from under the bridges at dusk. It’s a fascinating little town!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family played a huge role in my music career. It is unusual for parents to support a child going into the arts, as it is a hard profession to stay in or make a career out of. My sisters went into the arts as well, and we were cheered on every step of the way, even when we each chose it as our college degree. They made providing excellent teachers and classes for us a priority. My parents went to every show, every recital, and watched every “talent show routine” we would put on in front of the fireplace as little kids. Support like that makes you feel like you can do anything, and in turn we each made a career for ourselves in the arts.

Instagram: @trissinalovesbooks

Other: Heart of Worship (piano instrumental album) https://trissinarose.hearnow.com Faure piano duets : open.spotify.com/artist/330ZvbXWi2ddl7AgrSxxUQ?si=Tv90ZFHaQwuDKcq7EFE6nQ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@trissinalovesbooks

Image Credits
Erin Mcfarland Photography