Life & Work with JaVonne Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to JaVonne Jones.

Hi JaVonne, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was a senior in college that couldn’t wait to complete my senior recital. I was burned out on playing classical music. I was literally ready to throw in the towel on playing the violin when a friend of mine pleaded with me about performing for a fraternity talent show. We couldn’t play classical music on that stage, or we would get laughed at and boo’d off. Her husband created us some hip hop tracks and we timidly got on stage and gave it our best shot. The crowd loved it to the point that we actually won the talent show. That was the beginning of a newfound love for me. I fell in love with the violin all over again. Once I realized I could play genres of music that spoke to my soul, there was no way I was putting it down. From there, I moved back to my hometown of Augusta, Ga, and started branding myself as a performer. I started performing smaller gigs like church services and banquets throughout the city, but many people hadn’t heard of me. God began to open some unexpected doors that started putting me in front of thousands of people locally and all over. I began opening for artists like Tamela Mann, Dottie Peoples, and Rickey Smiley. Through social media, my business began to flourish tremendously. I put out a viral video that introduced the world to me. It was a major turning point in my music career. In 2020, after years of praying, I decided to resign from my teaching career and began my venture as a full-time musician and private violin instructor. It’s been two years and God has been taking care every step of the way. He’s been putting me in rooms with people and in front of people that I would have never imagined and for that, I’m forever grateful.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I first started out, no one had a clue who JaVonne Jones was. I was starting from scratch. My background was in music education so I had no idea about running a business whatsoever. I spent tireless nights researching how to officially become a business, what I needed to do to grow my business and the list goes on. The struggle was real. It took years and years to get established. Then SUDDENLY, opportunities began coming to me. After years of working hard, word of mouth and my great business reputation brought an influx of clients. Opportunities began falling in my lap. Is it this way all the time? Absolutely not. When I don’t get business, I find myself putting on my own shows and selling my own tickets. To create revenue. I have to eat, right? Since I’ve been a full-time musician, there has been some very good months and there has been some struggle months. I’ve gotten to the point that I grind very hard all the time, so when struggle months come, I don’t feel the wrath from them. Being an entrepreneur in any capacity is much harder than going to a 9 to 5 every day. I salute anyone that has taken on the task of starting their own business. There is so much risk, but the reward is far greater.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I first started my career, I began as an elementary music teacher. I taught Pre-K through 6th-grade music for five years in Limestone County, Alabama. When they say the average burn out for a music teacher is five years, they were absolutely correct. I left Alabama and relocated to Augusta, Ga. After taking a year off from teaching, I decided to return to the classroom and taught another eight years. I grew to love teaching again. I believe the change of scenery was great for me. In 2017, my father passed away. I had a paradigm shift and my outlook about life changed. I realized that in life, we should do what brings us JOY. In our careers, we should be doing what brings us HAPPINESS. We should never dread our career of CHOICE because it’s a CHOICE. For me, happiness and joy were not in the classroom. So, I went back to school and got a degree in Educational Leadership because I thought going in school leadership may fill that void for me. It didn’t. For three years, I struggled. It had nothing to do with the children or my school. It had everything to do with me and where I was in my life. I needed more. When the pandemic hit in 2020, it was my way out. I didn’t have to say goodbye to my students or my workmates. I could leave without anyone noticing. It took all three of those years to muster up the courage to leave my security blanket and become a full-time musician. I took that step of faith and I have not looked back. I’m walking on water like Peter. Only forward from here. I’m most proud of me taking a chance on me. I’m most proud of believing in myself so much that I put fear aside and decided to JUMP. Now, I’m soaring and there are no limits to where my business can go. Everyone doesn’t have that type of faith in God or themselves to do that. I believe that’s what sets me apart from a lot of people.

As a musician, I specialize mostly in r&b and smooth jazz genres (although I can pretty much play it all.). With years of practice, I taught myself how to play by ear and improvise. These weren’t classical music skills and weren’t taught in the orchestra classroom. As I teach my private violin students, I focus on these elements in my teaching. These elements are vital for the new generation of musicians to be able to express themselves more freely through music.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
One of the most important lessons I have learned is to control what you can control. The pandemic came out of nowhere. It shut down the whole WORLD. We were not prepared for what we were faced with. Covid-19 was literally out of our control. Gigs were canceled but bills were still piling up. I couldn’t spend time focusing on the cancellations and the lack of cash flow, I had to focus that energy on things I could control. I started brainstorming ways I could make an income during the lock-down. There was no need to stress over the fact that we could perform in venues. I had to create innovative money-making opportunities for myself to remain relevant and to stay afloat. That’s what I could control. I began doing virtual violin lessons, personalized videos, ticketed virtual concerts, outdoor events, in-home private events, etc that would fix the issue at hand. We naturally stress so much over things that we can’t even control. We waste so much energy that can be put towards the things that we do have control over.

Contact Info:

• Email: javonnejonesviolinmusic@gmail.com
• Website: www.javonnejonesviolinmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javonnejonesviolinmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/javonnejonesviolinmusic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/javonnejones

Image Credits
Michael Sullivan Zachary Williams Patrick Parker