'I took the hurt and turned it into motivation.'
It's not uncommon to hear about artists splicing seemingly disparate genres together to create an engaging new sound. Rocktronica, for example, is everywhere right now. Still, marrying classical music with EDM and hip-hop is not something you hear about every day, which is what makes Lindsey Stirling's material so intriguing. Dance music from a classically trained violinist who also dances while playing? How does that happen?
"I think it [comes] from the fact that I love to dance. I've always loved dance music and dancing. And aside from that, I love to entertain," says Stirling, who performs at the Orpheum on June 2.
Her newest album, Shatter Me, debuted in April at number 2 on Billboard's Top 200 chart. It's the latest piece of evidence that she's having no trouble finding people who enjoy her entertainment endeavors. She made it to the quarterfinals in the 2010 season of America's Got Talent. Plus, a wealth of YouTube videos -- at least a dozen of which have been viewed between 10 million and 100 million times -- have sparked an intense interest in her art around the world.
It all started with her parents' love of classical music.
"When I was a kid, [they] played classical music in our home all the time," Stirling says, laughing. "We had this old record player, and my sisters and I would just dance around the room for hours. They also loved taking us to orchestral concerts. When I was little, we lived in L.A., and there were free orchestral concerts all over the place. That's how I fell in love with the violin. I begged for lessons when I was 6."
That initial passion for her instrument of choice has not wavered over the years, even when Piers Morgan gave her a particularly scathing critique in her final episode of Talent. If anything, that experience has helped her become more adept at overcoming obstacles.
"I took the hurt and turned it into motivation," she explains.
This admirable resolve is part of why her fans adore her.
