Today we’d like to introduce you to Arcia Stokes.
Arcia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always had a passion for music and music/art education for as long as I could remember. Music and art, I believe has superpowers. It is indeed a universal language. It has the power to comfort, heal, inspire, encourage, educate, and so much more. My aunt who adopted and raised me, noticed how passionate I was about music and allowed me to take piano and voice lessons. I was in school choirs and sang weekly at church. I later attended a performing arts high school, where I majored in music. During that time, I was exposed to classical music. I never knew I would find interest in classical music or in opera until I attended Arts High School in Newark, NJ. I owe a lot of my accomplishments and success to of course God and my aunt, “yaya” who adopted me, but also to my hero and first real music teacher Jerry Forderhase. He introduced me to classical music, choral music and opera. He help to ignite my passion. After completing high school, I later went to Westminster Choir College of Rider University. I earned a Bachelors of Art in music and a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Vocal pedagogy. While in school and post Graduate school, I’ve had several performance opportunities. I’ve sung in some of the most famous venues in America. I’ve worked with several big named artists. I’ve worked and currently work in schools as a music teacher, where I was able to implement music programs and share my experiences with scholars. I believed that I had more to offer, so I started Stokes Notes!
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. I’m still on the road. When I initially decided to start a business, I struggled with imposers syndrome. I struggled with thoughts like “Do I have what it takes to run a business?” “Am I qualified enough?” “Do I have enough education?” “There already exist businesses like mine, what will set me apart?” These were questions I asked myself. However, I just decided to commit to what I set out to do. Another struggle was registering my business with the state of New Jersey and working with the IRS to get an official EIN. Additionally, I struggled with marketing and advertising my business. I refuse to quit, no matter the struggle. I believe that I have something powerful to offer, and those sentiments help me push forward.
Please tell us about your organization.
Stokes Notes is an organization that believes in giving our clients the tools necessary to perform with technique, confidence, and to possess an overall understanding of how their voice works ultimately. At Stokes Notes, we take Voice Pedagogy and Music/Art education very seriously, thus making the lessons we offer, structured, engaging, focused and fun! It is our belief, that confidence in your ability is vital, in the developmental process, so aside from quality voice, piano and music theory lessons, we spend time building and cultivating the confidence of all our clients, to ensure that all musicians not only feel prepared vocally but exudes self-assurance in their talents and abilities. Additionally, we offer professional development to schools and organizations seeking to create, cultivate and implement music/art education programs. We work collaboratively with educators and administrators to ensure that scholars are receiving world-class music/art education.
In addition to providing outstanding music lessons and collaborating with other organizations seeking to add music/art education programs, we also have another arm to our organization. When forming my business, I often thought of way to merge both my passion for music education and women empowerment. One side focuses on Music, while the other, check this out..Focuses on Women’s empowerment! Stokes (Me) Notes (My life experiences and lessons)
This section of my business is for us!! FOR US… BY US!! It is my way of pouring into our women and offering content, events, discussions, resources, podcasts and mentorship to young girls and women, which will all change the way we approach life.
I am most proud of the traction were starting to get, and I’m also proud of how diligent we’re being, in getting our services out there and overall giving people the tools needed to be excel.
I believe Stokes Notes has a key element that sets us apart. Aside from offering quality lessons and consultations with schools and organizations, we believe that confidence and self-assurance is significant, whether performing in front of others or launching music/art lessons in front of students. That being said before we begin a lesson, or consultation we spend time working with the individual(s) and we ask questions to gauge how confident they are in their gifts and abilities, but also themselves. After reviewing, we come up with a plan to accompany lessons. This will ensure that clients are not only growing as a performer and educator, but also as a person. I struggled with confidence and feeling beautiful enough and adequate. The impact of those feelings influenced the way I performed and taught lessons. Once I learned how to love myself and truly believed in what I had to offer as an educator and performer, I excelled in my career. I know the positive effects of confidence and how it plays a major role in the development of a performer and educator. Thus I run my business with that in mind. I am also proud of the impact we’re having on girls and women through our lives on social media, where we discuss different ways to grow in your womanhood, business, relationships, etc.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
This is an awesome question! I have an entire business plan with images on my refrigerator! I see Stokes Notes being the leading organization for music/art education in the world! I see several schools and organizations seeking our services to provide their teachers and administrators to launch successful music/art programs and curricula. I see Stokes Notes hiring employees who can go in the field and lead Professional Development sessions to schools and organizations all across the world, and continuing to teach quality voice, piano and music theory lessons. I see Stokes Notes, being invited to speak on panels discussing the importance of music/art education in schools, and the positive impact on students across the world. As we grow, I also see Stokes Notes, having a building. A building that has several studios where people can have a private voice, piano lessons. Office spaces, where we can host professional development and a state of the art theater, where we can have a piano and vocal recitals for our clients who enrolled in private lessons to showcase their talents and growth. Lastly, I would like to have a therapist on-site to help our clients overcome hurdles that may be hindering them as performers and educators. I also believe that through our mentorship programs, discussions and events geared toward the bettering of women, we began to see more women pursue their dreams and live out their purpose with confidence and boldness.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stokesnotesllc.com
- Email: stokesnotesllc@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stokesnotes_/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StokesNotesLLC/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Image Credit:
logo (Chase Walker)
Head shot ( Dae Howerton)
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