December 12, 2022
Eleven years ago I stood in the second-story office of our small brick duplex. The room was light-filled yet cramped with too much furniture: two desks, a dresser, a treadmill, and a filing cabinet (I had not yet learned how to live simply and took whatever hand-me downs found their way into my home). Even though the setting was not the ideal “recording studio”, I recorded my first little Christmas album on my violin for my dad. With only a single microphone and hardly any knowledge of recording, I recorded about six tracks and then used Audacity, a free recording program, to edit the tracks very simply. To this day, I believe my dad still enjoys that CD I made for him though it is not something I would hand out to others.
My dad has been one of my greatest encouragers, if not the greatest, to pursue my musical endeavors. He and my mom spent many a dollar on my music lessons and constantly encouraged me through quite a few recitals, competitions, and church specials. As an electrical engineer, my dad loves configuring equipment and he has even created what he calls the “Band in a Box” for me. The “Band in a Box” houses much of the equipment needed for recording such as a laptop, Scarlett audio interface, and a few other controls for the microphones.
Learning how to record has not been an easy journey, and many days I have wanted to quit. There were even years when I did not touch my “Band in a Box” which I’m ashamed to admit. The artist in me just wants to focus on writing music and then performing that music for others, and the technical aspects of recording frustrate me and do not interest me. Yet I am learning that part of maturing is doing tasks that are not enjoyable and honestly not even in my field of interest, but by acquiring new skills, I am able to share what I am truly passionate about with others.
Initially, I thought my recording endeavors would focus on classical music, but I have since realized that my real passion lies in sacred music and also what might be considered more easy listening style music. My heartbeat is to add to the repertoire of beautiful sacred music for strings and piano.
Today, Ashley Qurollo Music presents to you a Christmas gift, a Christmas Instrumental Playlist. All the music on this playlist was arranged, performed, and recorded by yours truly along with an amazing cellist, Stephen Minion. With over twenty minutes of original composition and recording, this playlist will fill your home with a gentle, Christmas atmosphere. This playlist was not created by pasting together someone else’s work as so many playlists I’ve seen on YouTube, but this list was lovingly created by me just for you!
Note: Thank you for your patience as I develop editing skills. Some of the audio levels are not quite where I want them to be, and you may have to adjust the volume to your liking on a few of the pieces. I am ever learning!
Leave me a comment below about what you enjoyed in the playlist or even did not enjoy. I would love to hear from you about what you enjoy. What did you think about the volume levels of the pieces?
Enjoy!
-Ashley
Hi Ashley.
I love this!
Beautiful - thank you for sharing your head, heart, and hands with others!
Beautiful! And I didn't have to adjust the volume at all. :)