Today we’d like to introduce you to Bri Worek.
Hi Bri, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I graduated with my master’s degree in speech-language pathology from West Virginia University in 2011. I initially started college in 2004 at WVU and switched my major multiple times; this ranged from forensic science to music and then eventually to speech pathology. I didn’t feel comfortable pursuing a career in music, despite it being my passion, because I was too afraid to leave college with a giant student loan bill and an unstable career path. Truthfully, I also wasn’t confident enough at the time in my skills as a singer to think I’d be able to “make it” professionally. Speech pathology felt like a natural blend of my love of the voice mixed with science. I worked in geriatric care as an SLP for approximately six years, which was around the time I moved to NC. I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA, and was a traveling therapist for a year across OH, VA, and NC. I met my (now) partner, Tyler Davis, and decided to settle in Goldsboro. I had always wanted to specifically work with singers, but that’s a very niche pathway in the SLP world, and was focused for several years on job stability and paying off my student loans. Once that goal was accomplished in 2018, it felt like there was nothing holding me back from my goal of marrying my love of science with music. I reached out to the Arts Council of Wayne County and offered my services as a singing teacher. I felt very insecure because my formal degrees aren’t in music. To my surprise, they thought what I had to offer was “interesting.” One student in their program grew to me having my own studio within their facility within 9 months under my own name, Bri Worek Vocal Coaching. I stayed with the ACWC until the end of 2020, when Tyler and I decided to open our own music studio, Gold City House of Music. We thought of something that Goldsboro did not have, which was a vinyl record store, and combined that into a recording studio and spaces to teach our music classes. We call it “House of Music” because we both grew up the children of musicians. Music was always present in our homes, and we wanted our space to feel like the comfort of walking into someone’s home. I still work part-time as a therapist in geriatrics and teach approximately 40 voice students during the week at GCHOM. I’m also branching out into opening my own private practice, Gold City Voice Therapy, PLLC. My ultimate goal is to provide full-circle vocal wellness to the area.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think that anyone has a smooth road through a business journey. I felt an even greater push to “figure it out” because of Covid. Working as a full-time therapist during that time was extremely stressful. I also had to shut down my live music lessons due to Covid and was strictly online, but I made it work. Luckily, I have very dedicated students that were also willing to make online classes work so that I didn’t have to totally shut down what I’d worked so hard to build up. The first time I got Covid, I was still working full-time in the nursing home, which pre-vaccine was a very at-risk place to work. As I sat alone for ten days, I really started to think of what I wanted out of life. That all the doubts I ever had in my abilities didn’t matter, and I just needed to “go for it.” At first, when we didn’t know much about Covid, I couldn’t help but think that if I died tomorrow had I really done all the things I knew I had the potential to do. Was I willing to let my fears and insecurities continue to hold me back? When I got out of isolation, Tyler and I started to develop the concept for Gold City House of Music. I was still working full-time in order to have the funds for it to avoid taking out a business loan. Tyler was out of work at the time because he was otherwise a full-time gigging musician, so he’d spend his days putting together the record racks, pricing the vinyls, and assembling furniture while I still worked. We’ve had several other shutdowns along the way for our classes due to Covid. Inflation, of course, has also been another layer of complication that can add to the expense of running a business. Tyler and I don’t have children, so the students we teach and our studio is absolutely our labor of love to keep the arts thriving in our community.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What I used to think of as a weakness I now find to be an absolute strength. I used to feel so inadequate as a potential instructor or that I was never good enough to teach anyone. My first instrument is classical violin, and my mother is a classically trained pianist. I also took voice and violin at the college level, despite not finishing my degrees in music performance or education. So, I know the amount of time and effort it goes into that level of professionalism as a musician. Over time I’ve come to discover that my education in the science of the voice is not a deficit but simply a different perspective. The beautiful thing about art is that there’s no “one right way” to do it. As a classically trained violinist, I was so heavily educated in the “notes on the page.” While there’s a place for that, and I do encourage music reading and theory practice, I always felt detached from my music. I could never grasp how artists that didn’t read music at all could still play so beautifully. I also realized over time that other concepts, such as confidence, are such important factors of education as a musician. I try not to follow other music teachers too heavily because it can distract me away from all the things I’m not doing; but again, we all have different perspectives and need to teach from that. As a therapist, we’re taught to make therapy sessions “client-centered, “meaning it’s our jobs to adapt to the learning style of our patient or client. I treat my music lessons the same way. I don’t have a set curriculum as an instructor. Sometimes we read music. Sometimes we sing to YouTube tracks. Sometimes we sing Broadway. Sometimes we sing Pop. Sometimes we don’t sing at all and talk for 30 minutes about confidence. I follow the needs of my students every time and do my best to put aside my own personal agenda. I try to create new classes where I see a need. Everything I create is because my students are silently requesting it. I don’t teach traditional piano classes but instead teach “Keys for Singers.” Not everyone wants classical piano lessons; some do, and both choices are ok. I’ve also created an “Affirmations Workshop” for adults and “Confidence Crash Course for Teen Performers,” both of which focus on improving our headspace around imposter syndrome and stage fright. I’m also currently developing an online program that focuses on the science of singing called Sing, Learn, & Perform (SLaP) for those students looking for supplemental materials to live lessons or for those who can’t study with me in person. I truly want the concepts of science and music to be available to anyone who has the desire to learn them.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I don’t think that anyone is “self-made.” If we start from the very beginning, of course, my mother, Victoria Worek, is my greatest influence in music. I always say my first formal instrument is violin, but I’ve been singing with my mom at the piano forever. She always taught me that music is supposed to be enjoyable and not a chore. I definitely get my work ethic from my father, Michael Worek, who was always up for work at 2:00 AM and pulling extra shifts for our family. Both of my parents have supported me in this somewhat unusual path that I’m trying to forge outside of the conventional 9-5. My partner, Tyler Davis, is one of my biggest cheerleaders. Tyler has such a free spirit with music and such a clear vision to think outside of the box. I tend to be a more “in the box” person. This helps us balance our business really well for when he needs to scale back a little bit, or I need to move forward a little bit. We also have so many supportive families and students that trust us to provide them with their music education, in addition to other community partners such as the Arts Council of Wayne County and the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goldcityhouseofmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldcityhouseofmusic/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldcityhouseofmusic/
Image Credits
Big Blue Couch Media
