Check Out April Varner’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to April Varner

Hi April, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all started when I was 5 years old. I was (and still am) a fan of the Disney movies and grew up watching them- specifically loving the princesses. I related most to Ariel with my red hair!

I would watch these movies and memorize the songs, not knowing what any of the words meant though. So when I would be in the bath, I would start singing them by memory. My parents of course took notice of this and fast forward to when I was 8 years old, they took me to the University of Toledo in my hometown in Ohio and tried to start me with voice lessons. Of course they were a bit skeptical given my young age, but after hearing me, Dr. Stephen Hodge took a chance on me!

I also was studying classical piano a few years prior at age 6 with my Nonnie (my grandma) who was a trained concert pianist. She was my sole musical connection in my family! So I pursued classical music and was being recognized regionally, nationally and internationally. This includes being a guest vocalist at the Toledo Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert, a 2-time All-National Honors Ensemble member in Nashville, TN, and a National Finalist at the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Academy in Carmel, IN. By age 16, I had made her Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Hall following a first-place award by the American Protégé International Vocal Competition, and had traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland as part of a drama
group in high school to share the stage with world actors at the renowned Edinburgh Arts Fringe Festival.

Fast forward and I began undergrad at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, studying Vocal Performance. However, around that time, I was starting to fall out of love with opera. All of my friends were in the operas and I would go see them and just didn’t feel that connection, didn’t see myself on the opera stage. I wasn’t sure what to do but during my time at IU I was also a member of the show choir, the Singing Hoosiers. We did all kinds of styles of music: classical, pop, broadway, and jazz. Halfway through the year I was put into a mini Vocal Jazz Ensemble within the group, not by choice. At first I refused to give it a chance, writing off jazz as “boring” and uninteresting. But the director really encouraged me to give it a try as he heard something in my voice that I didn’t. So I decided to set my prior feelings aside and to my surprise, I LOVED it. The freedom in jazz versus opera was something I never had gotten the chance to explore before! I really felt the calling that this was what I was supposed to be doing. So that evening after my awakening, I called my family, explained how I felt and soon began the necessary preparations to change my major. At the start of my sophomore year, I was officially a Jazz Studies: Voice major . I stayed an extra year to finish my degree, moved to NYC at the start of Covid in August of 2020 and the rest is history!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not. When I changed my major, I knew absolutely NOTHING about jazz. Technique, style, who to listen to, improvising- it was all so foreign to me.

Luckily, I had incredible mentors who helped shape me- first studying with the multi-Grammy Award Nominated Vocalist, Tierney Sutton, and after with multi-Award Winning Vocalist, Sachal Vasandani. Both took the time (and patience) to give me the building blocks on how to catch up to my other classmates. It was a lot of very stressful months of practice but 1000% worth it.

Without the two of them, I doubt I would have had the confidence to move to NYC to pursue jazz. Everyone wants to move to NYC for a music career. But I’m very fortunate that I was accepted into the Manhattan School of Music for grad school, and got to study with sooo many incredible giants of jazz.

Those years of hard work paid off as in the last four years, I have performed/will be performing at some of the most notable venues in the Northeast, such as Chris’s Jazz Cafe (Philadelphia), Con Alma (Pittsburgh), Blues Alley (Washington D.C), Con Alma (Pittsburgh), Birdland Jazz Club (NYC, sold out debut show), and Mezzrow Jazz Club (NYC, sold out debut show). I also recently made my International Debut, headlining the Longjumeau Jazz Festival (Longjumeau, France) in celebration of the great Ella Fitzgerald, along with two full shows at Sunset Sunside in Paris. In October, I will be an invited featured artist in the Jazz For All Ages Festival (Hilton Head, SC), alongside some of the most notable figures in jazz, such as Kurt Elling, Catherine Russell, John Pizzarelli and Emmet Cohen.

At the age of 27, I have immersed myself deeply into the jazz tradition and have performed/studied with a multitude of legendary artists and jazz luminaries such as Tierney Sutton, Russell Malone, Sachal Vasandani, Jane Monheit, Kurt Elling, and others. I graduated in May of 2022 with my Master’s degree in Jazz Voice Performance under the guidance of 2-time Grammy© nominated vocalist and teacher Theo Bleckmann. I was awarded the 2023 Winner of the International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition and most recently received a 2024 Honorable Mention Award in the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Competition. Most excitedly, I released my debut album back in June, called “April by April Varner”- this genre-busting collection of “April” titled tunes was produced by 2-time Grammy-Winning Drummer, Producer, and Educator, Ulysses Owens Jr.

Downbeat Magazine just reviewed it for their October issue and awarded it 4 out of 5 stars!! It’s available on all streaming platforms as well as physical copies on my band camp page (link provided).

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What motivates me is knowing I’m making people happy with my music and inspiring young musicians as well!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aprilvarner.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprilvarnermusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/@aprilvarnermusic1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aprilvarnermusic
• Other: https://aprilvarner.bandcamp.com/album/april