Artist Introduction

Hello and welcome to my little corner of the internet!

My name is Elizabeth Ann Chavez and I’m a violinist and singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve been going by “Eli Ann” for the past year since I released my own music and became a recording artist. I’ve come to believe that everyone is an artist in their own right if they choose to put their creativity into practice. Thanks to my friend and fellow creative Jessica Gerhardt, I’ve participated in and facilitated a round of The Artist’s Way course by Julia Cameron which really helped me embrace my artist identity. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in exploring their own creative processes.

While music, singing and playing violin specifically, has been a part of my life for many years, I’ve been exploring the creative act of songwriting for only a handful of years. As a classically-trained violinist, I’ve also been exploring more ways to be free and creative in my playing. As a natural perfectionist, I was very diligent in my many years of private violin lessons at learning what was on the page. See a note, play a note (perfectly in tune, with the correct tone, etc.), rinse and repeat. I’ve had to unlearn a lot of that conditioning in order to be able to play by ear and improvise—something that felt more natural in my voice and on piano, but I would hit a mental wall trying to do it on violin. I’ve come a long way thanks to playing in various bands and through my own self study. My big stretch goal is to become proficient in jazz violin.

If you’ve come this far, thank you so much for reading! I hope we are able to cross paths IRL if the stars allow. Perhaps I can add some strings on your new record or play live at that special event of yours. Feel free to fill out the form on my home page :)

~ eli ann | Los Angeles based violinist & singer songwriter