Check Out Candice Hill’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Candice Hill

Hi Candice, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Columbia, MO and started playing drums as a kid. My dad played drums when I was young, which was certainly part of my influence. I attended Missouri State University to study percussion performance, and that’s where I first stated playing the steel pan. There was a small steel band, made up of various steel pan instruments, and I fell in love with it. I then attended Northern Illinois University to study steel pan exclusively with Liam Teague, and I earned my Masters in steel pan performance. While attending, I had the opportunity to travel to Trinidad, where the steel pan was invented, and it was an incredible trip where I got to play in Panorama, the biggest steel pan competition in the world. After grad school I moved to Kansas City, and started working to perform as much as possible.

I am fully self employed, and have sort of stitched together a career for myself. I don’t stick to any one thing, as I need various streams of income to make it work. I started teaching percussion lessons in 2008, and then started teaching drumline at Staley High School in 2011 where I still teach percussion today. Teaching drumline was not originally in my vision for my career, but it has been one of the most rewarding things I do. I also do some clinics at schools regionally and nationally, as well as a bit of adjudicating auditions and competitions. I do a some music composing as well. I write drumline cadences, steel band originals and arrangements, solos and more. In fact I was just commissioned to write a steel pan solo recently that will be premiered very soon!

I currently have a couple of performing groups that play regionally. One is the Candice Hill Band. This is kind of my “passion” project as I get to feature the steel pan and play reggae, soca, calypso, jazz, pop and more. I’ve had the privilege of playing with a lot of amazing musicians in this group as it has evolved over the years, like Dylan Guthrie, Joe Miquelon, Sam Platt, Rick Huyett, Mario Lazoya, RJ Schultze, Dylan Bassett, John Curry, Paul Greenlease, Stephanie Shelton, Nathan Showalter and others. I started a project a few years ago, called the KC Steel Orchestra, which is an instrumental group featuring local steel pan players. I also play a lot of solo steel pan shows, as well as duos with guitars/vocals. I currently play drums for First Baptist in NKC, and have since 2008.

Some of my past positions include playing snare with the Chiefs Rumble Drumline, teaching drumline at Avila University and teaching Steel Band at KU.

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 a smooth road! I finished school in 2008, during the economic recession. Combine that with moving to a city with no connections, I had a big wake up call. When I was young, I thought if I just practiced as hard as I could, and mastered my instrument, gigs would just come to me. I had zero training or experience promoting myself. I’m generally pretty introverted, so trying to “sell” myself to get a chance at performances is extremely uncomfortable for me. The steel pan is still such a unique instrument, that I had a hard time getting ANY gigs. In fact, one of my first gigs in KC was at a hotel that featured jazz music. I played all jazz standards but one customer complained that they didn’t like world music, even though it was jazz I was playing.

I also admit that I had a chip on my shoulder when I first moved to KC. I did not want to play certain types of music (like fitting in a stereotype) because I had just worked so hard to learn my instrument inside and out, I wanted to play more than what was expected. I wanted to showcase everything the instrument can do! I have learned over time that from a business perspective this is not always a good idea, for me. If people were knocking down my door to play jazz and classical on my pan, that would be one thing. But they were not because, no one knew what they didn’t know, if that makes sense; the capabilities of the instrument. I play a lot more music that is catered to my audience, especially if I am hired by someone to play a specific genre. And you know what? I’ve come to love it too. If the song I’m playing is making someone happy, it makes me happy! It doesn’t matter anymore what style it is, because I am connecting with people who are listening. I do get the opportunity to play the styles I love most, like jazz, classical and calypso, but those don’t fit in every setting. It’s actually been fun to grow in this way musically, knowing that I get to present music of so many different styles. Sometimes it’s what I pick, sometimes it’s what the client picks, and a lot of the time, those two things overlap.

I also spent of time teaching at universities that ultimately could not fund my position. I did a lot of unpaid work to recruit for them and ended up being cut anyway. These situations were big blows for me because each time I put my heart and soul into making it work. I did learn though, that some of the work I did unpaid, I can use in other endeavors in my life. I was able to create teaching tools, and make great networking connections through those positions that I would not have had otherwise.

Another big obstacle was Covid. I lost all my performing work, and only about half of my private students were able to switch over to online lessons with me. I wanted to quit, but due to the circumstances there were not really any other alternatives. I started streaming online and taking tips for my online performances. That kept me afloat enough to make it to the next summer to start performing again. I actually really loved performing online, I had fun interacting with people that way, but as things opened up I noticed people were not watching as much. I’d love to pursue that again at some point.

Some of the things that I have learned along the way is the importance of networking, asking for help (still so hard for me to do!), and social media presence. I also used to give up right away when I got a no, or hit a road block. I finally am in a place where I understand that a road block is a learning opportunity. I just have to try it a different way. I am still learning about marketing and promotion every day. As I said before, it’s something I’ve had to learn along the way and is not natural to my personality. However, it’s incredibly important that I push myself to keep learning the business aspects every single day if I’m going to keep working.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a steel pan and percussion performer, teacher, composer and clinician. Although I play and teach all types of percussion, steel pan is my specialty. I love playing all types of different music on the steel pan, and I think that’s something that sets me apart. I can do the typical stuff most people associate with a Caribbean instrument, but I also love to push the boundaries of the instrument by doing experimental music, along with classical, jazz, calypso, soca, etc. Some moments I’m most proud of are getting my masters degree in steel pan performance, starting and hosting a steel pan festival, playing snare for the Chiefs drumline, and most recently performing the National Anthem for the KC Royals on steel pan. There are many moments I am proud of my students as well. In fact, I’m more proud of those moments FOR THEM. It’s not about me, and to see kids succeed in music, discover something they love, is something I never take for granted. I have students that purely want to play for fun, all the way to students that want to compete in music. If I can help them find their path, that’s my goal.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was very shy and introverted when I was young. I still am today, but I was almost painfully shy as a kid. Besides that, I think I was like most kids and just liked to play have fun. I started playing piano around 7 I think. My parents got me in lessons, and I eventually switched to saxophone in band, and then to drums. So I’d say music has always been a central part of my life. I was also very into playing softball from a young age to a teenager. I loved sports growing up, and I also loved anything to do with visual arts: painting, drawing, etc. I also read books A LOT. We went to the library a lot as a family and my mom made it a priority to start reading with me at a very young age. Even being so shy, I was actually always quite confident growing up. My parents were incredibly supportive of any interests my older brother and I had. They never made me feel like I couldn’t do something I was interested in. I think that really affected me in a positive way because it made me confident to at least trust myself and try new things. Life has has a way of breaking that confidence a bit as I’ve gone along, but the foundation is still there.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.candicehill.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candicehillmusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CandiceHill.Musician
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@candicehillmusic
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/kcsteelorchestra