Why Play When You Can Slay

             Miss Chloe Flower was born Chloe Won in Los Angeles, California. At the age of two, she began playing the piano and from there went on to attend the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School, and then the Royal Academy of Music. She was later discovered by the producer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and then she signed with Sodapop, a department in Island Def Jam Records. Flower is a pioneering force in the contemporary instrumental genre. She currently focuses on making fun covers of popular songs and her own instrumental music. Flower is a classical pianist, composer, writer, and producer. Including the contemporary instrumental genre, Flower also delves into classical music, classical-crossover, instrumental pop, and hip hop.

             Miss Chloe Flower made her debut Grammy stage at the 2019 Grammys in collaboration with the hip hop artist Cardi B. Overnight she became known as “Cardi B’s pianist.” Even though it was her first time collaborating with a well-known hip hop artist in front of a live television audience with the biggest names in the music industry, Flower crushed her performance which opened up many new doors for her in terms of collaboration, creation, and activism. Before the Grammys, Flower had done many collaborations with artists like NAS and Celine Dion, companies like Nike, and authors like Deepak Chopra. She has also had her hands in writing many songs and soundtracks. This past year, Flower has also signed deals with Sony Masterworks and United Talents Artists Agency as well as becoming an official Steinway Artist for the piano company Steinway & Sons. While Flower is a successful classical pianist who is paving the way for other contemporary instrumental musicians, her motivation for success is driven by her philanthropy.

 

             Her extrinsic motivation, as described by Amabile in “Beyond talent: John Irving and the passionate craft of creativity,” pushes Flower to make music and collaborate with a wide variety of people. After her Grammy performance with Cardi B, Flower’s Instagram account was flooded with new followers and people sending her videos of their kids playing the piano and other musical instruments. Her creativity as a pianist and composer gives Flower a powerful tool to advocate for music education and, by extension, connects her with an organization she has been working with since 2006: The Somaly Mam Foundation. The Somaly Mam Foundation is a non-profit organization based in the United States that supports anti-trafficking groups to eradicate human trafficking and empower the women and children that had been forced into sexual slavery. Flower is extremely passionate about ending human trafficking and sexual slavery through music education. She even spoke at the 2017 United Nations panel about her efforts in promoting music education to end trafficking.
             When Chloe Flower debuted onto the music scene in 2010, she brought her passion for helping others through music to a bigger stage. She is not the only artist to use his or her platform to advocate for others, but Flower is a well-known classical pianist who uses a variety of factors to support her philanthropy including social media which introduces people to her activism for music education and anti-trafficking efforts. Flower’s extrinsic motivation to help others who often do not have a voice and who’s cause often goes unreported by the media is one of the main driving forces behind her music. The other main motivator for Flower is to prove to people that classical music is not a drag. To show people the excitement and flair of classical music, Flower continues to find new ways that speak to herself and her efforts to promote the causes she is passionate about while demonstrating the drama that happens in classical music. One of those ways is Flower’s love for fashion. She attracts many followers to her Instagram page through her love of fashion and her mirror-encrusted Liberace piano. Fashion has always been a big part of Flower’s life. Her mom would take her shopping and bring her fashion magazines ever since she was a baby. Since her music does not have lyrics, Flower uses fashion to express herself. Her dramatic outfits provide a new look to classical music and they help Flower show that classical music is not boring.
             

             In addition to being a successful classical pianist, composer, writer, producer, and philanthropist, Flower can also play the cello and speak four languages including Hindi, French, and Korean. I believe Flower is a Pro-C creative who is pushing the boundaries of classical music and how it is received by the present generation and how it can be used to help others in need. As she promotes awareness of human trafficking through classical music, Chloe Flower continues to slay her performances while looking dramatic AF.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerycehenry/2019/08/16/pianist-chloe-flower-talks-new-old-town-road-cover-and-hip-hopclassical-mashups/#64f1727563cc
https://www.choprafoundation.org/performers/chloe-flower/
https://sg.style.yahoo.com/chloe-flower-scene-stealing-pianist-turning-classical-music-160126946.html
https://time.com/5526700/chloe-flower-grammys/
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Asian-American-Pianist-Merges-Classical-Music-with-Pop-Chloe-Flower-509508581.html