Life & Work with Julia Battistin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Battistin. 

Hi Julia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My name is Julia Battistin and I was born and raised in a small town right outside of New York City called Dobbs Ferry. I’ve basically lived and breathed music since before I can remember. I started singing lessons when I was 6 years old and piano lessons when I was 7. I began writing my own songs at the age of 12. Music and songwriting became the best way for me to express myself and my feelings. It was amazing to be able to take the passion I had from such a young age for singing, playing, and performing, and be able to also put it into my own creations and songs that came directly from my heart. I focus on writing honest, soulful music that comes from my own experiences and feelings. My main influence since I began writing songs has been Sara Bareilles. Growing up, I would always be a part of all the music programs at school; plays, talent shows, concerts, and throughout high school, I performed in local open mics and shows in various venues in NYC. Fast forward, I made it into my dream school; Berklee College of Music. I majored in Songwriting and Minored in Musical Theater Writing. It was so amazing to be surrounded by so many musicians and songwriters all the time, getting to collaborate, constantly make new friends, and working with people with the same interests and goals, and I was always motivated to work harder and strive to be better every day to keep up. I learned from some of the best in the music industry and got to be a part of so many incredible events and classes and learn tools that I will take with me for the rest of my life. It was an intense four years and I worked my butt off which paid off because in 2016 I received the ASCAP Bart Howard Songwriting Award that I was nominated for by my teachers at Berklee for my hard work and achievements in the songwriting department. Some industry professionals have said, “Julia Battistin is a great writer with a very strong sense of prosody, hardworking, called here honest, brave, and beautiful, melodious and edgy; Her wonderful songs feel effortless, but each phrase is always the product of careful consideration…” 

Another one of my greatest memories at Berklee was when I got to sing a duet with Sara Bareilles, who I said earlier was my absolute biggest inspiration and idol since I was a kid. This was an unforgettable experience that sometimes still feels like a dream. Here is an article about the experience and the video of the duet: 

ARTICLE- https://www.theodysseyonline.com/julia-battistin-sara-bareilles-duet-manhattan 

VIDEO- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0MNdt87m5I 

After graduating from Berklee, I moved out to Nashville, TN where I continued to pursue my singer/songwriter dream and perform in many different venues in writer’s rounds, solo and full band shows. I’ve collaborated with so many musicians and songwriters in Nashville and love being a part of the music scene there. Everyone is so supportive of each other and loves to connect and work on music. There’s a never-ending list of amazing venues to perform at and I love how mostly everyone performs their own songs that they’ve written, each person showcasing their unique style and talents. While pursuing music, I also had a few different jobs as a music teacher for kids, Songwriting teacher, and piano/voice lessons teacher for all ages, and worked in a restaurant for a while too. I recorded my very first EP in Nashville at Sound Emporium Studios and worked with my friend and incredible producer, Jay Inman. He helped bring my songs to life and I couldn’t be happier with how the EP turned out. You can find my live band EP called “Broken Boys” on all platforms:  https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/juliabattistin/broken-boys-2 

Just recently, I temporarily relocated back to my hometown in New York to be closer to family and pursue music here. I got a job as a Music Therapist at a nursing home/rehab center where I am able to use music to help heal them and brighten their day. It’s a really fulfilling and rewarding job and I have developed great relationships with many residents there. It feels great to be able to use my talents and what I love to do to help people each day. I also run a choir there and teach a songwriting class. As a second job, I work at a restaurant, and then I also teach piano lessons. I’m still writing as much as I can, performing at weddings occasionally, and plan to start performing around NYC again as things open up more again with the Pandemic. Nashville has become my home away from home for the past four years and I’m still going back and forth to work on music there as well and plan on recording my next album soon. 

You can find my website with more information here: https://www.juliabattistin.com 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely not been a “smooth road” and of course, things don’t just happen easily as they don’t for anyone I don’t think, that’s just life! But I am very grateful for what I have and the incredibly supportive family and friends I’ve been given. One thing that has always been a struggle throughout my life is my health issues. I have severe asthma and allergies and have been on strong medications since I was a baby. There are big periods of challenges with dealing with asthma. I get sick a lot and a normal cold for me becomes at least a month-long sickness and trouble breathing which as you can guess, makes it very hard to sing, perform, or pretty much do anything. Throughout college, I struggled with getting sick all the time, having to go on antibiotics and steroids for breathing, trips to the emergency room, and of course, these things always happen at the worst possible times like when I have a very important performance or recording or show. But the show must go on!! I’ve somehow still performed and sang with fevers, the flu, breathing problems…etc. So that’s definitely been a struggle throughout my life and trying to keep my health under control, but I’ve always been taught to never give up and keep fighting no matter what challenges I face, and each struggle has made me stronger to this day. Another struggle is just being in the music industry itself. It is full of rejection, judgments, and opinions and it’s very hard to put your whole heart and soul into something for it to then be put up on a chopping block and possibly ripped apart. But I’ve become much better with dealing with rejection over the years. I’ve learned that not everyone is going to like you and that’s totally okay. I’ve learned that even though some criticisms can hurt, take them with a grain of salt, learn from them and work harder to be better. At the end of the day, as long as you are happy with what you’re doing and creating and you know what you want to do, that’s all that matters. 

Overall, yes, I have struggled a lot, but that is a part of life and you can choose to let it make you stronger or let it tear you down. I always choose moving forward, working harder, getting stronger, and being grateful for the things and support that I have. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My passion has always been singing, playing, performing, but overall, I am a songwriter. I am able to write honestly from my heart and own experiences, but I am also able to write any kind of song for any occasion or project. I have written songs for weddings, TV shows, musical theater projects, funerals, personal gifts..etc.. Being able to create a song for someone or an event and putting their story into a song is also something I take pride in and love to do. People tell me that what stands out about me is voice and songwriting. A lot of times, people copy other artists or try to sound like them, but I think I have always been able to find my own sound, and just writing from my own experiences, mind, and heart has helped me do that. My best songs have come from when I’ve gotten my heart broken or when I’m struggling to explain or figure out my emotions the first thing, I do is put it in a song. For example, I went through a hard breakup and immediately sat down and the piano and the song almost just flowed out of me and before I knew it not even 2 hours passed by and I had a song that I was so proud of and felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. That’s the title track of my EP. It truly is the best way for me to express myself and it’s times like those that reaffirm that this is what I not only want to be doing but NEED to be doing. And seeing the way people react to my music and how they can relate to it is what makes me happy; knowing that my music is able to touch people and reach their hearts too is great. That’s why I keep saying honesty; being honest in a song is the best thing you can do. Don’t try to make something up, just pull directly from what you feel inside. 

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is what I touched on earlier; to be grateful for the journey and to learn from all experiences, good or bad, to keep learning and never give up on your dream no matter what struggles you may face let them make you stronger instead of tearing you down. 

Contact Info:

• Email: juliabattistinmusic@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.juliabattistin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliabattistinmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliabattistinmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliabattistin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jjb5sixthree
• Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/juliabattistin/broken-boys-2

Image Credits
Libby Danforth