Hi, I’m Chiesa 👋🏼🙃💕

Let’s get to know each other.

I’ve been singing for…well…basically ever. I grew up in a small farm town in California with about 7,000 people, and spent most of my childhood in orchards and singing on our front porch with no neighbors for miles. I started formal voice lessons when I was 8 years old and was quickly introduced to classical music. My first aria was the classic…you’ve guessed it: “Caro Mio Ben”.

When I was 12, I competed in a major regional competition hosted by the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. Somehow, I won (against 16- to 18-year-olds, thank you very much 😎), which launched me into a whirlwind year as a featured soloist with the orchestra and one-on-one mentorship with the symphony conductor. He was intense (truly a hard ass) but that year taught me the kind of discipline and stamina it takes to be a professional musician. I was in.

Through high school, I trained rigorously, performed constantly, and even got into elite programs like Interlochen (which I turned down for love…don’t ask lol). When it came time to choose a college path, there was no question: I was going to study vocal performance.

I went to San Diego State and spent the next five years in the practice rooms, pouring my heart and soul into studying Puccini, Verdi, and all of the Italian greats. I was extremely competitve. Consistently placing first in competitions, was hand-picked for roles and solos without auditioning, and was generally considered “one to watch”. Despite my success, I was burnt out. After over a decade of nonstop classical performance, the hyper-competitive conservatory world left me exhausted and creatively drained. So... I quit. Cold turkey. But, while my life was completely consumed by classical music: I also fell madly in love with…tech house.

It started with Dirtybird. Claude VonStroke’s ridiculous vocal loops and 808s. “We can make a cake, uh uh uh uh uh uh uh” is still the default sound on repeat in my brain. Oh, and then the glory days of tropical house and music festivals from 2012-2017, ugh. Never has a time in life been so glorious (although that moment in music history was very, very short lived, RIP). I became a sponge for all subgenres of house music. I spent years virtually crate digging (I liked to think of myself as a tastemaker 🤌🏼)

For the next 6–7 years, I didn’t perform. At all. Except for the occasional tipsy karaoke night or messing around on Logic with my Korg Minilogue (bought during a minor identity crisis with my stimulus check in 2020). I poured myself into yoga, became a yoga therapist and Ayurvedic practitioner, and slowly rebuilt my relationship with creativity on my terms. Yoga gave me back my sanity. Music, however, was still a lingering dream, unfullfiled.

In 2022, I had a major life shakeup. I ended an engagement, fell in love with someone new (hi, Burning Man), and moved across the country. One foot in chaos, the other in total liberation. And somewhere in the midst of that transformation, I cracked open like an egg, and music started pouring out of me.

Some new, amazing musician friends came into my life and nudged me to start writing and producing. So I did. And it just…kept…coming. Every emotion I felt: grief, bliss, insecurity, optimism--turned into a mini sonic masterpiece (at least, to my ears). I processed my life through music, and slowly built an entirely new evolution of myself.

That same year, my partner Nick--a fellow classically trained musician turned music venue owner--saw my spark and fully believed in it. The day after I told him I wanted to take music seriously again, he took me to Guitar Center and dropped a generous penny on a full studio setup that now completely overtakes our dining room. Supportive chaos, as it should be.

In March of 2024, I released my debut solo album Liminal Space, a 13-song self-produced journey through uncertainty, self-discovery, and rebirth. I haven’t slowed down since.

I’ve just released my second album Almost Forever (June 2025), a dreamy, deeply personal blend of ethereal house, ambient textures, and vocals. I sing, write, produce, and mix everything myself—and every beat of it comes straight from the heart.

Now, here we are.

I’ve started performing again too (a mini-tour, if you will--New Orleans, San Diego, and Elements Festival 🤪). I’m rediscovering the joy of performing, which has been the biggest growth arc of my life at this point. I’m finding joy and peace in being seen.

At the end of the day, I’m just the same little insecure girl from a small town in California who spent her childhood yelling into the void, and somehow found a way to turn all of that into my own, unique sound. I hope it is relatable. I hope it feels good when it reaches your ears :)

I have a feeling it’s just the new beginning.

xoxo 

-Chiesa