Michelle Jones wears many musical hats. She is a renowned instrumentalist, composer, recording artist and educator. After years of studying violin, viola and piano, the versatile instrumentalist decided to form a top strings rock ensemble, Violectric, in 2008. Since then, the world’s only string rock band of its kind has captivated audiences worldwide with its unique sound.

Jones serves as the lead “Vinylinist,” a violinist who performs classic vinyl rock. Along with her husband and Violetric technical director, Jerry Jones—who created and built the group’s electric instruments—the charismatic performer has entertained audiences around the globe. She has worked with many notable singers, artists and musical groups such as Mannheim Steamroller, Pink Floyd, Josh Groban, Michael Bolton, Peter Cetera and Chicago, Dennis DeYoung and Styx, The Beach Boys, Smokey Robinson, Beyoncé, Sarah Brightman, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell and many others.

Jones has served as a music educator for over 30 years. Her devotion to “paying it forward” is evident in the educational programs, interactive workshops and live concerts she has established. Jones’ outstanding philanthropy and commitment to education have resulted in her being presented with the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Orlando Family Magazine recently spoke with the accomplished artist about her musical beginnings, generous spirit and immense love of The City Beautiful.

When did you first start playing the violin and what drew you to it?

I honestly don’t remember exactly when I started to play because it was before I was 3 years old. My mother was a symphonic violinist for 40 years with the symphony in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as well as a church musician, organist and choir director who also taught violin and piano in our house, so it was one of those things where I grew up with it. My grandmother and grandfather also played violin and piano, and they sang. I guess it’s in my genes. I’ve always grown up loving to play and loving music in general. My mother was my teacher until I was about 9 years old. Then she said, ‘You need another teacher, another influence on you besides me,’ which is what a good teacher does. That gave me a different perspective and my love of the violin continued to grow. In high school, I became interested in playing the viola as well, so I was involved in violin, piano and viola in addition to musical theater, and music through the church. There was never a dull moment! But all of that really prepared me to be a working musician because in order to be a successful musician, you can’t just sit around and wait for the phone to ring—you have to be out there, engaging and creating.

Did you know at that young age that music would be your career path?

Funny enough, my mother didn’t want me to be a musician, she wanted me to be a neurosurgeon. I’ve always been fascinated by the connection between music and the brain so it seemed like a good fit for me. Playing an instrument is one of the few activities that uses every part of your brain and I am deeply interested in the study of that. However, while I was in college doing a double major with chemistry and music, I realized I needed to focus on just one and that’s when I chose music and business because they didn’t have a music business degree at that time.

In addition to being a performer, you also teach music. What do you enjoy most about being a teacher?

Even though I’m the teacher, I learn from my students during every lesson, whether they are children, teenagers or adults. The thing that brings me the most joy is seeing them light up when they realize they have accomplished something, even if it’s something small, because it is something for them to build on. I love seeing my students grow as they get one step closer to reaching their goals. The proudest moments, for any teacher, are when something clicks for the student and they get ‘it,’ no matter what that ‘it’ is. The ultimate joy comes when the student starts creating things on their own.

What do you enjoy doing outside of music?

Whenever I can, I like to travel for fun. Believe it or not, the pandemic is what taught me to do that. For most of my life, I didn’t take vacations because I was always traveling so much for work. Whenever there was downtime, I just wanted to stay home and rest. However, by traveling for work, my husband and I earned a lot of hotel points and airline miles through the various free rewards programs. After 25 years of this, we ended up with a lot of points that never got used so we decided to start traveling during the pandemic when there were no gigs. We would go to Las Vegas for two to three weeks and just explore.

Are there any travel spots that have inspired you artistically?

Hands down, Japan. From the people to the culture, music and food, there is so much to love about Japan. I’m so glad that they have now opened tourism again—we are already planning a tour for next June in Japan. We have visited several times and always fall deeper in love. In 2017, I got to perform there on a solo performing tour. The response was phenomenal. It’s hard to describe but there is just such a wonderful energy there. Now in the United States, my favorite place to visit is the desert. I go there to recharge and re-energize. That’s one of the reasons we go to Nevada so much. It’s not just for Las Vegas—I mean we love Vegas and it has been a home base for us because we have a condo there—but we always get a car and drive out to the desert. And there, in the middle of nowhere is where I recharge. There’s zero internet and cell phone reception. Nothing but mountains, dirt and sand. It’s amazing what being there can do for your mind and that’s where I’ve gotten the most inspiration from. But I can get inspiration anywhere—I have even found inspiration in the middle of a grocery store (laughs).

You have worked with many big-name artists throughout the years. Is there anyone in particular who stands out to you?

It’s been such a thrill to get to meet and work with so many amazing artists. And there are still so many that I hope to work with. I want to work with Dolly Parton more than anybody. I’ve never met her or worked with her but I really want to because I absolutely love her. Out of everybody that I have worked with, the one that I owe the most thanks to is Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton. He is a legend and I was honored when has asked me to perform with him and then to tour and record with him. He has been the most supportive mentor and knows exactly how to create, build and keep relationships with people. That’s probably the No. 1 thing I have learned from him. I thankfully have had similar relationships with many of the other artists I have worked with as well. I have found that the artists I consider to be the most successful and longest lasting are some of the kindest and most genuine human beings on the planet. Probably the most famous of all right now is Lady Gaga, and she is a very sweet and genuine person.

You have been awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award by the White House numerous times. Where does your sense of generosity stem from?

Growing up, I was always taught to pay it forward, and so volunteerism has always been a big part of my life. I am a strong believer that if you don’t have money, donate your time. If you don’t have time, donate money. It’s putting good karma out there and getting good karma back. So, it was a really nice surprise to be recognized for the volunteer work I do. I wasn’t even aware of the President’s Volunteer Service Award, but the organizations that I volunteer for actually tracked my volunteer hours and submitted it on my behalf. It was a huge surprise the first time I received it and then to get it again was unbelievable, a true honor.

Describe your style of music and how you have crafted your unique sound.

For me personally, I wanted, and felt I needed, to learn multiple genres. It starts with a classical foundation but then you learn the multiple genres in order to be creative and perform. There are some incredible musicians who only play classical because they have dedicated themselves to that level of perfection and I completely admire them. However, for me, I’ve always loved classic rock music and gospel and gained a huge appreciation for bluegrass, being from South Carolina. So, I wanted to incorporate all those elements together, and that’s how Violetric was formed. When I created our sound, the only thing that was similar was Apocalyptica, a phenomenal symphonic metal band. They were the biggest inspiration for creating Violetric. I would describe the Violetric style as a mix of rock with pop and a lot of flair. It is a sensory experience, between the sounds and the lights mixed with high energy. It’s more than just a musical performance, it is a show. We don’t sit, we get rid of the music stands—there’s no barrier between us and our audience. With us being completely wireless we go out into the audience and get to be interpersonal with them and feed off their energy.

What are your future plans?

Well, there’s plans and there’s dreams. The dream for me is to tour Japan once again. The other dream is to do a stateside tour, all over the United States. I want to play in every state. It’s a big dream. I’ve gone to a lot of states but I want to perform in every single one and visit more than just the airport. And I don’t want to only perform solo shows, I want to perform with people that I love performing and creating and playing with. Sometimes that’s with Violetric and sometimes it’s me getting the opportunity to perform with other artists, like Wayne Newton.

What do you love most about living in Orlando?

Orlando is home. My husband and I absolutely love living here. We love everything about it, even the crazy weather! This is where our roots are. Family is not always blood and my husband and I have been so blessed that our closest friends are here. Our lives are here. The more I can be a part of the community and the more I can give to our community, supporting people and the arts, the happier I am. The best part of Orlando is the people. Orlando has been extremely supportive of us. Every year we look forward to our holiday show in December that I consider our homecoming show.