Yessian Music is expanding into the Austin and Southwest markets, and has brought Evelyn Brown back on board as executive producer.
“We are thrilled to welcome Evelyn back into our Yessian teams as we expand our offerings throughout the U.S.,” said Brian Yessian, chief creative officer of Yessian Music. “In addition, this next year we will continue our global expansion through strategic partnerships with composers, producers and creative partners to facilitate creative projects that include commercials, film and immersive experiences in all corners of the world.”
Brown’s first tour of duty at Yessian was as a sr. producer in its NYC office. She worked for six-and-a-half years under the aegis of Marlene Bartos, executive producer/managing director of Yessian NY, and grew into the role of EP.
Brown felt a calling which caused her to take a sabbatical from Yessian. She explained, “Since I was a child I’ve carried around an obsession with medicine and making people feel better. It was something that always took a back seat to my other calling of music performance and then production, but it certainly never went away. As life shifted beyond COVID, I was pulled into the frame of mind of exploring this. Without expectation, I had applied to Saint Mary of The Woods College for their post graduate music therapy program to allow me to extend my already existing Bachelor’s in music into the dream of becoming an MT-BC, a board certified music therapist. Once I was accepted though, I understood that for the foreseeable future working full-time wasn’t going to yield the best results for me or for Yessian. With a heavy heart, I made the decision to part ways to spend some time studying. Having done that, perhaps the best part of it all is that I have found that my itch for music production and working alongside the team at Yessian is still very much alive and possible as I continue this journey.”
Brown continued, “On a basic level most people understand that there is music that helps with mood elevation, or perhaps music or sounds that when listened to might calm someone down. Beyond the tip of that iceberg, there are people that spend their lives dedicated to researching and clinically proving that not only does music offer the power above but if used in the right way and context it can aid in someone learning to speak again post a traumatic brain injury, or help a child walk whose disability otherwise wouldn’t allow.
“Music around the world and through time has been the center of our most celebrated cultural experiences – you can hear this in lullabies, hymns, battle songs, storytelling, and one of my favorite, entertainment. If organized in a certain way, music enhances feelings and experiences and this isn’t always purely random emotion, it’s science and psychology. In advertising, experiential – even the ending of the little song that plays when your dryer finishes a cycle…This combined knowledge of how music works in context allows for calculated decisions that yield best results for manipulating the emotions of consumers.”
Brown has moved back to hometown of Austin. And Yessian has been open to tapping into her expertise in music and music therapy. “What I loved about this return to Yessian is how empowered they have allowed me to feel,” shared Brown. “There was no ‘you can’t do both’ or ‘we are worried about your capacity…’ It was ‘we know how wonderful this is for you and we are excited to see how this informs our environment.’ BUT what I am most excited about is seeing the growth of the people within the team I have missed so much. Everyone has learned new ways of working, and some people, like our associates, have grown into newer and exciting roles and they are slaying it. My managers and team have expanded with added value and new talent has given us a fresh and exciting perspective for what the future can hold. My fire is lit by the ability to believe that anything is possible with who I believe are some of the most talented people in our industry working together. The coming years are going to be no exception as we expand our horizons and continue to grow alongside this ever evolving world of music and sound.”
Brown added, “Yessian has a rich history working outside of the box, and if the last years have taught us anything there’s a strong desire and pull towards human connection on a global level. One of my focuses in the next year is to help our team continue to expand our capabilities not only here in Texas and the surrounding areas, but on a much larger scale globally where we can connect to people all around the world who share a common goal of making the best work sound the very best it can.”
Bartos related, “Timing is everything. During her previous six years at Yessian in New York, Evelyn’s talents, knowledge and enthusiasm were a winning combination that contributed immeasurably to our success. As we continue to expand into new markets and restructure internally, the timing of her move to Austin created the perfect opportunity for us to join forces again. We are a formidable team and it’s a pleasure to be working with her again after a brief hiatus.”
