Meet Ilana Hilley

We were lucky to catch up with Ilana Hilley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ilana, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from shifting my perspective. I try to see challenges not as barriers but as something that can shape me in unexpected ways.
A beauty mark is a blemish, but we call it a different name. We look at it a different way. And that’s what you do with life. You take a negative, and you put a positive spin on it.
I have great empathy for people who go through any type of trauma, and I believe a creative outlet is so important. For me, music has been a great source of comfort and inspiration.
When I was 16, I suffered a foot injury that left me unable to walk for an extended period. Recovery was long, unpredictable, and often frustrating. I had to navigate not just physical pain but also the emotional weight of feeling limited. Yet, through it all, music was my outlet—my way to process, to push forward, and to find strength even when things felt uncertain.
I wrote a song about this journey, “Strong at the Broken Places” (https://ffm.to/strongatthebrokenplaces), because that’s exactly what resilience is to me: learning how to grow stronger from the fractures, finding power in the healing process, and never letting setbacks define you. Music has been my constant source of comfort and expression, and I hope to share that strength with others through my art.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My name is Ilana Hilley (https://ilanahilleymusic.komi.io/), and I’m a senior at the Steinhardt School of New York University where I major in music technology. As a music tech major, I record and mix music in a variety of formats from stereo to Dolby Atmos (https://www.tiktok.com/@ilana.hilley.music/video/7472211683885239583) and build music-related hardware (https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0uerAZPw-z/?igsh=YzI0bm9wZmhzam5w). When I’m not in class, I’m writing and recording music. My music is available to stream on all platforms and behind-the-scenes videos are available on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ilana.hilley.music/) and tiktok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ilana.hilley.music?lang=en). I hope everyone reading this will check out my music, and if you like it, please give me a follow! I appreciate every listen and view!

I started playing violin when I was five, but switched to cello when I was 9. Although I was trained as a classical musician, I describe myself as a “classical cellist turned punk.”
This May, I will be releasing my EP, Addiction, which features original music that I wrote, recorded, mixed, and mastered. I also perform live in New York with my brother Blake (https://www.blakehilleybass.com/) who plays electric upright and acoustic double bass. We call ourselves “Classically Punk” because we draw on our classical background to tear up the stage with virtuosic double bass, cello, and punk rock riffs. We’re also in the process of recording an album together, which will be released in Summer 2025. Check out our websites to stay up to date on our upcoming shows and releases!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Believe in yourself. Surround yourself with positive people. Be flexible!
Anyone who has ever had a dream, knows you have to believe in yourself. This is especially true for artists and entrepreneurs who are trying to introduce something new, whether it’s a new song or new kind of music or an innovative design or product. Rejection is just part of the journey, and if you let it derail you, you will never achieve your dream.
Surround yourself with people who are supportive and positive. If you surround yourself with negativity, it will eat away at you. Just as important as having positive people in your life is to be a positive influence on other people. As an artist, I like to support my friends’ projects and I always appreciate when they take the time to support mine.
Lastly, be flexible! I always try to be open to new opportunities, even when something is a little out of my comfort zone.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

There are two books that have played an important role in my development as an artist. First is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Ms. Yarros created one of the greatest characters of all time, Violet, a hero with fragile bones that easily breaks who embarks on a physically demanding journey to become a dragon rider. Violet can’t change how she is made, but she succeeds by adapting and finding unique ways to overcome the obstacles in her path.
Violet is an inspiration; I have a bone injury, also. And, adapting is the only way to move forward. I’m actually writing a song based on her. I would love to be able to meet Rebecca Yarros one day!
The other book is The Road, by Cormac McCarthy which I had to read in high school. There is so much wisdom in this novel, but there is one overriding piece of information that becomes more significant to me with each passing day – it’s not the destination, but the road. The most important part of life is the journey – and we should strive to make it bold!

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Image Credits

Daemon Baizan

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