Choosing the authors and finishers of my work is difficult. If I subscribe to that which is attributed to the 11th century philosopher John Locke; we are the authors of our own soul; born intellect as pure potentiality as "tabla rasa", then all that I've come in contact with since birth have contributed to whom I have become. If I choose the epistemology of nature over nurture, then I'm sure to become that to which I've been genetically predisposed.
I often have this discussion, with friends and family when talking about our offspring. Can we ever take credit for what they are about to do as life leads them on, becoming single surviving individuals out of our domain, care and influence or do we chalk their shortcomings and successes to DNA? Really, who is to blame or bestowed with praise for their life’s work? I believe it is very important to understand one's part you play in another's life, be it parental or professional. How I view these roles determines my pledge, my vested interest and the manner in which I work.
Circling back to the question, I still need to employ, who/what is responsible for my current musical being, plagues me with doubt that I can ever connect the dots to my musical self. The responsibility of this fleshly-housing has been given through a short eternity of chance happenings and Godly foresights, causing me great pause when I'm asked to explain how I've gotten to this point in my life and why the choices I make are significant to me now. A very real part of my thinking informs me that I am everywhere and nowhere...this makes it hard to encapsulate my now. With that said, I can try to contextualize my most recent work amongst my current history, experiences and the great artists that I feel are feeding my art...as we speak.
In the early 70's I entered Western Washington University as an Art Major. Within the first year I became uncomfortable with the nudity necessary for model study, quickly reassigning my major to music. This conservative decision came on the cusps of a new alignment with conventional Christian dogma. Though I continue to have strong tendencies towards this form of faith (and very much appreciate its intentions; keeping me safe during early explorative years), I can see now that an artistic rebellion began brewing.
Two years of classical voice training at WWU offered an early and important vocal environment; establishing necessary breathing, articulation and phrasing techniques that I employ today. Well into my second year, my Italian and classical vocal style, as described by one juror, were still taking on "pop" references. This was most likely due to much of my time being spent practicing the folk and spiritual music that my heart leaned towards. These stylings rise within my sound even now...quite naturally. I usually listen to classical music, as I did then, yet I must confess my dislike for operatic repertoire. A quandary. Choral music seemed to align best with my spiritual interests and for several decades, I was content with choral music as an adequate expressive approach.
Contemporary Christian music was in its infant stage during the '70's. I spent most of my time learning form, harmony and folk-like qualities from individual artists or groups such as Andre Crouch and the Disciples, Larry Norman, Maranatha Singers, Jesse Dixon, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Keith Green, Children of the Day, Larnelle Harris and Love Song. Personally, there was a lot of sacrifice to be made converting to this simplistic art form, especially coming from the classical genre. I substituted musical depth and intelligence with what I perceived to be spirit...Bach would beg to differ! But, with the accessibility of these pop pieces and my youth, it was inevitable that I would look for something to attach my young voice to.
I'm drawn to female artists. Soloists such as: Amy Grant, Debby Boone, Nancy Honeytree, Cynthia Clawson, Kelly Willard and Evie Thornquist-Karlsson made a big impression on me as a young female soloist. At 18 years old, I remember sitting on the closet floor in the living room, cassette player on my lap and headphones draped across my head, memorizing every nuance of Evie. Evie, and many other singing groups came from a more liberal church-music scene that was newly evolving. Many folk attributes, story-like tunes with easy conversational melodies and emotionally catchy choruses, were the gist of this...my newest vocal and spiritual outlet. And I could (and did), do it well...for 30 years!
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