My Musical Journey through the Years
I have been musical for as long as I can remember. I have grown musically throughout my childhood, my teenagehood, and my adulthood.
When I was just four years old, my parents enrolled me in piano lessons. A year later, I became envious of my older sister who was playing the violin, and I switched to violin lessons. I began performing at local venues and at musical concerts, and won awards for my musical concert abilities. By the time I was a teenager, I was so deeply immersed in my musical endeavours that I would look forward to the minute school ended so that I could go home to practice my violin or to begin to write my own songs. I could quite easily write melodies by now, because music was a part of my bones. Nonetheless, I began singing and songwriting more intently because I felt that I could express myself in different ways lyrically with words than I could musically with notes and melodies. And so began my keen desire to write and record music throughout my life.
Long before I was too old to get a ‘formal’ job, I began busking as a violinist. I used my earnings as a street performer - and sometimes a formal venue performer - to fund my musical CDs. The featured photo, above, is the cover art of my album Electricity. I recorded and released this pop album when I was sixteen. In addition, my confidence in my violin performance abilities grew. I began playing the violin at weddings, at events and festivals, and at pretty much every opportunity that presented itself to me. Through my background as a violinist, I learned the fundamentals of the universal language of music, and through my singing and songwriting, I learned to customize the language for my audience based upon my own life’s experiences. While I continued onward with my classical music lessons, I also picked up singing and songwriting lessons to sharpen my skills. Today, I perform more as a vocalist than as a violinist, though playing the violin remains a huge part of my soul.
Pictured: When I was too young for a formal job, I turned to busking and to performance as a young violinist to fund my albums and musical endeavours.
As my interest in being musical grew, I expanded my musical network. With the help of individuals who supported my musicianship, I recorded my first music video when I was seventeen. I subsequently signed a recording contract with a dance-pop label company, and began recording dance songs for my label. However, the more I recorded dance-pop music, the more I desired to be an authentic singer-songwriter instead, with no box around the type of musical genre I wrote and performed. Eventually, then, I returned to my roots as a singer-songstress, and I began recording music with a live band. I released an extended playlist, recorded at Bryan Adams’ Warehouse Studio, with a live band during my late teenage years. I promoted this music locally. I also landed film and TV distribution deals for the first time as an artist. Working with live professional musicians for the first time invigorated me and filled me with a strong desire to continue to be musical. As well, I began promoting my music live at local venues and on select radio shows too.
Featured: The cover shot for my extended playlist album titled Gallop On. I recorded this album with a live band at Bryan Adams’ Warehouse Studio.
I took a hiatus from music while I focused more on school and on small business pursuits. Nonetheless, I never stopped practicing and performing as an artist, and was performing live in Downtown Calgary and around Calgary while a student of the University of Calgary. When the timing was right for me, I returned to the studio to record a full album with a live band. We recorded this album, titled Beautiful Life, just as the pandemic was beginning to hit. As such, the release of the album took some time due to social distancing policies that began to take effect while we as musicians were performing our solo parts for the album. Still, today, I am incredibly excited to share this latest musical project with you. I signed a distribution deal very recently, and am excited to see where this opportunity may take me too.
Picture: Today, I am in the process of releasing and promoting my debut full-length album, recorded with a live band at Bryan Adams’ Warehouse Studio.
I love music for so many reasons, including the fact that I get to meet amazing individuals as an artist, and the fact that music is truly a universal language that has drawn me closer to people of different backgrounds, different cultures, and different musical backgrounds. Furthermore, because there are no right or wrong answers in the creation of music, being musical is a stress-free way for me to expand my storytelling abilities without the pressures of scoreboards or grades. Accordingly, as a musician, I only strive to improve upon my own abilities on a day-to-day basis, without the need for comparison or competition.
I have worked with musicians who are far beyond my skill level, which helps to keep me inspired and humbled. I am just beginning to re-immerse myself more intently into the musical scence, having recently sold a small business that was occupying full-time hours of my day until recently. I am eager to continue to be musical for the rest of my life. As well, I am keen to continue learning and growing as an artist during my adulthood. I will gladly update this page when the musical road has taken me to yet new places. In the meanwhile, I encourage you to take a listen to my latest music, and I thank you for checking out my material!
