I was eight when I was asked to sing my first solo for guests and officials opening a new public school. Magical eight also saw me giving my first piano recital at Darke Hall in Regina, SK. I loved piano lessons and my very old piano teacher (she might have been all of forty), even though my father was a tyrant about practicing each morning at 6 am. The work paid off. By age thirteen, I was qualified to teach piano students. The income from my early attempt at making music a business, allowed me to buy my first harp and give a concert at age fifteen.

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After a stint of traveling across Canada at sixteen and then skirting around Scandinavia at seventeen, I settled into university. Before I knew it, I was off to graduate school in the United States. Studying in California presented me with opportunities to tour as a featured vocalist before returning to Canada and beginning my career as a singer, harpist, and educator. Then came hubby and kids! Talk about a change of pace!

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While raising my family, a wee bit of stardom graced my life  as I took the lead in various stage productions. Working as a musician and actor in film/television left me with years of fond memories, especially when my children joined me as actors in movies.

 

Composing music for five recordings and writing children’s novels and educational materials carried me through the nurturing silence at the end of each day when kids and hubby were safely tucked in for the night. It seems those tiny hours of early morn still beckon, for it's not unusual to rise at 3:30 or 4 am. and put my computer to work! 

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In closing, Life has surprised me with the unexpected—the blessing of being able to share my gifts with international dignitaries, with the desert people on the ancient Silk Road in Asia, with the descendants of slaves in the British West Indies, and with the Dené people of Northern Canada. Life is rich with my love of family, travel, art, research, and sports. Life is further gracious with its awards such as my finally completing a doctorate degree in the arts. Life is loving, and I am ever grateful for the love of family and friends!