"With A Song In My Heart"
Skye

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Whether it's a Gershwin medley or an Ellington melody - or a song written by favorite lyricist Johnny Mercer, Skye can be heard day in and day out, throughout New England, singing songs from The Great American Songbook, often accompanying herself with one of her unusual harps. The standards and swing tunes from the 20s, 30s, and 40s are her specialty, but she includes Broadway hits, movie themes, jazz, waltzes, traditional singalongs, and the occasional classical and Celtic, or country-western selection. Performances are individually tailored to the requests of her audience and dependent on the atmosphere that is being created.

A classically trained vocalist, for years Skye sang with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, and at Tanglewood, and, before settling in New England, with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus. As a jazz singer, she has sung with the following groups: Arthur Medeiros Swing Band, Attleboro Concert Band, Brown University Jazz Band, Downtown Jazz Orchestra, Eastwood Swing Orchestra (together for 20 years, so far), Invitation, Meadow-Larks, New Bedford Concert Band, Northeastern Concert Band, Pawtucket Concert Band, RSVP Band (as an honorary Retired Senior!), and Travelin' Light, a jazz duo.

While music has always been her hobby (writing songs, singing in musical theater productions and church choirs, and playing flute in community bands), Skye is also a very busy freelance musician (she has been known to do 400 engagements per year!) working in venues as diverse as wineries, libraries, churches, and private homes (see Concerts), senior centers and retirement communities (see Sing-alongs), and nursing homes, Alzheimer's care units, and hospice situations (see Serenades). To spread the word about the benefits of being a daytime entertainer, Skye has written a book entitled "Songs in Season: a Musician's Guide to Becoming a Daytime Entertainer" and hosts an internet forum on the topic, called DaytimeEntertainers. But she still finds time to birdwatch and exercise the family beagles by riding a kid-style scooter on the local bike path and hiking in the woods with her musician husband.

Skye has a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and a Master's Degree in Audiology, but it is her thirty years of professional singing experience that make her easy to work with as a solo artist (see Notes from others). Both Skye's gracious manner and enthusiasm put audiences at ease.

Her gift is her song.

Personal Notes:

As a child, I was moved by the story of Jane Froman in the movie "With A Song In My Heart" and though I've not seen it in thirty-five years, I remember well the scene where she overcomes adversity (the loss of the use of her legs) by singing for the troops during WWII onstage from a hidden, motorized wheelchair. Her kind of courage set the tone for my life. (The story of Itzak Perlman playing a symphonic piece in concert with only three strings on his violin after the fourth broke is another example of "making lemonade." Perlman's words: "Sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." Or, my uncle's words: "It isn't what you're dealt that matters in life, it's how you deal with it.").

My life was re-harmonized a few years ago when, of all things, a fortune cookie message I received said:

"Sing and Rejoice!"

Since then, I have taken the literal meaning of the word rejoice - "to give joy to" - as my reason for being (clearly, I was born to sing). My task is made quite simple by singing with a harp; everyone seems touched, at some level, by the combination.

It is the songs - the wonderful songs written by the great songwriters of the first half of the 20th Century - that captured my heart and seem to reach people most deeply. Their responses are frequently magical. Joy is often right there!

Notes from Others:

"Skye's voice adds warmth to any song.
The harp accompaniment makes the experience that much richer.
It would make any heart sing!"

"Nice person to work with. Wonderful atmosphere created with harp and singing voice."

"Skye's voice is exquisite."

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"just traveling along singing a song"