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For my Solitary Treasures Concert, I created beautiful music that helps show non-classical audiences how lovely classical can be and visa versa. I was raised with only being allowed to listen to or sing/play classical music. In college I was exposed to non-classical and have been enjoying putting the two together ever since. To make matters more interesting, my Grammy Award is in the category Best Jazz Vocal Performance by Duo or Group! My philosophy is, if it is great music done well, no matter what style, people can appreciate it and maybe fall in love with it. I take full responsibility for putting myself smack dab in the middle of both genres, although my life would be a whole lot easier if it was just one or the other. But I harken to my mother’s daily mantra to me as a little girl, “Be an individual!” so here we are. Honoring the purity of the classical genre and my musical upbringing, there are a few numbers executed in the highest classical tradition.

 

That said, I’ve been touring the country with this show and having so much fun with it. Audiences say they love the unique repertoire and are amazed that one voice can have so many colors. I love the immediate feeling of energy between audience and artist, with the music taking us on the adventure together.

 

The collection of music comes from my albums that went #1 on the Radio Charts (Sirius Satellite Radio, Music Choice Soundscapes, NPR, and so forth); were in the top 5; or voted Best Vocal Album 2007 and Best Holiday Album 2007 or Nominated Best Vocal Album 2012 by Broadcasters Worldwide. And, a brand new album, “Tranquil Times” is coming out on 9/6/13. This is my first foray into the Instrumental category as a pianist/composer. “Yes, mom, I remain the individual, known for my voice and putting out an album without it one vocal sound on it. Would we have it any other way?” There are several pieces on Tranquil Times that I play some of my 12 chromatically tuned Crystal Singing Bowls as part of the arrangement. I might bring out some of those at the concert. In addition to my music being played in Sirius Satellite radio, Music Choice Soundscapes and so forth, some of my music is also played on hospital and hospice broadcast systems for a relaxing atmosphere.

 

Some pieces I will perform classically both in vocal production and orchestration such as “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot, (yes I know it is a tenor aria but why do they get to have all the fun?) or the Grieg “Nocturne” for piano solo, or “Early in the Morning” by Ned Rorem where I’ll accompany myself on piano.  This last piece is from my “Angel on Ivories” CD (17 Classical Art songs from the years 1546-1958) that was a Finalist in The American Prize 2012 Best Art Song Vocalist – Professional Division.

 

Some selections hold a particular memory in my career such as my arrangement of “The Prayer” by David Foster that I sang on TV’s The Young and the Restless; or, I might do either my arrangement of Delibes “Sous le dome epais” from Lakme or the “Aria” version I sang as the featured soprano soloist in the PBS-TV Special, Yanni, Live at the Acropolis seen by over 1.5 Billion worldwide. A tribute to an amazing musician/composer/arranger, the late Clare Fischer, for whom I sang lead soprano in his vocal group that won the Grammy and 3 Nominations, comes in the form of a piece he wrote in the early 60’s, “Samba da Borboleta,” new to me, and recently, I wrote a lyric to it called now called “The Butterfly Samba.” It goes like the wind, sounds like a butterfly in flight and is my challenge piece to see if I get all the notes in, as I sing and play it on piano with no room for an error at that tempo.

 

There’s film score themes I arranged with Larry Steelman of “Gabriel’s Oboe” from The Mission by Ennio Morricone and my arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de lune for voice and piano as the into to Carter Burwell’s “Bella’s Lullaby” from Twilight.

 

In my Solitary Treasures Concert, the crossover part is wonderful too. For example, I had this idea of putting both the Ravel and Fauré “Pavane” together. So I called on arranger/keyboardist Brad Cole (Phil Collins) to collaborate, with both melodies sung at the same time with a light touch of rhythm. So for something like this, I’ll sing to the beautiful tracks I made for my albums that have the second vocal part. Besides, English, Spanish, French, and Italian, I also enjoy singing in vocalise with my arrangements of instrumental pieces such as the Spheeris & Voudouris “Enchantment” used by Olympic skater Sasha Cohen, or legitimate art song vocalise such as the “Pastorale” by Igor Stravinsky. One of my favorite pop songs is Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose.” So I arranged it with more classical orchestration and added my kid’s choir and my adult singer friends, modulating us a third higher by the end of the piece. The Latin “Ay Cariño” by Manuel Alejandro is very fun to sing in Spanish with its quick moving melody and emotional lyrics. And there’s a lovely medley, “A Celtic American Treasury” that shows the correlation between the Celtic and Appalachian folk song.

 

There will be a few of my originals: “Lucid See,” a piano solo, Nominated Best New Age Song 2011 by The Independent Music Awards and most importantly, “Remember Me,” a dramatic musical tribute to our nation’s heroes with thousands of hits on YouTube. All veterans and active duty are invited to join me on stage to hold the memory of our loved ones during the song. There might even be a Sister Act story or two, from my time as the tambourine-waving choir nun in both films with Whoopi Goldberg and as the real life music director and production vocal coach.

 

For an entertaining evening of a classy combination of magnificent , live music, a mesmerizing multi-octave voice and some light humor and interesting stories on the side, this is your event on Saturday, September 7 at 8pm, ($15 adv./ $25 Door only/ $10 Students w. ID adv. only), NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood, 11136 Magnolia. Concert Tickets: www.timeart.us/tickets or call 818-980-2840. For more info about my work, please visit www.darlenekoldenhoven.com.