Music Director, Bronwyn Edwards
Greetings, Music Lovers!
My name is Bronwyn Edwards and I am Fauntleroy UCC Church's new Music Director. In the past three months that I have served in an interim capacity, I have been delighted by the warmth of the congregation at Fauntleroy, and the rampant enthusiasm shown by choristers and congregation alike for a diverse range of music. So far we have performed music from Handel's oratorio "The Messiah," songs by Faure, John Rutter and many other contemporary composers including Eric Whitacre, adapted versions of two songs from "O Brother Where Art Thou," as well as Manhattan Transfer's "Operator," and several arrangements I have written the day before rehearsal to impart a specific message! I love the way our choristers embrace musical challenges and frequently offer suggestions for church anthems. We are all having fun and growing together musically!
My diverse musical background finds a perfect niche at Fauntleroy. Born in Australia, where I was classically trained (loved the music of Bach, Brahms, Ravel and Debussy!), and somewhat of a child prodigy on the piano (George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is my favorite performing piece), I was always a jazz wannabe (grew up listening to Dave Brubeck's "Time Out"), and played blues and boogie with a passion (probably my Uncle Hal's fault - he was a professional Boogie-man). I grew up in the Uniting Church, and had written a few of my own songs - one song written as a child that received national airplay - but never felt compelled to move in the direction of singer/songwriter, although I was greatly influenced by the songs of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, James Taylor and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
I crossed "The Pond" (typically understated Australian term for the Pacific Ocean) from Sydney to Seattle in 1985. In an effort to meet people, I joined the South Seattle Community College Community Choir, where I sang under the leadership of director Paula Herd (still there at SSCC!), who encouraged me to write my own choral music. A series of four song cycles on the Seasons, as well as two Pacific Northwest Christmas Carols later, the SSCC Choir had performed my compositions on the Seattle Christmas Ships, at the Leavenworth Tree-lighting Ceremony, and at various choral festivals around Puget Sound.
After I became a new mother to Kendall in 1990, music was relegated to the back burner for a while. About six years later I co-founded and played piano in (of all things!) a country band. A far contrast from classical and choral music, (and I was never a country music aficionado), this unlikely direction was more the result of the musical company I was keeping than my natural choice of musical genre, however, I did enjoy the "new" country sound and loved to harmonize. Three country/rock bands later, I was singing and playing with a band called ONCE at the West Seattle Street Festival Street Dance. We were now a diverse, multi-genre dance band, covering all kinds of rock, pop, R&B, country, and even reggae music spanning four decades and singing everything from the Beatles to Top 40 tunes.
Always striving for new musical horizons, I started writing again. Playing everybody else's songs had become a little less than satisfying, and I began to crave the creative process. By 2004 I was in the recording studio for my first taste of songwriting from concept to performance, and during the production of "Late Bloomer" - a collection of songs from many musical genres sung by 7 different Pacific Northwest vocalists - I encountered a whole new circle of studio musicians, performers and producers, many of whom have become my closest friends and supporters of my music.
After "Late Bloomer," I decided to sing my own songs, due to popular request. "She Loves the Rain" (December 2005) was a much more personal collection of songs about the people and places of my life that held special meaning.
With two further CD releases of piano and keyboard music, and a series of three of my own Red Piano concerts under my belt - I am now thoroughly enjoying exploring a new genre of music - inspirational and Christian repertoire, much of it familiar to me from my days in church in Australia, where I played piano and accompanied vocal and instrumental soloists over many years, but with so much more music of this genre to encounter, adapt, arrange, teach and conduct. It is also my pleasure to have the opportunity to afford theory and sight-singing classes to this wonderful group of people, as excited to learn as I am to teach.
So, as I have been welcomed warmly to Fauntleroy Church, I would take this opportunity to welcome all music-lovers of all skill levels with the desire to sing to consider joining our wonderful Chancel Choir. This group of people has already brought great joy to my life, and I look forward to a soulful musical journey with each and every one of them in the years to come.
Bronwyn Edwards
bron@sirensongweb.comwww.bronsongs.com
Updated: 7/10/11: J. VanGilder
