How I got started singing...

I first started singing in church with my family at a very young age, but was never the front of a band or anyone in command of a stage until I became much older.  I went through years of piano training starting at the age of 5 years old then progressed to violin in 7th grade. At the same time I also joined the school choir, and continued both for many years.  When I was 15 I traded my violin for a drum set I bought with most of the money I had saved up in life so far. Then, shortly after, I started learning guitar using my mom's first classical guitar (she even used to write songs on it in college and gave me a bunch of her lyric & chord sheets...wow...I should try to release some of the songs she wrote one day:-).  For high school graduation, my mother bought me my very own steel string acoustic guitar that I could take to college with me. It was in my early college years where I really cut my teeth with guitar, but still no formal training until after I took a semester off to find my purpose in life.

After 2 ½ years in college, it was time to decide on a major and I really wasn't that sure, so I took off a semester and did just what any college student faced with this issue should do...I went on a road trip with my BFF from high school. It was a few days into our road trip and I found myself in Sebastopol, CA (mind you I was coming from Washington, DC).  I was there jamming with some friends of our friend, their band name was Granola Funk.  It was then I realized music was my calling. This was how I could change the world for the better with gifts I already possessed and had been working on my whole life. 

The semester I took off was used to prepare me to audition for music school.  So, that's what I did.  I worked hard on my vocal lessons and made it into a college studying Vocal Performance with a double minor of classical and jazz guitar and piano, so kinda like a quadruple minor. (I had 5 juries a semester, it was a lot, but well worth the work). Plus I played piano in the jazz band at both colleges too.  It was a great experience! 

After getting my Associates Degree from Montgomery College, I moved onto Shenandoah Conservatory to get my Bachelor's Degree.  I got my degree from Shenandoah Conservatory, under Shenandoah University. My major was Commercial Music. What that meant was I auditioned in my principal instrument (VOICE) to get into the Conservatory under the Commercial Music major.  This major was based on producing music in the recording studio and releasing music commercially along with performing live.  

As required by the major, I had to have a major instrument but also had to have two minor instruments of study as well.  This major covered so much ground about vocal performance, recording, songwriting and releasing music professionally.  I also continued to play piano in a Jazz Trio in college plus was in the women's choir & Gospel choir. It was an eventful time where I even got to write my own orchestrations for jazz bands and sing with full orchestras live. Singing with a full orchestra backing you up is a grand experience.   

During college, I started teaching music as well and will probably never stop.  I just love sharing music with everyone.  I also started my first band in college too, and still have a band to this day, even though it's a different band.  More on that in the future...obviously there's always more to my life story surrounding voice but I don't want to write tooooooo long of a story…I mean the book will come out eventually (haha;-)

Wrapping up the story, I’ve been teaching & producing music in the studio professionally for 21 years and performing live for about the same time touring both the East and West Coasts of the US, Canada and even the Bahamas with the various bands I’ve put together over the years.  I love working with talented artists and seeing musical visions coming true in the studio and beyond. I love to perform, I love to produce music and I love to share music in all forms.  

 So much more to my life story, but this is how I got my start essentially in music and coaching.  There will be more and more, so stay tuned for more stories. 

Happy Singing!!!

💜⭐️💜

Pamela