Album Notes

A lovely melody and captivating lyrics can make life a joyous event and my wish is to share my melodies and lyrics with my listening audience.

I have been writing love songs, plus songs for my family members, since I started college in 1981. In May of 1987, at the age of 52, I graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth Campus with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composing. Even though my favorite is the Boogie-woogie piano piece I wrote I also have written love songs, ballads, pop and classical. My compositions also include a piece for the accordion, several pieces for the organ and three Christmas songs. The choir at the church I work at as organist recently sang two of them during their annual Christmas Cantata. It was a real treat.

I have been a church organist since 1966. At present I am the organist at Hope Presbyterian Church in Virginia, MN. I also have provided piano music for local activities during the past twenty-five years. I give piano, voice, organ and accordion lessons in my home. I recently retired from the Range Community and Technical College, where I gave music lessons for the past eighteen years. I have presented five music concerts, which featured several of my compositions and included other music for piano, organ, accordion and vocals, ranging from boogie-woogie to classical. The last two concerts were aired over Mediacom Local TV Access Channel in the Virginia, MN area.

I am the divorced mother of one son, two daughters, one granddaughter and one great-granddaughter. I have written songs for each of them, plus a song paying tribute to my parents, Sylvia and Joe. The song “Precious Jewels” is dedicated to my father and “Lullaby, Oh Lullaby” to my mother.

In addition I have written a first book of poetry and a book of Creative Travel Memoirs, which will be published early in 2008. I also wrote a 434-page book about the lives of my parents and their ancestors. I am on the Board of Directors at the Bear Roots Art Colony in Orr, MN and in the past four years I have had thirty poems and two memoir essays published. In July of 2005 I was awarded a Scholarship for a Travel Workshop, and housing, at the Split Rock Arts Program, which is held at the University of Minnesota every summer in St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN.

I enjoy many varied styles of music and my hobbies include music festivals, dancing, travel and especially scuba diving.