Bio-(old)
I started singing as soon as I could talk- it soothed me. When I was in Kindergarten at age 5, they announced a talent show over the PA system. As soon as class ended I went to the office to sign-up, then I went to the orchestra room and asked the conductor to accompany me. I sang "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music and wore a little Swiss dirndl! Looking back, I'm amazed that a shy kid was compelled to organize a performance at such a young age, but I've never forgotten how it felt to receive so much love & energy from the audience in the school auditorium that night; it set the course for my life as a singer.
At 15 I was competing at an All-State Choir audition when a judge and private voice teacher offered private voice lessons on a scholarship. I studied with the kind and generous Shirley Wiess all through high school, then majored in voice & performance at the University of Texas, Austin, studying with Darlene C. Wiley. I loved singing rock & jazz as well as classical, so I dropped out of UT's classical program at 20 to start singing professionally. After a successful run in a cabaret show in Austin, I moved to New York City and continued voice and performance studies with Broadway veteran Ellie Ellsworth. Around this time I also worked at the United Nations as a sound engineer, at the off-Broadway Westside Arts Theater, and apprenticed my way into a job as a recording studio engineer at Full House Productions. My time in NYC was fantastic, but at age 30 it was time for a change, so I moved to Colorado to finish my Bachelor's Degree in Music at Naropa University, where I also hold a Bachelor's Degree in The Psychology of Health & Healing, and am currently Adjunct Faculty teaching voice. I've also studied Alexander Technique at CU, which is a great thing for musicians. I am certified to teach a pop belting vocal technique called The Wave Method by Divy Nelson, and I've taken Level 1 of the Estill Voice Method.
Lately I find myself deeply drawn towards the healing aspects of voice, as a singer and as a teacher, and less compelled to perform. You'll find a few wonderful groups in my Workshops & Groups section that reflect my changing interests. I've been practicing a form of Hatha Yoga for 30 years & Kaiut Yoga for 2 years. I studied psychic healing at Boulder Psychic Institute, Chakra Toning & Sound Healing with Jonathan Goldman, and am certified as a Reiki Practitioner, Level II. I've been singing, teaching and healing in Boulder for 26 years, and I performed as a singer for about 40 years.
There were so many amazing experiences performing through the years. Here are a few highlights-
- creating and leading the Linda Lewellyn Band for 5 years, doing dance & jazz repertoire in Denver/Boulder venues like The Hotel Boulderado, St Julien, Nissi's, The Brown Palace
- writing & recording my origianl songs "Blind Eye" & "Vessel of Wood"
- 19 years singing with Boulder’s beautiful singer/songwriter Rebecca Folsom, including a very cool night at Red Rocks one summer, a few stops at The Fox Theatre & KGNU
- 3 years as the lead singer & back-up vocal arranger with The Legendary 4-Nikators, hi-lighted by some wonderful nights at Boulder's Band on the Bricks concert series and The Boulder Theater
- 5 years with the internationally acclaimed Ars Nova Singers as a mezzo soprano soloist, culminating in an inspiring tour of central Europe in 1999, and singing Bill Douglas' "Deep Peace" for the families at the Columbine High School memorial service
- back-up vocalist with Hazel Miller & Liza Oxnard on JJ Grey & Mofro's "Country Ghetto" in 2007 on Alligator Records
- a few years with Zuba and Liza & the Soulstars, including one gig in New Orleans that started at 1:00 am and went to 4:00 am!