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"... an incisive lyricist... songs that deserve a close listen." David Francey
"There is something in Rosemary Phelan's voice and songs that moves me to tears each time I hear her; even the happy songs. Her voice and words go straight to my heart, and my response to her work is involuntary - I simply surrender." Ian Tamblyn "Amidst an identity challenged folk music industry desperately enamoured with cuteness, nostalgia, and escapism, Rosemary Phelan reminds us the true folksinger's vocation: to sing out, with love and moral conscience, our happinesses and our sufferings." Jon Brooks Rosemary Phelan has run the musical gamut, from calling dances in the hills of northern Vermont to warbling Mozart in the halls of the Royal Conservatory; from wailing blues in dusty border towns to whispering lullabies for patients in pain. Somewhere beyond the barn and the recital hall, the pub and the sickroom, she found the music of her heart. The grace and losses encountered during a tumultuous, nomadic childhood, time spent eking out a hard-won living in the bush, and her years as a community nurse in the urban core live in Rosemary's songs. She sincerely hopes the goodness she unearthed at the root of it all can be found there, too. Rosemary performs solo, in a duo with multi-instrumentalist Jason LaPrade, and as a harmony vocalist for fellow artists. She also coaches voice and songwriting, and runs workshops in both, as well as in the use of music for the ill and dying. She'd like to mention that she wakes up and falls asleep counting her blessings, yet has never made it all the way to the end of the list. Rosemary wishes the same for you, with all her heart. "... let her gorgeous voice wash over you..." Sing Out! magazine "... the performances cut to the bone..." Bill Garrett, Borealis Records "... full of heart and soul." Mark Michaelis, Acoustic Harmony "... a lovely voice... more powerful for being devoid of affectation." The Guelph Mercury selected highlights :: 2011 release of full-length album, "Come Bright December", with Emilyn Stam :: 12-page feature piece published in Nov. 2011 issue of Ars Medica: A Journal of Medicine, the Arts, and Humanities :: Finalist: 2010 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest :: Featured on "The Woodshed Sessions" (pls. see "links" page for video) :: Folk Alley's "DJ Picks" - #3 in the Top 10 of 2010 (Acoustic Planet) :: what sings in the blood #1 on the earshot! chart (Nov., 2010) :: CIUT 2010 Golden Quill Award for Songwriting :: Feature interview for CBC's "Tapestry"; edition titled "Art and Soul" (Dec 26, 2010; please see link below for podcast) :: "REDWING" nominated for the 2010 Colleen Petersen Songwriting Award :: "THE TREES" chosen for 2010 Canadian Songwriter's Anthology "Songs of Canada" :: "A DEEPER WELL" Haiti Benefit at Hugh's Room raises over $4,000 for MSF :: Shortlisted for the 2009 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award :: "FIREFLY Instrumental" chosen for Toronto Transit Commission memorial video :: SONG OF THE YEAR 2008 Porcupine Award for "Hummingbird" (Avalanche Lily) :: 2008 - release of full-length album "Wake the Nightingale: Songs for Solace and Sleep" :: 2007 - release of full-length album, "Avalanche Lily" :: 2006 – Soundtrack commissioned for the successful U.S.- based play “Chemo Brain” MUSIC EDUCATION * youth choir * self-taught in guitar, banjo, harp * Dance: seven years classical ballet one year contemporary dance * Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto (voice, Grade 10; piano, Grade 8) * International Harp Therapy Program (harp and voice) * The Music for Healing and Transition Program (completed theoretical studies w/ harp, guitar, and voice) SELECTED MUSIC EXPERIENCE * performing songwriter and recording artist * children's community chorus director * band member (various genres) * dance caller * past member, Modern Renaissance Quartet * harmony vocalist, various recordings * past vocal soloist, Lux String Quartet * facilitator, RightLEFT|:|right Songwriting Series * facilitator, MUSIC for CAREGIVING workshop * facilitator, TRUE COLOURS vocal workshop * Guest lecturer on "Music for Caregiving" at Palliative Care Education series, Sunnybrook Hospital and Toronto East General Hospital OTHER Rosemary is also a Registered Nurse with a working knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, and mechanics of vocal production and the maintenance of a healthy voice.  reviews and press (Sing Out!, No Depression, Rootsmusic.ca, and more)
interviews CBC's "TAPESTRY" w/ Mary Hynes. Episode: "Art and Soul" - LISTEN HERE Roots Music Canada: The Woodshed Sessions - WATCH HERE "Songwriter to Songwriter" w/ Jon Brooks (click below)
discography
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