Cecilia (Norwegian singer)
Encyclopedia
Cecilia is a Classical crossover
singer, originally from Norway, who is known for her rendering of "Amazing Grace
". She has released 7 albums, 2 via Universal Music, and performed worldwide, selling several hundred thousand albums with virtually no mainstream publicity.
, in Norway in the Arctic Circle
, the 'land of the midnight sun
'. She wanted to become an opera singer after seeing a television broadcast of the opera Aida
,when she was 9 years old. Her graduation marks from the Conservatory of Music in Oslo, Norway, were (extremely rare) perfect scores. She studied for 6 years in conservatories in Norway, Denmark and Germany.
She then moved to New York
to study with Oren Brown
, a vocal coach renowned to help a singer 'discover their natural voice'. In April 2002, upon Luciano Pavarotti
's suggestion and referral, she began to study with Dr. William Riley, coach of Celine Dion
, and worked with Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli
, and even Bill Clinton
.
published authors worldwide, as Dr. Wayne Dyer
, Dr. Deepak Chopra
, Louise Hay
, Marianne Williamson
and Stuart Wilde
, and performed in countries as Norway, Japan, England, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and United States. She has performed at large venues including the Hollywood Palladium
(Los Angeles) and Miami Arena
(Miami, Florida
).
She was discovered in 1994 by the British writer Stuart Wilde
, who was behind her first two albums Voice of the Feminine Spirit and Voice of Violet 19.
Cecilia opened the new millennium
by singing at the Deepak Chopra
Millennium
event, where also His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a speech. She sang at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, where she also performed a concert
at the World of Ice, and sang for the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and King of Norway.
Norwegian National TV ( NRK ) made a music video of a song Cecilia co-wrote, entitled
"My Beloved". It was filmed at the top of the Olympic Mountains
.
. She supports the Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection. She has also performed for the benefit of the Linda McCartney
Cancer Foundation. Her activities with the charity stem from her own experiences, as she lost her mother to the disease.
2. Voice of Violet 19 (released 1996/1997)
3. Inner Harmony (released 1999)
4. Let There Be Peace On Earth (released 2001)
5. Best of Cecilia (released 2003)
6. The Healing Voice (released 2006)
7. Amazing Grace (released 2007)
Heart Land by Tim Wheater (released 1995)
Voices - "18 of the Most Beautiful Voices in the World" Compilation
(This album was released by Universal Music Korea 2004)
"The Eternal Heartbeat" by Cecilia
Includes singers as Luciano Pavarotti
, Josh Groban
, José Carreras
, Sarah Brightman
and Russell Watson
.
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
singer, originally from Norway, who is known for her rendering of "Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
". She has released 7 albums, 2 via Universal Music, and performed worldwide, selling several hundred thousand albums with virtually no mainstream publicity.
Early life
Cecilia grew up in the small town of HarstadHarstad
is the second largest city and municipality by population, in Troms county, Norway – the city is also the third largest in North Norway. Thus Harstad is the natural centre for its district. Situated approximately north of the Arctic Circle, the city celebrated its 100th anniversary in...
, in Norway in the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
, the 'land of the midnight sun
Midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous...
'. She wanted to become an opera singer after seeing a television broadcast of the opera Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
,when she was 9 years old. Her graduation marks from the Conservatory of Music in Oslo, Norway, were (extremely rare) perfect scores. She studied for 6 years in conservatories in Norway, Denmark and Germany.
She then moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to study with Oren Brown
Oren Brown
Oren Brown was a famous American vocal pedagogist and voice teacher.Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Brown attended Boston University where he earned a bachelors of music with an emphasis in vocal performance and a masters degree in music composition. In 1932 he began his long career as a...
, a vocal coach renowned to help a singer 'discover their natural voice'. In April 2002, upon Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
's suggestion and referral, she began to study with Dr. William Riley, coach of Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, and worked with Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
, and even Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Career
Cecilia has toured with Hay HouseHay House
Hay House is a New Thought and Self-help publisher. It was founded in 1987 by author Louise Hay, when she self-published her books Heal Your Body and You Can Heal Your Life...
published authors worldwide, as Dr. Wayne Dyer
Wayne Dyer
Wayne Walter Dyer is an American self-help advocate, author, and lecturer.- Early life :Dyer was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Melvin Lyle and Hazel Irene Dyer and spent much of his adolescence in an orphanage on the east side of Detroit. Dr. Wayne Dyer is a 1958 graduate of Denby High School;...
, Dr. Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is an Indian medical doctor, public speaker, and writer on subjects such as spirituality, Ayurveda and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as an endocrinologist and later shifted his focus to alternative medicine. Chopra now runs his own medical center, with a focus on...
, Louise Hay
Louise Hay
Louise Hay is an American motivational author, and the founder of Hay House, a publishing company. She has authored several New Thought self-help books, and is best known for her 1984 book, You Can Heal Your Life.-Biography:...
, Marianne Williamson
Marianne Williamson
Marianne Williamson is a spiritual activist, author, lecturer and founder of The Peace Alliance, a grass roots campaign supporting legislation currently before Congress to establish a United States Department of Peace. She is also the founder of Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program that...
and Stuart Wilde
Stuart Wilde
Stuart WildeBackground informationBornSeptember 24, 1946 Farnham, EnglandNationalityBritishOccupationWriter, lecturer, essayist, humorist, scriptwriter, lyricist, music producerWriting period1983–presentSubject...
, and performed in countries as Norway, Japan, England, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and United States. She has performed at large venues including the Hollywood Palladium
Hollywood Palladium
The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an 11,200 square foot dance floor with room for up to 4,000 people.-History:...
(Los Angeles) and Miami Arena
Miami Arena
The Miami Arena was an indoor arena in Miami, Florida.-History:Completed in 1988, at a cost of $52.5 million, its opening took business away from the Hollywood Sportatorium and eventually led to its demise...
(Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
).
She was discovered in 1994 by the British writer Stuart Wilde
Stuart Wilde
Stuart WildeBackground informationBornSeptember 24, 1946 Farnham, EnglandNationalityBritishOccupationWriter, lecturer, essayist, humorist, scriptwriter, lyricist, music producerWriting period1983–presentSubject...
, who was behind her first two albums Voice of the Feminine Spirit and Voice of Violet 19.
Cecilia opened the new millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
by singing at the Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is an Indian medical doctor, public speaker, and writer on subjects such as spirituality, Ayurveda and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as an endocrinologist and later shifted his focus to alternative medicine. Chopra now runs his own medical center, with a focus on...
Millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
event, where also His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a speech. She sang at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, where she also performed a concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
at the World of Ice, and sang for the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and King of Norway.
Norwegian National TV ( NRK ) made a music video of a song Cecilia co-wrote, entitled
"My Beloved". It was filmed at the top of the Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
.
Other activities
Cecilia supports Plan International, personally sponsoring a child in NepalNepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. She supports the Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection. She has also performed for the benefit of the Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
Cancer Foundation. Her activities with the charity stem from her own experiences, as she lost her mother to the disease.
Albums
1. Voice of the Feminine Spirit (released 1994)
Track listing:
1. Solveig's Song First Verse
2. The Sacred Hum
3. Love of a Silent Moon
4. Two Swans Matched in Flight
5. Daughter of the Midnight Sun
6. Amazing Grace
7. Silver Wings
8. The Lion and the Unicorn
9. The Eternal Heartbeat
10. Unite the Tribe
11. Solveig's Song, 2nd verse
2. Voice of Violet 19 (released 1996/1997)
Track listing:
1. When You Wish Upon A Star
2. Violet 19
3. Star Child
4. Lightness of Being
5. The Protection Song
6. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte
7. The Tracker's Song
8. My Boy Hero
9. Eg veit i himmerik ei borg
10. The Snow Leopard's Prayer
11. The Riddle
3. Inner Harmony (released 1999)
also contains lyrics by DEEPAK CHOPRADeepak ChopraDeepak Chopra is an Indian medical doctor, public speaker, and writer on subjects such as spirituality, Ayurveda and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as an endocrinologist and later shifted his focus to alternative medicine. Chopra now runs his own medical center, with a focus on...
and JAMES REDFIELDJames RedfieldJames Redfield is an American author, lecturer, screenwriter and film producer. He is notable for his novel The Celestine Prophecy .-Biography:...
.
Track listing:
1. Fly Away
2. Losing faith
3. We Have Met Before
4. The Prayer
5. Today
6. Wisdom of Your Heart
7. Inner Harmony
8. Carpe Diem
9. Å eg veit meg eit land
10. In Dreams
11. Angel of Love
4. Let There Be Peace On Earth (released 2001)
5. Best of Cecilia (released 2003)
Track listing:
1. The Sacred Hum
2. Love of a Silent Moon
3. Daughter of the Midnight Sun
4. Amazing Grace
5. Unite the Tribe
6. When You Wish Upon A Star
7. The Protection Song
8. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte
9. The Tracker's Song
10. Fly Away
11. Today
12. Inner Harmony
13. In Dreams
14. Angel of Love
6. The Healing Voice (released 2006)
Track listing:
1. Ave
2. Going Home
3. Domine
4. The Prayer
5. Credo
6. Ave Maria
7. Soul of the World
8. Mea Culpa
9. Pie Jesu
10. Anahata
11. The Magic
12. Amen
7. Amazing Grace (released 2007)
Track listing:
1. Amazing Grace
2. Prayer of St Francis
3. You Raise Me Up
4. Angel
5. From a Distance
6. Ave Maria
7. Over the Rainbow
8. I Believe
9. May It Be
10. The Roe
Other Album Performances
Cecilia was the lead soprano on the album by the renowned and award winning flutist and composer Tim Wheater.Heart Land by Tim Wheater (released 1995)
Voices - "18 of the Most Beautiful Voices in the World" Compilation
(This album was released by Universal Music Korea 2004)
"The Eternal Heartbeat" by Cecilia
Includes singers as Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
, José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
, Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
and Russell Watson
Russell Watson
Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club...
.