Music – My Conduit to a Place of Peace
I have always loved to sing. From the time I first learned to speak I was probably already singing and making up songs. Sometimes to the chagrin of my siblings, who would beg me to stop singing the same song over and over again. Music also made me feel good and gave me a sense of purpose.
Over the years I honed this craft and became a professional singer.
It was not always an easy career choice and it did come with a lot of setbacks. Disappointments, long and late hours and loneliness too. There is a lot to give up in order to gain in this industry and I soon felt I had to make a choice.
In the end I chose to have a marriage and a family, with a career in music as a part of my life and not my whole life.
Why did I make the choice to keep music in my life?
Singing and performing is a communication that can break down barriers. Sometimes I feel anger about things. Whether it be a personal disagreement, receiving bad news or generally finding that the world is not an easy place to live in. But once I start to sing and perform I feel transformed. It's as though my songs act as a conduit to a quieter more peaceful place. A place that I can carry my listeners to.
Every December for the last 5 years, I have been putting on a small seasonal performance. Most of the audience are friends and sometimes new faces show up. There is always a deliberate sentiment to these performances. A mixture of playfulness and melancholy. An opportunity to reach out and touch the hearts of my audience and to connect at a time of year when so many of us are coming together to celebrate. That time where we collectively gather our thoughts on the year that is leaving us and the year that is ahead.
To be able to make people feel emotions, cry, laugh and, hopefully, enlightened is a gift that I am pleased to share. A gift that others, like myself, can use to make a difference. To help open up those dark places and let out the demons. A place that is filled with a myriad of colour and sound that all humankind can relate to.
By: Geri Childs. Her two CDs are “Intimate States of Mind” (1994) and "More than Magic" (2014). (www.gerichilds.com).