Creator of Canadian Women's Song Portraits
Rosalee
ROSALEE's NOTES
Who am I?
1. I am a singer. My voice is strong yet delicate and I have been trained to use the whole thing. I sing in different styles: I love roots, I also love blues, jazz and opera and sing them all in my folk-fusion style. My voice and art are unique.
2. I am a poet. I started lisping life in poems at age 3. I love to distill life into potent poetry. I love to taste words and phrases, to say and sing them until they quicken in others ears and imaginations. In Spoken Word and in Song, I am a poet.
3. I am a composer of music. Along with life's lyrics come its tunes. I hear music in words and phrases. Melodies leak from life as readily as tears of joy or sorrow. My music is singable, both serious and silly.
4. I am a musical, women's oral historian. Since 1999 I have been honoured to listen to our elder women, record and research their stories, write them in song and perform them for international audiences. I am passionate about imparting women's stories. They are the foundation of how our societies work. They are the largest majority of unsung heroes. They are the Grand Mothers of our country. I am passionate about our women's oral history and love sharing our stories.
ROSALEE's WORK
Nova Scotian, Rosalee Peppard and her effervescent art are truly unique: A musical women's historian, Rosalee collects and transcribes an authentic living echo of the voices of Canadian women she interviews and researches. She crafts their stories into "Song Portraits", and shares them powerfully in her “Hauntingly beautiful live performance”.
Inspirational, Educational, Motivational
Through a variety of musical voices - from Folk to Blues to Opera - themes of Love, Literacy, Triumph over loss and shame, Heritage and humour, all soar on Rosalee’s shimmering voice, self-accompanied on guitars and dulcimers. Rosalee connects listeners with our poignant, "living" past. She colours each show with her exciting interpretations of traditional and popular songs we all know and love, and polishes each concert with the light of laughter and fun.
Rosalee loves to share the secret of these voices and has great joy in teaching the history, literary and music composition, in her concerts, or her speaking/singing presentations, as well as vocal and writing workshops.