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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Posted by Audrey Moira Shimkas at 11:20 AM

Audrey Moira Shimkas: Anyone who has ever watched Audrey perform responds to her openness and confidence as a vocal artist, to the exquisite beauty of her clear, warm voice, to her range of emotion and her authenticity in delivery. Audrey is a singer’s singer who takes risks. She surprises and thrills with notes that push a melody to new heights. Her unique style and choice of material is best described as Eclectic, Pop- Jazz fusion. Long before Audrey thought about being a vocal artist, she recalls that at a young age she was mesmerized by June Christy in concert. That experience remained a cameo, locked in her imagination, until music began to play a more serious part of her life. Although Audrey grew up playing classical piano, she played acoustic and electric guitar in the folk-rock generation of Dylan and the Beatles. She studied dance (ballet and jazz) and acting (ACT, Actor’s Workshop, etc.) and spent several years on stage in New York and in San Francisco. Bay Area vocal training taught Audrey to blend her clear alto voice with her higher register, thus providing her with the chops to express a full range of musical ideas—and ultimately, the freedom for jazz interpretation.