My Musical Autobiography

As a young child, I recall listening to Roy Orbison, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Celine Dion, and Disney soundtracks. The Beatles were a huge phenomenon in my household too! My dad went to the first concert the Beatles performed in the United States. So at first glance most of my musical experience growing up was with Western popular music. 

One of the first moments I remember experiencing another culture's music was when my grandma bought me the movie Riverdance. At the age of three, I believed I was going to be a prima ballerina and was obsessed with watching anything that had dancers. Though my focus at the time was on the dancers in Riverdance, a huge part of the film and live production is the use of traditional Irish music.

In elementary school when I moved to Pawleys Island, South Carolina I became aware of a culture celebrated along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia rich in the arts: Gullah. In elementary school a presentation would be given to the students on the language and culture of Gullah. My sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Greene, even spoke Gullah fluently. (This sometimes made her English fall to the wayside--Chloe turned into "Floe")

Music was a huge part of the Gullah culture. Work songs like in Ghana, Africa, and spirituals to praise God and tell stories of freedom were primary functions of music.

Almost everybody in this class has probably performed a Gullah song at one time or another without knowing it. "Kumbaya My Lord," a popular spiritual song is Gullah meaning "Come By Here My Lord."

In middle school and high school while participating in an honors choir, I had the opportunity to sing multiple songs in Swahili and in different ensembles performed pieces on the clarinet from Japan and Scotland. Though a movie soundtrack, the music from Braveheart by James Horner stems from Scottish traditional music and is one of my favorite movie soundtracks.