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Life & Work with Darlene Koldenhoven

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darlene Koldenhoven.

Hi Darlene, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started singing in public at age three and started piano lessons at age 9. Received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Master’s degree in voice from Chicago Conservatory College and taught elementary school music for six years prior to moving from Chicago to Los Angeles. I had no connections; only $400 to my name, my old brown Celica, my stereo, and some winter clothes when I drove to LA in January with a rather large leap of faith.

When I arrived, I called home to say I was here safely and my mother told me that all my belongings were stolen (long side story here) including all my music, books, a synthesizer I won in a contest, clothes, everything, so I should come back home. But it took me so long to achieve the travel that I decided to stay and make it in LA as everything I owned in Chicago was gone anyway. I had dreamed of making it as a singer for way too many years and through way too many struggles to give it up now that I made it this far. She also said my high school was organizing a reunion and that there was a fellow from high school who was living in West Hollywood who was also a musician. So I contacted him and for the first six weeks, I slept on his and his girlfriend’s couch. I put up “piano lessons available” card in grocery stores and soon got a few students to help pay my way and find my own single apartment on Hollywood Blvd near Laurel Canyon Blvd. He was doing some arranging for the Pickwick Label and hired me to sing background vocals. My first studio session ever in life was a Fleetwood Mack sound alike album.

From then on, by word of mouth, my skills in sight-reading, having a great ear and a 5-octave range caught on and since then I have sung on over 1,000 recordings in film, television, commercials, albums and more. I started playing in piano bars and at weddings and parties on the weekends as well as attending industry social events to meet as many people as I could in the music industry. Three years after I arrived in town, I got my first of three GRAMMY® nominations singing lead soprano with Clare Fischer’s 2+2 vocal quartet and Salsa Picante band and we won the GRAMMY® in 1987 in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Performance by Duo or Group. I did not take a day off or a vacation in 13 years! I came from a strict Dutch Calvinist work ethic family so that was just the way we rolled! Some of the more notable projects I sang on were Pink Floyd’s “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” album as well as albums by Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and many more. One of the projects I sang on that gave me global visibility was as featured soloist in “Yanni, Live at the Acropolis.” During that same time, I also appeared as the tambourine-waving choir nun, production vocal coach, and music director of both “Sister Act” films with Whoopi Goldberg.

During all the studio and live singing, I started to dabble in songwriting while also teaching voice. Eventually, I wrote a book with 7 CDs and digital downloads titled “Tune Your Voice: Singing and Your Mind’s Musical Ear” to help others and share all the knowledge I had gained singing in the studios with major artists on major projects. (TuneYourVoice.net). I started to release my own CDs on my own label TimeArt® Recordings which have earned many awards and #1 positions on radio charts and more. I performed my own music live all over the US and internationally as well.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, I laid some of that out in my previous answer but in addition, my father was a war hero (Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and two Bronze stars, one with valor) who passed away at age 41 when I was 14 and my only sibling, a sister born deaf with no ears due to bi-lateral aural atresia, was 5. He left us in financial hardship, so mom went to work and I took care of my sister. Also relevant to my career was that I had a complete hysterectomy at age 26 from endometriosis a couple of years before I came out to Los Angeles. That set me back a year in recovery and then imposed itself on me for the rest of my life. Several years into my career in LA, just as I was to start my second solo album, I broke my right-hand ring finger and popped the tendon. Reconstructive surgery left me with a bent finger and it took five years to get the function of my hand back to as normal as I could get it. Though still not perfect, I managed to retrain my right hand on the piano to be able to play again.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Again, some of this was covered in the answer to the first question but I specialize in voice, piano, composition, lyrics, songwriting, arranging, producing, engineering and as an author, speaker, voice teacher/coach and certified sonic therapist. I am proud of being able to help others achieve their musical goals and I have taught many people how to sing in tune that could not match pitch at all in the beginning. I am known for having this 5-octave vocal range I’ve been blessed with and I work hard at it daily. Here’s some info from my bio . . .

What sets GRAMMY® Award winner and three-time GRAMMY® nominee Darlene Koldenhoven apart from the rest? It could be her worldwide 1.5 billion viewing audience on PBS as the memorable soprano soloist in Yanni, Live at the Acropolis; her work in the war-torn jungles of Sierra Leone where she coached musicians and singers whom she took on tour in the US and Canada; production vocal coach/music director/tambourine-waving choir nun in both Sister Act films with Whoopi Goldberg; or her recent donation of time and performances in 3 tours to India with U.N. humanitarian ambassador and GRAMMY® Winning-composer Ricky Kej, for his concerts, videos, TEDx Talk, Shanti Samsara, to raise awareness of climate change and animal cruelty causes she holds dearly. Or, her Hot Shot Debut at #4 on the prestigious Billboard Classical Crossover Albums Charts (week of May 29, 2021), with her first solo piano album The Grand Piano Spa and #8 debut for her second solo piano album six months later; or being the first ever inductee into IMC’s Indie Music Hall of Fame presented at the GRAMMY® Museum (4/28/19) and winning COVR’s 2019 Music of the Year a month later. Then there is the Lifetime Achievement Award from One World Music Radio and the Outstanding Legacy Award from Akademia in June of 2022. Or, appearing on the cover of the luxury in-flight and exclusive membership SkyLounge Magazine’s autumn 2021 issue with 11-page interview. As an independent artist, in 2020 Darlene received official certification from the Indie Music Channel for Performing Before Over 500,000 People and for having multiple #1 Rankings on Top 100 Radio Airplay Charts.

Darlene performs internationally with her concerts and workshops. She has sung on over a thousand recordings, for and in films, television, albums, commercials and charitable causes. Highlights include singing with Robin Williams on the 2000 Academy Awards®; in three American Idol specials; the 2010 Academy Awards®; and her role as the tambourine-waving choir nun and real-life vocal coach/musical director for Disney in both Sister Act films with Whoopi Goldberg, leading to singing for President Clinton during his final election stop in 1992. Because of the film, Darlene now has photos with both Bill in 1992 and Hillary Clinton in 2017 taken when Darlene was performing on The View for the 25th Sister Act reunion. Darlene’s voice has graced a plethora of albums from pop giants Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and Rod Stewart to jazz legend Ramsey Lewis to progressive rock icons Pink Floyd and rockers Neil Young and Kenny Loggins to soloing for David Byrne with London’s Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall and debuting at age 19 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall/Symphony Center. A sampling of her vocal contributions include solo vocal improvisations on films and popular TV shows such as Surrogates with Bruce Willis, 2012, Internal Affairs with Richard Gere (a commemorative CD soundtrack was recently released); Dances with Wolves with Kevin Costner, a Halloween episode of TV’s popular Grimm; a song with her ethnically diverse children’s choir (Young Vocal Artists of Los Angeles) working with composers/rappers/producer will.i.am and Common for the soundtrack Freedom Writers; her soaring vocals on the popular video games Baldur’s Gate (for Sony PlayStation II) and Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets. Recently, Darlene completed working on an upcoming independent film, Knights of Swing, where in addition to acting in the film, Darlene arranged, recorded, and produced all the vocals for the singer/actors that she contracted for the project. Next up is another indie film with same responsibilities, “Forty-Seven Days” slated for Easter release.

With all of that and much more one would marvel that Ms. Koldenhoven has any time left for anything else, yet just last year she founded the Music Matrix Foundation a 501(c)(3) non-profit to foster music, music appreciation and the well-being of individuals of all ages through music, sound, education, technology, and kindness; while empowering them to carry on the mission of making the world a better place through all aspects of sound. The foundation offers assistance and services such as music education, sonic therapy, audio-psycho-phonology, and other related programs.

Ms. Koldenhoven has produced thirteen albums on her label, TimeArt® Recordings, most recently with the upcoming Traveling the Blissful Highway (10/14/22). The phenomenally gifted songbird is equally talented on her piano: The Grand Piano Spa (5/14/21) that hot shot debuted #4 on Billboard Classical Crossover Albums Chart (5/29/21); Gold Medal Best Classical Crossover Album and Composer from the Global Music Awards (8/8/21); The Akademia Award’s Best Classical Album (5/17/12); the Indie Music Channel Awards Best New Age Song “Delphi’s Dream” and Best Easy Listening Song “Clover Fields,” (9/5/21); and One Earth Awards “Wisteria” Best New Age/Ambient Song (10/3/21) and a Bronze medal from COVR (6/11/22). The sequel, The Grand Piano Spa: Legacy, (10/22/21) won Best Classical Album from the Akademia Awards (8/7/21) and debuted #8 on the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums Chart (11/6/21). Both albums won Gold in Clouzine International Music Awards for Best Double Album Set – Solo Piano (9/27/21). Darlene’s TimeArt® Publications has released coordinating downloadable sheet music titled Darlene Koldenhoven Solo Piano Collection from The Grand Piano Spa and The Grand Piano Spa: Legacy albums.

Album 10 is Chromatones, debuted #1 on the New Age Guide Charts (6/20/18,) won Gold in Visionary Music and took the 2019 Music of the Year from COVR Coalition of Visionary Resources, a trade award voted by retailers and the public. Here, Darlene rests her voice to reveal the instrumental soul of a true artist manifesting itself in every nuance of her album. Darlene produced, composed, arranged all the music, played piano, keyboards & solos, Native drums & shaker, programmed and engineered. The culmination of years of deep devotion to her craft and association with some of the world’s greatest musicians and recording artists including the 19 for whom she wrote all the arrangements; some are GRAMMY® Winners Tom Scott, Wouter Kellerman (South Africa), Charlie Bisharet, Brent Fischer, and GRAMMY® Nominees Rocky Dawuni (Ghana) and David Arkenstone … This album was produced from a place within Darlene to create beautiful music that is inspirational and healing, integrating her sonic therapy principals, which has resulted in its own sound.

Album 9, Color Me Home, debuted #1 on the ZMR radio charts worldwide 2017; the broadcasters voted it “Best Vocal Album 2017” at the ZMR Awards in New Orleans 2018. Color Me Home won a stunning 20 awards and 35 nominations in various international and USA competitions! Infinite Voice went to #1 on the radio charts and was voted by Broadcasters worldwide as Best Vocal Album 2007, with Heavenly Peace debuting #2 and winning Best Holiday Album. The Indie Music Channel awarded Darlene, Best Classical Artist for her performance on “Emmanuel” from Heavenly Peace (9/5/21). Tranquil Times, instrumental, went to #1 and won Best New Age Album from the Independent Music Awards and a nomination for Best Piano Album with Instrumentation by the Broadcasters with several tracks featured in the C.A.R.E. Channel Network and in Don Campbell’s music therapy sound systems, both played in hospitals and hospices nationwide along with Chromatones. Solitary Treasures was Nominated Best Vocal Album. Angel on Ivories was Finalist Best Classical Art Song Vocalist – pro division by The American Prize. Darlene Koldenhoven’s first two albums are her debut Keys to the World (an adult contemporary pop work with an emphasis on positive lyrics, both humanitarian and for the environment), and Free to Serve, an eclectic gospel soundtrack, commissioned by the Christian Reformed Church of North America and lifted from a World Missions multi-media concert that she co-directed, wrote all the music for and performed in, featuring musicians and singers she brought back from the impoverished Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Harkening back to the days of her GRAMMY® winning work as lead soprano in GRAMMY® winner Clare Fischer’s 2+2, Darlene released a single awarded Best Jazz Song and Best Jazz Video 2020 by the IMC titled The Butterfly Samba (11/2020) where she sang and wrote the lyric to his music, produced the video and co-arranged the track with Brad Cole, Phil Collins’ music director/keyboardist. Her TimeArt® Recordings label has also released two artists in 2020: oboist Earle Dumler’s award-winning Best Classical Singles trio of Neo-Classical duets for oboe and piano that Darlene wrote, played piano and produced titled A Single Trine and a new original 80’s rock artist she produced, Denoven Rock’s Retrofuturism.

In addition to her career as a recording artist, Ms. Koldenhoven is a credentialed teacher by the state of California with two degrees from Chicago Conservatory College: Master in Voice, magna cum laude and Bachelor in Music Education cum laude. Ms. Koldenhoven was hired by McGraw-Hill Publishing as a producer, vocalist, vocal contractor & coach for over 200 children’s songs in multiple languages for their PreK-8 curriculum series, Spotlight on Music. Darlene is an internationally renowned, credentialed sonic therapist and lecturer. Her own blend of sonic therapy practice focuses on the ear, voice, and health connections. Darlene is certified in iLs audio-psycho-phonology from Integrated Listening Systems USA and was invited to speak as well as studied & performed in Belgium at the Tomatis headquarters, the Atlantis-Mozart Brain Lab in 2015. Darlene contributes to In the Key Magazine with her article titled “The Prescription is Music,” exploring all the many benefits of sound and music. In the vein of empowerment for all as a way to express oneself and improve physical wellness through music. Ms. Koldenhoven has created Tune Your Voice: Singing and Your Mind’s Musical Ear, a music education program incorporating a 94-page book with 7 instructional CDs or downloads with thousands of worldwide sales titled that has been endorsed by faculty and students from The Juilliard School of Music, New York University, Berklee School of Music to American Idol. Darlene is an active member of former Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, personally trained by him and certified in Los Angeles in 2018. In 2019, working with former VP Al Gore’s staff, Darlene financed and performed in her own climate concert and presentation, contributing to his “24 Hours of Climate Reality” annual climate awareness event. It is Darlene’s sincere wish to make the earth a better place, to live in harmony with and within.

Is it any wonder that Darlene has been inducted to the Indie Music Hall of Fame? ​

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Good luck to me is when opportunity meets preparation, then taking action and being persistent. Never give up on your dreams but do keep making yourself a better version of yourself every day.

Pricing:

  • “Tune Your Voice” is $49.95
  • Voice Lessons are $195 per hour
  • My studio rental is $40 per hour not including engineer

Contact Info:


Image Credits
Color Me Home album cover photo of Darlene: Brigette Jouxtel Headshot: William Cloyd Live shot with mic courtesy of “Yanni, Live at the Acropolis” Live performance at Tree People, Beverly Hills: Beta Live performance in blue dress: Brian Stroh The Grand Piano Spa album cover and Darlene’s new album “Traveling the Blissful Highway” images shutterstock and graphics by Brian Stroh and Darlene Koldenhoven.

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