Celia's an unusual singer who's performed in ethereal fashion with her own piano backing, and fronted a larger ensemble as well. That kind of experience has led her to undertake a venture of a slightly different kind, offering not old-school voice lessons, but something more expansive, an attempt to address singing for personal enjoyment or for the very different discipline of fronting a band.
In a musician-drenched era when the number of unused band names is, it seems, in the single digits, more producer-like efforts like Celia's seem to be on the increase. And if you wonder whether Celia's soul-searching approach—"The principal concept I convey to students is high notes are not 'up' and low notes are not 'down,'" she says—produces budding Freddie Mercurys and Janis Joplins, you can check out the results: Celia will further upend the musty notion of drawing-room recitals by giving her students a chance to perform at one of Northampton's main rock venues, The Elevens.
Eight of her students hit the Elevens stage this Thursday at 8 p.m. with a backing band of seasoned players: Joe Boyle, John O'Boyle and Chris Ryan. The set list includes everything from originals to covers of Edith Piaf, Alicia Keys, Ben Harper and Leonard Cohen.?
