Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
What Mozart would have Sounded like – If Born Today as a Female in Africa
World Class Symphonic Album Homegrown out Young Woman’s Living Room
Addis Ababa: A global online collaboration united two artists for their first real- life meeting and performance at TEDx Addis Ababa to celebrate the release of their album One Girl Symphony.
At the center of the story is Whitney Vandell from Ethiopia, a young musical prodigy adopted at the age of two by an American missionary and music teacher. After pushing the limits of home recording as far as she could, Whitney reached out to the violinist William Stewart on an Internet forum to help her complete her Symphony. The result after a year of bouncing tracks between each other is a collection of tracks that defy categorization into any genre or performance style while seamlessly blending everything from classical, rock, hip-hop, and the blues to folk music.
The inspiring story is proof to musicians worldwide that it doesn’t matter whom you are or where you are located, all that is needed to realize your vision and record an album with live violins, cello and horns is passion, a laptop and an Internet connection. ‘Today, neither borders nor differences in language or culture can keep musicians apart to stop them from realising their dreams! Despite us all being from different worlds and working with oceans between us we came together as if we were all sitting in the same room’, says William Stewart, the violinist collaborating on the album.
The release of the CD and accompanying DVD film coincided with the premiere performance that united Whitney and William at the TEDx event in Addis Ababa. A crowdfunding campaign was launched and covered William’s flight from France to bring the musicians together on stage to perform. ‘We had never met each other in person but through TEDx we got the chance to realize our fantasy of playing together in front of a live audience’, says Whitney Vandell.
For more information, visit: www.OneGirlSymphony.com
