Editorial Reviews In actuality, synthesis is more of a daily practice for Stephanie Renée than a moniker. Bringing different people, styles and skills together and improving them somehow is one of her special gifts. But by no means is it her only talent. The only daughter born out of the union between her teacher mother and a father who had once run off to New York to pursue his own singing career, Stephanie soon showed that love for words and sounds is indeed passed through the genes. Throughout her early schooling and then as student at the University of Pennsylvania, Stephanie drew artistic inspiration from diverse influences and injected a unique organic perspective into her forays in theater, vocal arranging, music production and performance poetry. The educational setting became Stephanie’s proving ground, a nurturing environment providing both praise and critical review of her work, making Stephanie’s greatest challenge to achieving success her own desire to outdo herself. Today, Stephanie Renée considers herself a humble servant to the arts – in whatever capacity that will bring greater understanding and upliftment to her audiences. Her songwriting and vocal skills groove and dip across genre, combining influences from jazz, R&B, funk, rock and folk music into a mix of sounds and rhythms that seduces and entrances. She is a performer who instinctively tunes in to her crowds and makes folks feel good. The new millennium has brought opportunity and blessings at a feverish pace for this passionate ingénue. Stephanie’s voice has been featured on several commercial recordings, including Who Is Jill Scott? (Hidden Beach/Epic) and Patti LaBelle’s When A Woman Loves (MCA). She also served as guest talent and executive producer for spoken word recordings SHINE! from Tonya Marie Evans and MOZAIK, released through her own Creator’s Child Music imprint. To add a more visual element to her performances, Stephanie directed and produced her first full-length musical theater work, RESCUE THE LYRIC, part of the Painted Bride Art Center’s HipHop2DaHead 2000 Festival. And in January 2002, the Leeway Foundation awarded Stephanie a Harmony Grant to workshop her newest theatrical production URBAN HARMONY, which uses original spoken word and a cappella music to explore the condition of our inner city communities. The Philadelphia chapter of the National Association of University Women presented Stephanie with their 2002 Education Award for her extensive work with inner-city teens – through the Painted Bride, the Walt Whitman Arts Center’s BizArts program, Inner City Games Philadelphia and numerous other arts-related ventures where Stephanie uses her talents to help young people discover their unique voices and express themselves creatively. Stephanie’s latest endeavors find her pouring her dynamic energies into the expansion of her non-profit arts education foundation Soul Sanctuary, securing funding for her music documentary NO SUCH THING AS NEOSOUL and promoting her first solo CD titled Tuning Forked Tongue. Stephanie Renée … bringing it all together and loving every minute of it. SYNTHESIS, indeed!
Music Review:
Music Review
Brahms/Shostakovich Violin Sonatas
Music: Homenagem a Nelson Goncalves [Import]
Barry's 7's Connectors, Vol. 2
Berg, Stravinsky: Violin Concertos / Perlman, Ozawa
Sisters: Songs Of Friendship, Joy, & Encouragement For Women
About the Artist
She likes to call herself SYNTHESIS … the amalgamation of distinct entities into a new, unique creation.
Album Description
The first full-length CD from poet, songwriter, arranger and vocalist Stephanie Renee. This project is a journey in melodic storytelling, matching the ingenue's intense harmonies and lyricism with the production magic of her long-standing musical partner Damon "Mr. Dizzy Fingers" Bennett. It is spoken word. It is a cappella soul singing. It is funk. It is life. It is free.