It
has been quite a while since I did the crowd funding portion of this CD project.
So I decided to scroll through all the names of the donors to remind myself of
the people who said, “Yes!” and, “We have your back on this, Ilene.”
I
found it overwhelming to see the combination of both people I knew well
alongside the names of complete strangers. I wondered what spoke to you about
this project that prompted you to participate and what your own dreams are for
your lives, because I believe they are all interconnected.
So
to help bring you on this musical journey with me of creating something wholly
positive that reminds us to boldly follow our hearts and passion, and to, above
all, be grateful for the ride, I thought I’d start introducing you to all of
the amazing players and singers and co-writers on this project, a little at a
time.
To
start off, who the heck is this Ilene Angel person? Yeah, I pondered whether or
not I needed any introduction, before I realized that the wonderful people who
blindly gave for reasons unbeknownst to me might like to know that I am not a
complete charlatan.
So
while I normally cringe slightly at all the bio stuff, I am including it. It
not only looks nice on paper, but it has the added benefit of actually being
true.
I
am a classically trained musician (Northwestern University and Juilliard), who
has performed at both Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls respectively in my
classical singing days.
I
won the Abe Olman Award from the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame for my song “Silence
Where Love Used to Be,” and my first #1 song was a Disney tune titled “I Don’t
Think About It,” recorded by Emily Osment, who co-starred on the TV show Hannah Montana.
The
critically acclaimed song “Costco Queen” entertained audiences every night in
the show Motherhood the Musical. And my song “We All Fall Down” won the
international Global Voices for Change songwriting competition. (And all three of the above mentioned were co-written with Sue Fabisch.)
I
have spent quite a few years writing songs for other artists to record and have
loved doing that. But truth be told, all of us harbor dreams of being front and
center, of showing the world exactly who we are and what we have to say. This
project is the first fully produced record I am doing as the artist and not just the writer.
Why’d
I wait so long? The short answer is timing is everything. The long answer is
timing is everything.
My
friend, Garry, read me an amazing quote on the phone this morning that seemed
to perfectly sum up how I feel about this project and its timing:
"For hundreds of years - perhaps since the beginning of Creation - a piece of the world has been waiting for your soul to purify it and repair it. And your soul, from the time it was first emanated and conceived, waited above to descend to this world and carry out that mission. And your footsteps were guided to reach that place. And you are there now."
I believe we are all called to greatness and that our greatness is found largely in the smallest of moments when we show up, fully present, as ourselves.
If it's true that we get back what we give tenfold, then you are all going to receive an abundance of riches, in addition to already having my deepest gratitude and love.
I am so excited for you to hear the music! And stay tuned for the next installment of "Meet the Players..."
Peace & Blessings (and hugs and kisses),
Ilene
P.S. If you would like to pre-order the upcoming CD, In Color, you can now do so now on this blog page! (upper right of this page) And if you like my work and it resonates with you, you can also click the "donate" button (top right) and give any amount you like. Thanks! xo I
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