Katy Vernon calls herself a "singer of sad songs on a happy instrument." She has been writing songs as long as she remembers; they have always served as an emotional outlet for difficult losses and experiences in her life. Five years ago Katy picked up a ukulele and found that it gave a levity and new creative balance to her work. She performs solo and with a full band all over the state and is preparing for her first UK tour this summer.
Katy writes: "Songwriting has always been my favourite thing to do. As a child I used to make up musicals as I played with my dolls. It has always been a part of me. I find that I can deal with issues that are on my mind by singing them out. I love singing more than anything else and when I'm singing my own words it is the ultimate self expression."
Katy is one three winning composers of Zeitgeist's 22nd annual Eric Stokes Song Contest. Named in memory of late composer Eric Stokes, the contest is designed to encourage and celebrate amateur composers throughout the Twin Cities. Katy will perform her winning song, Pearl, with Zeitgeist at their annual Playing it Close to Home concert Feb. 17-18 at Studio Z.
Pearl was written as a direct response to hypnotherapy sessions that Katy used to deal with anxiety and depression. It was a deliberate move away from sad subject matter and a literal goodbye to the grief that has fueled her earlier works.
Katy writes: "Songwriting has always been my favourite thing to do. As a child I used to make up musicals as I played with my dolls. It has always been a part of me. I find that I can deal with issues that are on my mind by singing them out. I love singing more than anything else and when I'm singing my own words it is the ultimate self expression."
Katy is one three winning composers of Zeitgeist's 22nd annual Eric Stokes Song Contest. Named in memory of late composer Eric Stokes, the contest is designed to encourage and celebrate amateur composers throughout the Twin Cities. Katy will perform her winning song, Pearl, with Zeitgeist at their annual Playing it Close to Home concert Feb. 17-18 at Studio Z.
Pearl was written as a direct response to hypnotherapy sessions that Katy used to deal with anxiety and depression. It was a deliberate move away from sad subject matter and a literal goodbye to the grief that has fueled her earlier works.
Playing it Close to Home
Feb. 17-18, 7:30 p.m.
Studio Z: 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200, St. Paul
$15 / $10 students & seniors
Tickets/Info
With winning songs from the Eric Stokes Song Contest plus music by local composer Mary Ellen Childs, Zeitgeist's annual Playing it Close to Home concert celebrates the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard.
The program includes music by Eric Stokes Song Contest winners Michael Maiorana, Katy Vernon, and Seamus Hubbard Flynn, the world premiere of a new work composed by Mary Ellen Childs for Zeitgeist, plus several other works from Childs’ catalog, including excerpts from her opera Propeller, “visual percussion” pieces, and music for prepared piano. The concert will conclude with a multi-sensory sound installation created by Childs that invites audience members to explore three rooms filled with scents and music designed to pair with each aroma.
Studio Z: 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200, St. Paul
$15 / $10 students & seniors
Tickets/Info
With winning songs from the Eric Stokes Song Contest plus music by local composer Mary Ellen Childs, Zeitgeist's annual Playing it Close to Home concert celebrates the wealth of musical creativity found right here in our own backyard.
The program includes music by Eric Stokes Song Contest winners Michael Maiorana, Katy Vernon, and Seamus Hubbard Flynn, the world premiere of a new work composed by Mary Ellen Childs for Zeitgeist, plus several other works from Childs’ catalog, including excerpts from her opera Propeller, “visual percussion” pieces, and music for prepared piano. The concert will conclude with a multi-sensory sound installation created by Childs that invites audience members to explore three rooms filled with scents and music designed to pair with each aroma.
RSS Feed
