Cecilia is a

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differ ...

singer, originally from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, who is known for her rendition of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

". She has released seven albums, two via

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, and performed worldwide, selling several hundred thousand albums with virtually no mainstream publicity.

Early life

Cecilia grew up in the small town of Harstad, in Norway in the Arctic Circle, the 'land of the

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

'. She wanted to become an opera singer after seeing a television broadcast of the opera

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

, when she was 9 years old. Her graduation marks from the

Conservatory of Music A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger i ...

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

, were (extremely rare) perfect scores. She studied for 6 years in conservatories in Norway, Denmark and Germany. She then moved to New York City to study with Oren Brown, a vocal coach renowned to help a singer 'discover their natural voice'. In April 2002, upon Luciano Pavarotti's suggestion and referral, she began to study with Dr. William Riley, coach of

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, and worked with Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli, and even

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Career

Cecilia has toured with Hay House

published Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, news ...

authors, such as Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Louise Hay,

Marianne Williamson Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, spiritual leader, and political activist. She has written 14 books, including four ''New York Times'' number one bestsellers in the "Advice, How To, and Miscellaneous" cate ...

and Stuart Wilde, and performed in Norway, Japan, England, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the United States. She has performed at large venues including the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...

in Los Angeles and the

Miami Arena Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the NBA's Miami Heat, and the NHL's Florida Panthers. From 1988 until 1999, it also was the indoor arena for the Miami Hurricanes. History Completed in ...

, Miami, Florida. She was discovered in 1994 by the British writer Stuart Wilde, who was behind her first two albums, ''Voice of the Feminine Spirit'' and ''Voice of Violet 19''. Cecilia opened the new

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

by singing at the Deepak Chopra

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

event, where the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

gave a speech. She sang at the 2002

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

, where she also performed a concert at the World of Ice, and sang for the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

, Crown Princess and

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

. Norwegian National TV ( NRK) made a music video of a song Cecilia co-wrote, titled "My Beloved". It was filmed at the top of the

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easte ...

Other activities

Cecilia supports Plan International, personally sponsoring a child in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. She supports the Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection. She has also performed for the benefit of the Linda McCartney Cancer Foundation. Her activities with the charity stem from her own experiences, as she lost her mother to the disease.

Discography

Albums

1994 – Voice of the Feminine Spirit Track listing:
1. Solveig's Song First Verse
2. The Sacred Hum
3. Love of a Silent Moon
4. Two Swans Matched in Flight
5. Daughter of the Midnight Sun
6. Amazing Grace
7. Silver Wings
8. The Lion and the Unicorn
9. The Eternal Heartbeat
10. Unite the Tribe
11. Solveig's Song, 2nd verse 1996 – Voice of Violet 19 Track listing:
1. When You Wish Upon A Star
2. Violet 19
3. Star Child
4. Lightness of Being
5. The Protection Song
6. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte
7. The Tracker's Song
8. My Boy Hero
9. Eg veit i himmerik ei borg
10. The Snow Leopard's Prayer
11. The Riddle 1999 – Inner Harmony
also contains lyrics by Deepak Chopra and James Redfield. Track listing:
1. Fly Away
2. Losing faith
3. We Have Met Before
4. The Prayer
5. Today
6. Wisdom of Your Heart
7. Inner Harmony
8. Carpe Diem
9. Å eg veit meg eit land
10. In Dreams
11. Angel of Love 2001 – Let There Be Peace On Earth (Discontinued) 2003 – Best of Cecilia Track listing:
1. The Sacred Hum
2. Love of a Silent Moon
3. Daughter of the Midnight Sun
4. Amazing Grace
5. Unite the Tribe
6. When You Wish Upon A Star
7. The Protection Song
8. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte
9. The Tracker's Song
10. Fly Away
11. Today
12. Inner Harmony
13. In Dreams
14. Angel of Love 2006 – The Healing Voice Track listing:
1. Ave
2. Going Home
3. Domine
4. The Prayer
5. Credo
6. Ave Maria
7. Soul of the World
8. Mea Culpa
9. Pie Jesu
10. Anahata
11. The Magic
12. Amen 2007 – Amazing Grace Track listing:
1. Amazing Grace
2. Prayer of St Francis
3. You Raise Me Up
4. Angel
5. From a Distance
6. Ave Maria
7. Over the Rainbow
8. I Believe
9. May It Be
10. The Roe

Other Album Performances

Cecilia was the lead soprano on the album by the renowned and award winning

flutist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and composer Tim Wheater. Heart Land by Tim Wheater (released 1995) Voices – "18 of the Most Beautiful Voices in the World" Compilation (This album was released by

Korea 2004) "The Eternal Heartbeat" by Cecilia Includes singers as Luciano Pavarotti,

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

, José Carreras, Sarah Brightman and Russell Watson.

References

External links

Cecilia's official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cecilia Living people Norwegian women singers Musicians from Harstad New-age musicians Year of birth missing (living people)