Cecilia is a

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to Musical composition, musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience, audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record chart, record charts, which tr ...

singer, originally from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, who is known for her rendition of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

". She has released seven albums, two via

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

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

Early life

Cecilia grew up in the small town of

Harstad Harstad may refer to: Places *Harstad (town) Harstad (; ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is also the administrative centre of Harstad Municipality. The city has a populati ...

, in Norway in the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

, the 'land of the

midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, 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 midnight sun is see ...

'. She wanted to become an opera singer after seeing a television broadcast of the opera Aida, when she was 9 years old. Her graduation marks from the Conservatory of Music in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

, 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 Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

'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. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

, and worked with Pavarotti and

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

, and even

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

Career

Cecilia has toured with

Hay House Hay House is a publisher founded in 1984 by author Louise Hay, who is known for her books on New Thought. ''The New York Times'' dubbed Hay "The Queen of the New Age," noting that she became "one of the bestselling authors in ...

published Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

authors, such as Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson 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 (building), theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and ...

in Los Angeles and the Miami Arena, 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 () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, 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 ...

by singing at the

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author, New Age, new age guru, and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthi ...

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, 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 ...

event, where the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

gave a speech. She sang at the 2002

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, 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 held i ...

, 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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

, 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 king ...

. Norwegian National TV (

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

) 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 (Washington), Mount Olympus is the high ...

Other activities

Cecilia supports

Plan International Plan International is a development and humanitarian organisation based in the United Kingdom that works in over 80 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia, focusing on children’s rights. In 2024, Plan International reached 43 million ...

, personally sponsoring a child in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. She supports the Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection. She has also performed for the benefit of the

Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...

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

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 member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

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

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, ...

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

and

Russell Watson Russell Watson (born 24 November 1966) is an English crossover/popular singer, almost in the tenor range, who has released singles and albums of both quasi-operatic-style and pop songs. He began singing as a child, and became known after per ...

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)