7 minute read
The common denominator —music
Performing and perfecting their art by unifying the melodies of life
Cynthia Garcia/ Roundup
Three student musicians who recently performed at the Pierce Student Concert gave a detailed look inside their lives, musical roots and what inspires them to continue pursue the art.
Priscilla Schneider
Priscilla Schneider plays the harpsichord and performed “Concerto RV 103” with a group at the Pierce concert.
Schneider, 56, identifies herself as a “definite beginner”, at an amateur level of classical music, therefore she would not consider herself a “pianist” just yet she explained.
She is currently a Pierce student studying the fundamentals of harmony and chart reading.
Schneider was born in Budapest, Hungary and immigrated with her family to the United States when she was two-years-old.
She began piano lessons at the age of seven and continued until the age of 12, then she decided to quit.
“My mother predicted that I would regret quitting music,” said Schneider. “After such a long break from it [music] I realized that my mother was right.”
Schneider took a 37 year pause from music.
“I had to take a break because, well life happened,” said Schneider.
She is now married with four children, two of which still live at home with her.
Music was brought back to her life by a purchase of a grand piano.
“When we bought a house that could accommodate a grand piano, my husband bought one for the family with the caveat that somebody had better play it,” said Schneider.
At the age of 49, Schneider started piano lessons along with three of her children.
Schneider plays classical music and enjoys the Baroque era the most, “the Romantic era is ok, but sometimes it gets away from me,” said Schneider.
She is also partial to playing in groups such as orchestras, rather than performing solo where the spotlight is completely on her.
“That’s the problem with piano, it’s more of a solo and I like to put myself in a collaborative group,” said Schneider. “I don’t like solos at all.”
In 2009 and 2010 she performed in the American Victory Orchestra- Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert.
The event was put together by the Pearl family in honor of Daniel Pearl, a journalist kidnapped in 2001 and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan.
Schneider said she does not have a lot of spare time, but spends the time that she does have taking care of her family and going to the movies with her husband.
“I wouldn’t call it a musical career; it’s become more of a hobby really,” said Schneider. “But if someone wants to pay me to play then sure why not.”
Currently she works in the San Fernando Valley and is manages several apartment buildings.
Schneider has been accepted to CSUN’s Music Program and will begin in the fall.
Deanna Tyndall
Through music, Deanna Tyndall has been able to travel across the country and work with famous musicians.
Tyndall was born in Dallas, Texas and moved to Los Angeles at the age of three with her family.
“We’ve moved because my family had potential jobs here that were going to be more productive for them,” said Tyndall.
Tyndall and her family has been involved with music all of their lives.
“My mother and her mother were very much into music,” said Tyndall. “My mother was an amazing singer and her mother played on the radio in Texas.”
Tyndall, now apart of the third generation of her family’s passion for music, admits that it has not always been easy.
“I’ve always had this thing with music, I wanted to be a singer and play the piano but I fell back to rise my children,” said Tyndall. “It wasn’t long before I wanted to do it [music], it kept coming back to me.”
Tyndall sings Jazz and Rhythm and Blues and also enjoys writing for those genres of music.
She started working with music professionally again in 1970.
In 1980, Tyndall auditioned for actress/singer Lainie Kazan at the Century Park Hotel and landed the opportunity to tour different countries and perform for six months.
“It was amazing, it’s the most exciting thing I could ever mention,” said Tyndall. “I also worked for Rita Coolidge and Donna Summer during a ‘Summer Special’ at the Tokyo Prince Hotel, Donna is a great singer and she paid well.”
Tyndall said being apart of the tour as one of the back-up singers was the biggest highlights in her singing career.
After the tour, Tyndall worked with a Los Angeles rock band called “Cloud” for about a year.
Tyndall has three daughters and has been a single mother for some time.
She said it has not been easy perusing her dreams being a single mom.
“Its difficult because you have to have babysitters, even when I went on my tour it was crazy,” said Tyndall.
But she was fortunate to have support from her mother and other family members.
She has been attending Pierce since 1995 striving for her music degree. But she also enjoys going to plays, musicals, and watching old time films, in addition to learning how to play the piano.
Currently, she is learning how to write music and she collaborates with her daughter Nancy, who also has a musical passion.
“My daughter is the lyric writer and I’m the writer of the music,” Tyndall explained.
Her dream would be to write music and have it be published.
One of her biggest inspirations is Diana Krall, Canadian Jazz pianist and singer.
“I think of her as an articulate writer, she would phrase music amazingly,” she said.
Tyndall said she will continue to perform at Pierce throughout the semester and anticipates a recital in May.
Sandra Killman
Vocalist and writer Sandra Killman was born in St. Louis, Missouri and moved to Los Angeles when she was 13-years-old to pursue singing.
“I knew I wanted to sing even when I was a little girl. And I figured that I needed to be in either California or New York, but I choose California because it had better weather,” said Killman,60.
Killman and her mother moved to California alone.
She started singing on stage as early as the age of three.
Through music and academic achievement she had the opportunity to meet President Ronald Reagan and President Lyndon B. Johnson.
At 17-years-old she received an invite to the White House because she was involved in a special scholars program at UCLA. She received a Bronze Medallion from President Johnson.
Later she got to sing for President Reagan at the Fords Theatre (one of America’s historically famous theatres, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated).
She met her husband, Dennis Killman, while working with American Soul, Jazz and Blues singer Lou Rawls. Dennis was Rawls featured soloist and Killman was his featured duet partner.
“We [Killman and Dennis] started talking about writing together and fell in love,” said Killman. “We decided to leave that job and do our own thing.”
“Sirius Magic” was the name of their duo act that later developed into a band.
Killman’s stage name is Sandra Starks and she kept it for continuity sake.
In retrospect, Killman attended a workshop in Vegas conducted by Phil Moore who was a vocal coach for Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Dandridge, Diahann Carroll, and Lena Horne.
“He coached some of the biggest vocalist of their era and I actually worked in the studio with him,” said Killman. “During this time is when I was really preparing to get hard at work.”
Through the workshop, Killman was able to showcase her singing talents in different parts of the world.
The hardest part of it was leaving people behind she said.
“I learned why entertainers have such a hard time growing family relationships, but I got lucky when I met my husband,” said Killman.
She is close with her family, including her daughter Gia and granddaughter Gianna; both whom attended her performance at Pierce, March 17.
“It’s great being a parent, but being a grand-parent is the best thing in the world, they are my biggest fans,” said Killman. “They are my buddies.”
Currently, she is taking four music classes at Pierce and two computer science classes, where she is learning about web development.
Musically, her next project is the production of an album, which she has yet to title.
For the full story, visit www. therounduponline.com.
