Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeanne Phillips.
Hi Jeanne, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Music has always been a part of my life. My parents and older siblings were all appreciators of all styles of music. Most took formal lessons. My formal training started at the age of 5 with piano lessons. I was soon performing in recitals, church services, and school events – whether on the piano, vocals, or both. I remember harmonizing to radio tunes at the age of 4. By high school I knew I was going to have music be my profession. The summer of my 9th grade year began my regular visits to the Kent State Summer Piano Workshops. It was here that I was encouraged and decided to teach and perform for my career.
In 1983, I auditioned and was awarded various scholarships to attend Miami University’s Department of Music in Oxford, Ohio. The years at Miami included recitals and scholarship competitions for piano, along with many choral performances. I was also employed by the university to accompany instrumental soloists. In 1987, I graduated with Magna cum Laude honors and earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Education degree with a minor in piano performance. That summer I was hired by Lakota Local Schools to teach choir at the junior high level. I taught for 10 years and left to raise a family.
This did not stop my career though. All the while I was teaching at Lakota, I was performing vocals and/or keyboards for various services and events. I performed weddings, funerals, business conventions, and private parties. In 2001 I recorded the CD “My Gift From Him”. On it were the songs I sang when I had to comfort myself while being bound and assaulted by a kidnapper one summer afternoon in 1987. I was to be killed, but the music softened my captor’s heart and he released me. While recovering from the trauma of the day, I decided to rededicate myself to the power of music. This CD was to be a tribute to the power of God and music. I toured to many eastern US cities to perform in churches, a shopping, and a business convention. 500 copies of the CD were sold with proceeds going to ProKids of Cincinnati. An organization created to help children who have been assaulted navigate emotionally while going through their court cases .
While raising my children, I taught privately and performed where my music was needed. Private lessons were held at my church, my home, and at schools that had the facility to offer. In 2013 I opened my first private studio downtown Cincinnati. 6 years later, I moved this studio to the historic Herzog Studio on Race Street. There I presently still rent space for my teaching. This space is the location of many historic music recordings by Hank Williams, Earl Scruggs, James Brown, and other King Records musicians.
I presently enjoy various ways of sharing my music and knowledge of music:
Private instructor for vocals/piano for all ages
Performing soloist: vocals/keyboards for various public venues
Jeanne Phillips Jazz Trio – vocalist
DMJ Christian Jazz Trio – vocalist/keyboard
Jump ‘n Jive Big Band – vocalist
After Hours Big Band – vocalist
Sr. Community performer for 19 years and counting
Kenwood Baptist Church – accompanist for choir
Mt. Healthy Christian Church – organist/pianist/vocalist for services for 12 years
Accompanist for various instrumentalists in competitions, recitals, auditions, and concerts – over 37 years and counting
Pianist/vocalist for weddings, services, funerals, and private events
I have been told “Music is in your DNA”. It is my ‘heartbeat’ and I love sharing it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Every musician knows the struggle of perfecting their craft that is forever developing through their life. There are endless hours of practicing, performances that falter no matter how many hours are devoted to making them great, and ‘life obstacles’ that happen. You revel in the accomplishments of great performances, scholarships awarded, and competitions won – but know the pain of ‘losts’. Marketing for paying ‘gigs’ is every performer’s struggle. Being the right musician, at the right time, for the right place is an ‘emotional rollercoaster’.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I would say that I am best known for my passion in my performing and my passion for helping others perform ‘their’ music. Every song and piece has a ‘story’ to tell. It is the musician’s job to share that ‘story’ to others. Even if I am performing 40+ songs in a two hour period, each song must ‘sing’ its ‘story’. Many people have told me that they can feel this passion and emotion I project as I perform. I can be extremely tired, but will come ALIVE when the music begins. Students let me know how much they appreciate my knowledge of what I teach and my patience as they develop their craft. Many are not amazing musicians, but ‘their’ music matters to them – and they benefit by expressing it.
I am most proud when my music positively affects another person’s day.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
God knows the plans He has for me and I try to do my part in the work and development of it. That is the best plan for my future in music. I will keep performing and teaching wherever He decides I should go. You may think- but you have performed in bars and casinos as well as churches!? It has been amazing how His plan works even in secular settings and with secular music.
Pricing:
- Soloist – $75-$100/hr
- Trio – $100-$200/hr
- Instruction – $35 per 30 minutes
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jeannephillipsmusic.com
