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I first heard Marie when I emceed the GoGirls Fest at Mercy Lounge. I was immediately drawn in by her soothing voice, compelling melodies and the unique and storytelling quality of her songs. I am loving her CD and wearing it out! The instrumentation on the CD is such a compliment to her songs. She has such a gift...she sings WITH her soul and TO souls...thank you Marie for sharing your gift with me - and the rest of the world!
Sandy Griffin, Speaker
Author of Free To Be Me! Creating the Dance of Your Life - Managing Life LLC
Folk singer returns to native La Puente
By Daniel Fritz, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/28/2008 12:23:27 PM PDT
BACK TO SCHOOL: Marie McGilvray, a La Puente native, recently made a return to Bishop Amat High School. (Photo provided to the Highlanders)In 1981, when Marie McGilvray was a junior at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, she wrote an English class essay about what she hoped to be doing in ten years.
At that point, she had only been playing guitar and writing her own songs for a few years, but she already knew that music was to be a big part of her life.
"I wrote about being a recording artist and why I wanted to be one. In the class, we were broken up into groups, and each group had to pick their favorite essay to read out load to the class - so they picked mine," the La Puente native said. "It's a neat thing because it's come full circle, even though it took a little longer than ten years to get there."
Things have indeed come full circle, as McGilvray, now a resident of Nashville, Tenn., along with other alumni artists, recently returned to Bishop Amat to perform at the school's 50th Anniversary Celebration May 9-10.
It was the first time she'd been back to her alma mater since graduating in 1982.
"I didn't know how I'd feel to be back on campus, but it was very surreal and weird," McGilvray, 44, said. "But my music was very well received."
On Friday and Saturday, McGilvray played an acoustic 30-minute set comprised of her original folk music to about 250 people each night.
"It was a very personal, casual and intimate performance to our audience," said Rita Fortner, arts teacher at Bishop Amat.
But unlike many alumni artists who
performed that weekend, Bishop Amat was only one of many stops for McGilvray in the coming months.
Since the 2007 release of her EP, "Big Love," she's been performing all over the country. Shortly after this gig, she performed in Tennessee and Kentucky.
However, her music schedule wasn't always this full. In fact, she took a break from music for about 15 years to pursue a career in occupational therapy.
After receiving her bachelor's degree from Loma Linda University, she went to work at a VA hospital in Nashville. She ended up staying there for 11 years.
"Moving to Nashville ended up being a good thing because of how prevalent music is in the city," McGilvray said. "It wasn't until after I was there for a while that I rekindled my first love as a songwriter and musician. About six years ago I decided that I wanted it as the forefront of my life, rather than just a hobby."
Now, with her job as a clinical specialist with Bioness Inc., she has the flexibility to pursue her music more than ever before.
McGilvray said that her career is gaining momentum as she begins to intentionally target regional markets around Tennessee. Next year, she'll record a full-length album.
While McGilvray makes great attempts to further her budding career in music, when it gets right down to it, her ultimate goals are modest.
"In some ways I could say I'm already a success because I've been able to write music, get it recorded and sent out to the universe," McGilvray said. "Eventually, I'd love to have the momentum be going so quickly that I could leave my job and just do music. That would be wonderful. But the experience of bringing a song into existence, playing it live and recording it - my goal is to just continue to do that."
For information on Marie McGilvray visit www.mariemcgilvray.com.
daniel.fritz@sgvn.com
- San Gabriel Valley Tribune
I have a been a fan of Marie's music for some time and have been anxiously awaiting her debut CD. Her live shows are exquisite and this CD highlights her powerful vocals and strong, easily-accessible melodies. It's hard to decide which song is my favorite: whether it be the haunting beauty of "Calm," the upbeat "Big Love" or the peaceful proclamation of "Mockingbird, each song on the CD stands alone. This album was definitely worth the wait! - Lauren Lapointe, singer-songwriter
Discography
Big Love, 2007
Photos
Bio
Singer-songwriter Marie McGilvray believes in that which cannot be seen. She believes in following her muse, a creative force which led her back to music and the crafting of songs. She recognizes signs over coincidences. She gives words to the exhilaration, inspiration and grief of others. Idealistically, she believes that music should be first about the art, the intangible gift, with less emphasis on the business.
Marie picked up the guitar as a child and began writing and performing in her teens. She played in bands, achieved moderate success, and left music for a career in occupational therapy. Her job took her to Nashville, where she soon felt herself drawn back to music.
"I’m just so grateful to have rediscovered myself as an artist and have the opportunity to share that," she reveals warmly. "I do know now that it’s really who I am and why I’m here."
Marie believes in the power of intention, in asking the universe for what you need and being receptive to its response. When she began the process of recording her debut EP, Big Love, she soon realized she needed help. Days later, she met musical director/producer Ron Gomez—in her very own home, as the plumber working on her tub. The two discovered they’d grown up a town apart in California and were both musically inclined; they were soon to learn their deeper roles in each others’ stories.
"He really challenged me to know who I was as an artist and make every word count," Marie says of Ron’s involvement. "The recording process was a lot of work but very magical. He has helped me immensely with song arrangements and instrumentation. And he adds so much to the live show!"
Big Love begins with "Bicksford Station," a classic story song which tells of the determination to wait for a lover’s return. Similarly themed yet wholly different in tone and arrangement is the Latin-tinged "Unavoidable Fire." "Calm," "Breathe" and "Lily" are united in theme and optimism, offering comfort and reprieve in the midst of the harsher times of life. The title track is a classic rock-pop sing-along, while the EP’s closer "We Are One (Mockingbird)" ends things on a compelling note of declaration.
"I wrote this song after the last election," Marie says of "We Are One (Mockingbird)." "I was very saddened by the division in our country and felt very hopeless. Around the same time, the theme of the mockingbird was popping up everywhere." Visits by birds to her back porch and front yard, a vintage painting at a garage sale, and references to Harper Lee’s classic novel led Marie to research the bird, which gave her hope. "While the mockingbird has a beautiful song of its own, it most often sings the songs of other birds." That image, she says, inspired the song, "the idea that, if we were able to listen to each other—sing their songs, so to speak—it may do wonders for the state of our world."
And so it is humbly offered that, if we were to listen to the songs of Marie McGilvray, it may do wonders for the state of our being. Marie’s songs unite, pacify, elate, inspire. Marie gives voice to the hearts and souls of all of us; she sings our songs oh, so beautifully.
NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES
The GoGirls Music Fest Nashville with Jenn Foster, Jenn Franklin, Kristin Cochran and guests Nashville, TN 2007
Summersongs 2007 with Penny Nichols, David Roth, Denise Jordan Finley, Lauren Lapointe (and numerous others!) in Ashokan, NY
Dewey Beach Music Fest acoustic stage in Dewey Beach, DE 2007
Midpoint Music Fest acoustic stage in Cinncinatti, OH 2007
Purple House Concerts with Nicole Witt in Nashville, TN 2007
Googie's Lounge Above the Living Room in Manhattan, NY 2007
Bluebird Cafe with Lauren LaPointe in Nashville, TN 2006
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