Gwendolyn Faasen

" My life as a musician and spiritual being has traveled many diverse paths, but always hand in hand. I find that presently all paths have led me here. I have come to my center, my home with this music. I love the purity, the simplicity of just three human voices blending to form one sound in a sacred space. The sharing of this experience with two other gifted singers is of great fulfillment and inspiration."

Gwendolyn Faasen, soprano, has performed nationally as the guest artist with the Calabassas Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles, California, guest recitalist at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, North Carolina, guest artist with the University of Chicago Symphony and New Music Ensemble and The Park Ridge Fine Arts Symphony in Chicago, Illinois. She has performed in opera and recital at the Aspen Summer Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado. Internationally, she has performed throughout Italy and Switzerland. Locally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she has performed as soloist in productions with Opera Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Symphony, Ensemble Montage, and the North American Choral Company. Recently she recorded Steve Reich's "18 Musicians" under the Innova Lable with the GVSU New Music Ensemble and performed the piece at the Winter Garden in New York City. Gwendolyn has a long association with the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts performing numerous premieres of new music by regional, national and international composers and served as the Institute's Music Chairperson for many years. Gwendolyn also presents lectures and workshops including Discovering the Natural Voice: A Cross-Cultural Perspective and Mapping the Sacred Sound Universe

Gwen holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Aquinas College. She was a scholarship student for numerous summers at the Aspen School of Music and also studied in Siena, Italy and New York City. Besides music, she has done Masters work in Psychology from Western Michigan University and studied Buddhist Psychology at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. For many years she has been active in the study of indigenous cultures with the focus being the study of Shamanism. She has studied through the Foundation of Shamanic Studies and through extensive travel in Africa, Asia, and South America. In addition to her singing, Gwendolyn is an accomplished classical guitarist, and also plays baroque and rennaissaince lute, celtic harp, piano, frame drum, and traditional and American Indian flute. She teaches in private studio, teaching voice, piano and classical guitar.