2009 The Creative Connection
Planning Committee Sponsored

In this inspiring performance of song, movement, and poetry, singer/song-writer Emily Melcher demonstrates and discusses how we can use our creativity to connect with ourselves and each other, grow as individuals, share ourselves with one another, and foster community in our UU congregations.
Speaker: Emily Melcher

Singer -- Songwriter -- Recording Artist -- Itinerant Lay Preacher

Incredible things happen when we use our creativity to connect with ourselves and each other: We grow as individuals, we deepen our relationships with one another, and we build community. In this performance, I share the fruits of my creative exploration -- my songs, movement and poetry, and reflect on how we can foster creativity, and thereby community, in our UU congregations.

About my work:

Emily Melcher

I have been singing and playing guitar since I was a young child, and performing for over 30 years. My background includes music, circus and theater. I have a warm, powerful voice and confident, easy performance style, and I feel at home in intimate performance settings as well as in large venues.

In recent years, I have combined my passion for singing and performing with my drive for personal expression in my songwriting. My songs are expressions of my concerns, experiences, challenges and growth. They address universal issues such as claiming personal power and responsibility, psychological and spiritual healing, creativity, recovering from child abuse, women's experiences, mental health and illness, relationships and love. In my songwriting and in my performing, I strive to share both my vulnerability and my strength with my audience.

My work is deeply connected to my own life experiences, growing out of and furthering my psychological and spiritual growth. During the past three years, I have become deeply involved in Unitarian Universalism, and that involvement has provided me with a context for both my deepening spirituality and my work. I am an active member of First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin, and nowadays I provide a variety of services to UUs, including leading worship services, providing music for services and events, teaching classes, co-facilitating spiritual retreats, and offering workshops at denominational gatherings.

Much of the work I do in Unitarian Universalist contexts is adaptable to and appropriate for a variety of audiences, including other liberal religious organizations; folk music devotees; women's organizations; therapy, support, self-help and 12-step groups; mental health professionals; health and wellness conferences, and other individuals or organizations interested in personal growth and transformation.

About my recordings:

My third CD, "All Here!" is available as of June 12. I am thrilled to present this collection of my own songs of psychological growth and spiritual deepening. The CD includes audience favorites "My Grandmother Lives in Me," "All Here," and "The Whole of Me."

My 1999 recording "Calling My Wisdom Home," is a collection of my own songs and songs by some of my favorite contemporary singer/songwriters: Libby Roderick, Neal Hagberg, and Judy Small, among others.

I lived in Sweden for several years, and have an extensive repertoire of Swedish folk and troubadour songs. I specialize in the work of Sweden's best-known and most beloved troubadour, Evert Taube, and my translations of his songs have won acclaim from Scandinavian and American audiences. In 1999, I recorded and released "A Talk While Dancing; Emily Melcher Sings Evert Taube," a collection of my translations of songs by Evert Taube. I offer performances from my Swedish repertoire as well as lectures and workshops to audiences in the US and Scandinavia.

Learn more on my website www.emilymelcher.com. Read lyrics - Listen to soundbytes - Order CDs - Request information -Offer feedback on "The Creative Connection"

Booking and Information:

Emily Melcher
N7085 North Shore Rd.
Lake Mills, WI 53551
USA
E-mail: Info@emilymelcher.com

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