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Clarelynn Rose
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Zen Guitarist, Celtic-New Age Fingerstyle Guitarist, Composer, Arranger, Teacher |
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Country: USA
City: Redwood Valley
State/Province: California
Region: Northern California
Subregion: Mendocino County |
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Contact:
Heartwood Music
PO Box 136
Redwood Valley, CA 95470
Email: info@zenguitarist.com
Website: http://www.zenguitarist.com/ |
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Create a personalized
mix of your favorite Clarelynn Rose songs!
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CDs
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list includes all CDs where this music creator is a contributor
(writer or performer) on at least one song in the CD. Click
on the Jukebox to listen and CD image or CD Title for more CD
information. |
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| 1. |  | A SongPeddler Christmas 2004 - Volume One
Various Artists | | | 2. |  | Elegant Tern
Clarelynn Rose | | | | 3. |  | The Redwood Sidthe
Clarelynn Rose | | | | |
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Biography
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After her viola and harp were burned in a fire, Clarelynn picked up guitar at age 17. She has always written her own compositions, which she found easier than learning other people's music. She relies on intuition when composing, having chosen not to learn theory, explaining, "Early on I adopted a simple, rather Zen approach -- play what sounds good, don't play what doesn't sound good. I try different harmonies and rhythms, and my heart and my ear know when it's right. Rather than using written music, I rely on remembering shapes and the feeling of phrases."
California's forests have also been an important source of inspiration. Returning from China, Clarelynn earned masters degrees in Forestry as well as Environmental Engineering at Humboldt State University, became a professional forester, and established a solid career in sustainable forestry. "I've spent countless hours in the woods. My pieces are named for places and creatures whose emotion matches the emotion of the music." Still active in forestry, she donates 10% of CD sales profits to environmental education.
When a home tape from the 1980s resurfaced in 1999, Clarelynn found she had forgotten almost all of her music. Then came a notice for a week of study with guitar greats Alex de Grassi and John Renbourn. "What followed was an incredible period of re-discovery," she explains. "John and Alex have both remained important mentors, and with their encouragement and support, the musical floodgates have opened wide." Renbourn's music introduced a very lively Celtic influence into her music. And de Grassi, whom Clarelynn has had the good fortune to trade services as a dog-sitter in return for his feedback on compositions, has done much to improve the orchestration, color, texture, and overall composition of her pieces.
Clarelynn appeared as part of a Guitar Players Night hosted by Alex de Grassi and performs at various venues and festivals in northern California.
What kind of music does a Buddhist forester play? Clarelynn Rose provides the answer with her beautiful Zen blend of Celtic, New Age, and folk in a fingerstyle that ranges from downright soulful to positively uplifting.
This is a musician with a mission, which she explains as "to help people find their still point in a turning world", a phrase borrowed from Joseph Campbell. Reviews indicate she is doing just that. The New Times Magazine calls The Redwood Sidthe "a calming, healing and soulful gift", and a monk from Cyprus writes, "her music offers a connection to the inner spirit of man and nature".
Her focus shifted towards China, the environment, and Buddhism in the mid-1980s after her guitar was stolen. While living in China, she wrote songs in Chinese and began studying Daoist and Buddhist teachings, as well as Tai Chi and Qi Gong. She continues to find musical inspiration in Buddhist chants and teachings. |
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Accolades
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Staff Notes
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Profoundly influenced by the redwood forests and wildlife of her Northern California home, the music of Clarelynn Rose reflects peace, beauty, and the majesty of nature. Utilizing a variety of alternate tunings and elegant fingerstyle guitar, she weaves a tapestry of acoustic New Age music with threads of Classical and Celtic influences. Fans of original Windham Hill artists such as William Ackerman and Alex de Grassi, who is personally acknowledged in the liner notes, will find a kindred spirit in the music of Clarelynn Rose.
-Michael Diamond, SongPeddler
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