Judy Fjell - 2008 Montana Pride Celebration

Welcome

Judy Fjell

Monday, 07 April 2008

Judy Fjell will be playing at the Festival in the Park on June 21. Singer-Songwriter Judy Fjell is definitely “one-of-a-kind.” Not only are her musical gifts considerable, but they are easily matched by her generosity and energy as a performer and social activist. In addition, there’s no shortage of humor in her concerts or her workshops. Audiences may find themselves laughing about things they never knew were funny, or thinking about things in a new light, thanks to her stories and songs. Some of her lyrics and melodies quietly carry listeners to the wide open spaces of Montana. Others convey a strong message for compassion and justice - for the planet and for the human race.

In her forty year career Judy has performed for quite a range of audiences. She first hit the stage while still a teenager, entertaining the Lutheran Ladies’ Aid and American Legion Auxiliary in her small Montana home town. By the time she was in her thirties she had become an established songwriter on the folk and women’s circuits on the West coast and was performing in coffeehouses, taverns, concert venues, festival stages, and fundraisers across the country. She has sung for San Francisco peace marches, NOW conferences (even one in Las Vegas!), Montana Cowboy Poetry Gatherings, GLBT Pride in Boise, New York City coffeehouses, the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, the Northwest Regional Folklife festival in Seattle, rural school students in northern California, senior citizens in Carmel, Unitarian-Universalist fellowships, Methodist churches, women’s spirituality groups, concerts in Japan working against domestic violence . . . It’s been quite a ride! In addition to performing her own work, Judy often collaborates with Malvina Reynolds’ daughter, Nancy Schimmel, in “An Evening of Malvinaspirit.”

Judy has written well over a hundred songs and recorded 15 albums on her own label, Honey Pie Music, since 1980. She has a well-earned reputation as a multi-level “Musical Activist,” having empowered hundreds to find their singing voices. She is the founding director of Music Empowerment Camps (since 1986), Women Making Music Retreats (since 1991), the Canta Bella Women's Chorus (since 1996), and the Montana Women's Chorus (since 1997).

Judy holds bachelors degrees in Art, Asian Studies, and Elementary Education and spent several years teaching music in the Oregon public schools in the late 70s. She is a member of the music education organization, Music EdVentures, Inc. and is the founding director of Voice-Centered Education workshops and artist-in-residence programs. She has been invited many times to teach at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop near Port Orchard, Washingto. In recent years her musical gifts and spiritual leadership have led her into a new phase of her career, musical lay ministry for Unitarian-Universalist congregations.

In 2002, 2005 and 2007 English EdVentures Inc. and NPO SMILE invited Judy to travel to Japan to teach English through folk songs and games. When touring at home in the US, Judy travels by car whenever possible so that she and her faithful dog Halley can enjoy the scenery, watch the birds, and reconnect with the many friends with whom she has shared music over the years. Those long quiet hours in the car continue to spawn some of Judy's best loved songs.