Artist Bio

Multi-award winning singer, songwriter-storyteller Amy Lowe, has captivated audiences from concert halls to schools throughout the world. She is a prolific songwriter with an extensive recording career and has won numerous Parent’s Choice and EdPress Distinguished Achievement Awards. Her recordings have been heard on radio and television and have been recommended by: Booklist, Library and School Library Journal. A sampling of her credits include:CD & CD/Rom releases entitled: I Like Gum, Fire in Boomtown, Brighter Than Fire Flies, Children In the Spirit, Precious Gifts, Made For Each Other, When I Grow Up, Math Music 1: Sing Lowe Score High, Math Music 2: Understanding Math Through Music; Movin-in Building a Town: The story of Naperville; Performances include: Millennium Park; Second City, The Taste of Chicago; The Chicago History Museum, The Winnipeg Folk Festival - Canada; The City of Las Vegas Music Festivals - Las Vegas, Nevada; Arizona Theater Works - Flagstaff, Maricopa County College Tour - Arizona; a Concert Tour of Ecuador; and Who’s Next- Paris, France.

Amy holds a Bachelors of Arts, in Theater/Music, a Masters Degree in Interdisciplinary Arts. She has written critically acclaimed music for the theater, including Fire in Boomtown, winner of the Educational Press Distinguished Achievement Award & the Parent’s Choice Gold Award; She has created several successful educational & historical touring shows. Her Math Music 1 project recently won her the 2005 Educational Press Distinguished Achievement Award. She has composed music for a Christmas album with universal themes in a wide range of styles and has written, recorded and performed Americana Roots, Adult Contemporary, Folk and Popular Music. She also co-created and performed in one of the longest running comedy reviews for young audiences.

In the field of arts in education Amy’s work is quite extensive. Since 1984, she’s been a Teaching Artist for several arts organizations including: The Illinois Arts Council, Urban Gateways and most recently, the Nevada Arts Council. She’s designed programs that integrate the arts into the curriculum and has appeared in over 1000 elementary schools, high schools, community centers and universities throughout the country as a touring performer, workshops facilitator, residency and teaching artist.

Artist Statement

All my life I’ve been filled with a passion to harness sound and use it as a vehicle for expression. I hear music in the beating of a heart, in the ticking of a clock, in the crash of thunder. Sound is all around us, and music is an integral part of our lives. Over the years, I’ve written hundreds of songs and have guided others through the same process. I believe that each of us has our own innate ability to create and express ourselves. My medium is music. In ancient Egypt, music was known as “the soul’s medicine.” My goal is to inspire others to explore the magic of sound, to find the rhythm in rhyme, and use music as a collaborative medium of communication, sharing, and learning.

Educational Philosophy

My love and passion for sharing the art of music composition led me directly into the world of Arts- In -Education. I love performing and collaborating with students, teachers and community members. One of my goals is to compose more musical audio tours for museum exhibits around the world. I love research, especially history and I enjoy the challenge of reviewing assorted documents and turning them into song. I carry that passion into my musical workshops and residencies. In many of my workshops and residencies, I use songwriting techniques as a tool for enhancing writing skills and reading comprehension and math and science concepts. I believe that stories retold through music can inspire empathy and create a musical dialog between an author and a songwriter. Some of my most rewarding experiences as a musician have come from my work as a residency artist. When I collaborate with teachers to create an enriching musical experience for students it always has a magical impact on my art. For example. because of my work as a residency artist with two 5th Grade teachers, I wrote songs about math. These songs were used as a teaching tool. The goal was to help their students raise their standardized test scores. The project was a success. In addition, a surprise outcome and benefit was that the songs became an excellent language tool for their ESL students.

Two years later I was informed that the math songs lived on beyond the original project. Teachers throughout the country had been incorporating the songs into their curriculum. Since then, I have been invited to share math songs at math teacher conferences, school assemblies and have I have also been commissioned to compose more math songs. As a result I released the Math Music 1 project as CD/CD-ROM with printable lessons  In 2005 it won the Educational Press Distinguished Achievement Award. Whether, I’m writing songs for commission or guiding others in the process of creating or sharing songs as an entertainer, I believe that I am always in the process of growing and becoming. I look forward to new directions and collaborations in the coming years...

Link

www.amylowe.org