Sounds like...

Enya, Loreena McKinnett, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Nana Mouskori, Celine Dion, Sarah Brightman, Barbara Streisand, Jann Arden, Karen Carpenter

Once upon a time...

I remember the favourite red dress with white polka dots that my six-year-old self proudly wore to church every Sunday, where I sang in the Crescent Beach United Church choir. At the age of ten, I taught myself to play the piano by looking at the diagrams in my sister's beginner piano books. The folks got very excited and thought I might be a prodigy, but I was bored by the lessons. A couple years later, I started sneaking into my brother's room when he was out, and taught myself to play his Eko Coronado 6-string acoustic guitar by reading chord diagrams in song books. I thought nobody knew of my secret musical passion until I opened a big huge box at Christmas & found the Coronado inside. Dad bought my bro's guitar for me. (I still have it, too.) Soon I was writing my own folk songs. I played many school and church events, & even toured with my school choir and was featured in the concerts as a solo singer/songwriter. I also played the piccolo, flute, & trumpet in various school bands. Even with all this success, I suffered from debilitating stage fright in all areas of my life. During my teen years I struggled with acute social phobia. A sensitive and naturally reticent soul, I integrated the message that I was unworthy of life and unworthy of love. My voice became almost inaudible, and people were always asking me to speak up. In conversations with people at work or in social situations, I stammered awkward replies to questions. I seldom initiated conversations. It seemed to me as though everyone else had life figured out. It seemed like everyone else knew what to do, and how to be, and what to say. I felt like an alien in a crowd of accomplished people. More than anything else, I wanted to be loved & accepted… but felt I didn’t deserve it. In the mid-70s, after dropping out of high school and leaving home, I found myself floundering. My belief in my own unworthiness and the lack of basic life skills led to a black time in my life, when I lost someone I loved more than anything else. Although I still grieved that loss, in an attempt to move forward, I went back to school in 1978 & got my high school equivalency. I attended university in Victoria & Vancouver, but the stress of working graveyard shifts as a waitress at night & attending classes during the day proved too much & I was unable to complete my degree. In 1981 I got my first office job with an insurance company & became a typical pink collar worker. Then, when my three-year marriage ended in 1990, I took a long hard look at the life I had been leading. I realized that I was still living as though I was that wounded young woman, still pushing myself to live up to the expectations of those around me, contorting myself in order to buy their approval. I saw that the lack of music and creativity in my life had almost destroyed my spirit. I still grieved the loss of my youth, but I also desired to live more fully. It was time to become an artist, a creator, and… perhaps even a singer. Walking the path of discovering my voice again became a healing journey for me. My lessons were a form of music therapy. I learned that, if we acknowledge the place we are at, and trust, we can move forward. The work was challenging - as it required change. I began to experience the creative process, which requires passion, perseverance and commitment in the face of doubts, procrastination and past programming. Through this work, I was able to become a more fully actualized person. My creative accomplishments have been and are motivated by a desire to rise above my programming, and grow into the person I wish I had been when I first left home in 1974. Today, as 'the shy singer', I am honored to be a mentor for others on the same healing path. I know we can never go back, but I hope we can forgive ourselves and blossom into the people we were meant to be.

Creating a New Life...

Vikki began her voice studies in Vancouver with maestro Luigi Wood in 1991 and has trained privately in the Italian method since then. She coached with Bliss Johnston; attended Master Classes at the Vancouver Academy of Music with Phyllis Mailing; in 2001 she participated in two "Jazz Improvisation & Performance" workshops with Victoria's Gordon Clements. She worked with German-Australian voice teacher & tenor Gerhardt Zeller 1996-2002; coached with soprano Catherine Lewis in Victoria 2004-2006; & is currently working with soprano Barbara Livingston. Her musical credits include: Carmen, The Tempest, Lucia di Lammermoor (Pacific Opera Victoria, 03-04), M'alachim (Western Concert Opera); The Magic Flute (Vancouver Academy of Music); Carousel, Brigadoon, La Cage aux Folles (Theatre under the Stars); Faust, Die Mutter (Theatrespace); Hair (Vancouver Musical Theatre); Kiss Me Kate (Victoria Operatic Society); Toad of Toad Hall (West Niner's/Ldn, Eng); and Puss & Boots (Metro Theatre). At St. Andrew's-Wesley Church in Vancouver, Vikki has performed at Thursday Night Live (performing classic jazz with Kathy Kidd, Laurence Mollerup & James Danderfer; and Peter Dent). As part of the Sunday Night Classics series she presented "If Music be the Food of Love" (Quilter's Shakespeare Songs); "Arrivederci, L'amica" (Italian love songs & arias); "The Music of Vera Lynne"; "In Memory of Patsy Cline"; "St. Patrick's Day" (Irish folk songs). In December 2001 she performed "WWII: Songs of Hope and Sorrow" at St. Andrew's-Wesley, with jazz pianist and composer Peter Dent, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbour. In June 2002 she appeared in concert with tenor Brian Ceresney, mezzo-soprano Benita Ceresney, and soprano Barbara Rand, along with pianist Mary McKinney. In 2003, as a member of the duo 'Lyrical Lasses' she performed at various Victoria venues with pianist Anna-Louise Moorman. Today she performs at various acoustic venues as a solo artist and also with singer/songwriter/guitarist Larrein Trudeau & singer/songwriter John Spooner as a member of the folk trio, "Easy". Besides studying method acting and stage direction for three years with Alex Bruhanski at the Bruhanski Theatre School, Vikki performed non-musical roles in productions such as Hobson's Choice, Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton, Soul Searching, and Michael Jackson's One, Too. She was an active member of the Vancouver Theatresports Rookie League for five years; and brought down the house at more than one Punchlines amateur night with her 'performance poet' stand-up routine. In addition, she has directed several stage productions, including Chekov's Uncle Vanya and Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan; her direction of Snowangel won a summer theatre workshop competition at BTS. She was also a performing member of Victoria's longest-running professional comedy troupe, Spilt Milk Comedy Theatre. Vikki's creative interests outside of music, theatre and comedy include writing prose & poetry, graphic design, and visual art. Her paintings & jewelry were exhibited at the "Two Sisters Studio/Gallery" on Savary Island this summer.

Present day...

Vikki joined "Soundclick.com" in March of 2005, posting her first song on the internet, a country-pop ballad called 'Wilted Heart'. It quickly rose to no. 1 in Soundclick's country-pop charts and remained at the top of the charts for over three months. Her pop/AAA ballad, "Still I Dream of You" (dedicated to DC) was posted in May, and remained at the top of the pop/AAA charts until the end of August, it also reached as high as no. 2 on Soundclick's pop charts - out of 30,000 songs. Her presence on Soundclick has garnered over 14.000 listens in just seven months. Canadian broadcaster Len Amsterdam has featured her music on six of his programs, including an ‘Indie Spotlight'. Vikki's compositions, "Saturn's Air" and "Illuminating Me" both received genre battle awards from on Mixposure.com. Her music has been played on Cygnus Radio's 'Goddess Radio' hour, CKRG 89.9 FM Radio Glendon, CKCU 93.1 FM Ottawa, THEX.CA - 92.5 FM The X, Kamloops, CBC Radio 3, and various podcasts. As a 'virtual diva' Vikki has collaborated as vocalist, vocalist/lyricist, lyricist, and vocalist/musician with producers & musicians from the U.S., Germany & Canada, including: Matt Hirt, Volker Zdunnek, Michael Kavanagh, Dean Taylor & Lucian Blaga, Kevin Hung, Bill Boutin, Richard Larabie & Marvin Perkins, Dale Peaden, and The Collaborators. Vikki's song "Dragonfire" -- an imaginative world-pop ballad with classical overtones a la fantasies like Tolkein's Lord of the Rings -- was released in November 2005 as part of "The Mississippian & Friends Around the World - World Peace Compilation" -- "Dragonfire" is performed by Vikki Flawith (lead), Catherine Lewis (harmony) & Dan Spedding (musician/producer). She released her EP, 'Waiting for the Bus' in 2006. Now, 16 years after that life-affirming vision was born, her vocal abilities are well-respected. An active & prolific writer, Vikki - a.k.a. 'Hummingbird' -shares her creative journey with her peers and her fans through blogging, posting works in progress, and maintaining an active & well-respected presence on several songwriting sites, including Just Plain Folks, Irene Jackson's Songwriting Board, the Taxi forum as well as Muse's Muse, & Songwriter101. As 'The Shy Singer' she spends her days mentoring other adults who wish to experience the joy of singing without fear. She is also working to develop skills in producing music for film & tv - she signed her first deal with a LA music publisher this June. She has plans for an album slated for release in the fall of 2008, which will contain some of the many pieces she has written that have been inspired by JRR Tolkien & The Lord of the Rings. Her goal is to produce a mystical, magical, fantasy-based electronic folk album with dreamy, ethereal vocals and great harmonies. Sort of Enya crossed with Loreena McKennitt, Kate Bush & Tori Amos.

Recent Happenings

June 22/06: Vikki was privileged to sing the Canadian national anthems at the Investiture of the Order of British Columbia (the province's highest honour for outstanding achievement) at Government House located in BC's capital city, Victoria. Lieutenant Governor Iona Camagnolo and BC Premier Gordon Campbell were present. June 28/06: Saturn's Air and Illuminating Me received Genre Spotlight awards from Mixposure.com! July 1/06: My lyric entry was one of the 50 out of 500 that made it to the second round of the Just Plain Folks Lyric Contest July-Sep '06: 50 Songs in 90 Days Challenge ...my first time... I wrote about 12 songs, lol Nov '06: National Novel Writing Month Challenge ...my second time... I wrote around 23,000 words. I'm still working on the novel - I'm up around 33,000 now. Slow going :) Dec '06: FACTOR ...hey, I was excited and pleased to have my creative talent recognized. I recieved a small grant from the "Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records". Feb '07: ...February Album Writing Month Challenge Write 14 songs in 28 days.. I made it to 15! Feb '07: ...SLS Fiction & Poetry Contest I entered a 25-page excerpt of my novel into the 2007 Summer Literary Seminars Fiction and Poetry Contests (in Affiliation with The Walrus magazine). Apr '07: Although I didn't win, I was chosen as one of the 30 contest finalists in the fiction category. Kinda cool... June '07: Got my first instrumental placement with a music publisher. Feb '08: ...February Album Writing Month Challenge Write 14.5 songs in 29 days... I completed 24. Feb '08: ...RPM Challenge Record an album (10 songs or 35 minutes worth of music) in 29 days, just because you can... I completed 11. Mar '08: ...a song I co-wrote with a friend got picked up by a music library. Contracts signed! Mar '08: ...was asked to compose for a TV show. A dream come true! Apr '08: ...Script Frenzy Write 100 pages of script or screenplay in the month of April.

Vikki's Blogs

The very highs and the very lows... works in progress... the joys of procrastination... all revealed daily... http://theshysinger-songwriter.blogspot.com/

What Industry Folks Say...

“Vikki, you’re good. Keep writing.” ~ John Braheny, author, ‘The Craft & the Business of Songwriting’ “Really interesting vocal textures in 'Alien'.” ~ Project Overseer Productions, United Kingdom “You are in tune with a vibe that very few achieve. 'Alien' is truly original.” ~ T. Wisted Fock & the Rockin’ BillHillies, Australia “'Wilted Heart' is a very beautiful song.” ~ Len Amsterdam, Canadian Broadcaster “Your voice is brilliant and professionally trained.” ~ Volker Zdunnek (Philos60), German composer & collaborator “Vikki did an outstanding job on the vocal of this song.” ~ Marvin Perkins, U.S. musician & collaborator

Vikki's Influences...

Enya, Janis Ian, Carol King, Neil Diamond, Barrage, Rankin Family, Jimmy Rankin, Terri Clark, Patsy Cline. Shania Twain, k.d. lang, Nana Mouskori, Gordon Lightfoot, Puccini, John Williams, Phil Collins, Elton John, Beatles, Alan Parsons, Electric Light Orchestra, Queen, Aerosmith, Abba, Martina McBride, Evanesence, Norah Jones, David Foster, Barbara Streisand, Barbara Livingston, John Braheny, Ralph Murphy, Dan Spedding, Michael J Kavanagh, Victoria Songwriting Circle, Muse's Muse, Just Plain Folks, CMT Canada, Irene Jackons' Songwriting Forum, Taxi Forum, my family & friends!

Professional Memberships...

S.O.C.A.N., A.S.C.A.P., Songwriter's Association of Canada, Victoria Songwriting Circle, Taxi.com, Songlink International.

**AOL USERS**

Why can’t I listen to streaming mp3 files using my AOL Media Player? Some AOL users are finding that the Media Player that comes with AOL version 6 has difficulty with certain mp3 files. AOL technical support suggests you do the following: Go to "Settings", then click on "Preferences" and then go to "Multimedia". Get rid of the check in the "Use AOL media player for supported file types" box. Save the changes. This will allow you to use a better mp3 player. If your computer currently has another media player the mp3 files should play using it. If you do not have another player on your computer, you can always download a media player from the internet.