While she may not be a household name in America, yet, Norway's Sissel Kyrkjebo is one of those rare performers known by a single name throughout the rest of the world.
For the past 20 years, the singer has traveled the globe singing with classical orchestras, rock musicians and everyone in between.
"I've always been listening to all kinds of music, ever since I was a child," Sissel said. " I look at my voice as an instrument, like a grand piano. On a piano, you can play jazz, classical or anything else. It all depends on who is playing it and he technique they use."
Sissel started singing in a children's choir when she was 9, and soon fell in love with music. "It soon became the most important thing to me. I just love singing so much, I sang for four different choirs at the same time" she said. "Everybody thought I would be going on to be a classical singer, but while I love classical music, I knew that if I followed that path, I'd have to dedicate my voice to that one style of singing and I didn't want to do that."
She still sings songs from the classical repertoire in concert and on recordings, but has no regrets about following her personal path. After all, it's lead her to sing alongside everyone from Celine Dion and Willie Nelson to rapper Warren G and Deep Purple.
"It's always very exciting to collaborate with other artists and to mix different music styles," she said. "I don't try to recreate what they do, but use my voice to fit into their music. That's what makes it work."
Sissel at the Berklee Performance Center on Sunday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m. $45, $55
Source: Boston Now
