Meet Bev
Life is a journey. Our paths are shaped by the ways in which we perceive and respond to all that we encounter along the way, and the choices we make as we continue along.
My journey has been extensive, and filled with much joy, pain, love, and growth.
Singer / songwriter, teacher / student, wife / mother, lifelong yogi, adventure traveler / dream chaser.
I have embraced it all, and continue to do so as I walk this path.
Always with gratitude.
Singer / Songwriter
My career as a singer debuted in 1982, as part of a duo called B2 Blues. My partner played a Dobro steel guitar, revelling in Robert Johnson and other Delta Blues classics, while I sang Billie Holiday and an array of blues and jazz songs from that era. We even dressed the part, and got ourselves several gigs, including one at the Regina Folk Festival where we shared a stage with Valdy and the then newcomer, Colin James. That glorious introduction to the music scene lasted almost two years, after which I stepped back from it for well over a decade to raise my young family and focus on my also young teaching career.
When the howling wolf of music within me could be subdued no longer, I returned to play an active role in the music scene in 1998, and began to write songs shortly after. I have remained there ever since - first hitting the stage as a drummer, then as a lead singer in a rock band, then as a jazz vocalist for many years, and finally finding my true voice as a singer / songwriter. The evolution into a songwriter was very much connected to the events in my life.
Songwriting was initially a means to process challenging experiences, such as the slow loss of my mother's vibrant personality, and ultimately her life, to dementia, which inspired my song Remember Me released on my first EP IF MY LIFE WERE A SONG (2002). I recall after having written that song thinking that I had finally become a songwriter, as I felt I had something of value to say, some wisdom which came from my own experience.
On my self-titled EP BEV ZIZZY (2008) I recorded What About the Children, a song written in response to the events of September 11, 2001 but which continues to speak to the plight of children caught in the crossfires of war. Eventually the two EP'S evolved into the fourteen tracks on WOMAN IN BLACK (2009), five are which were inspired by my daughter's tragic departure in 2002.
Seven years later, I released STANDING ON A PLATFORM OF KINDNESS (2016) thirteen tracks of primarily original material, which I wrote and co-produced. The album title reflects the theme of kindness which runs through all of its tracks. What a Friend Does is a testimony of gratitude to friends; Stay Soft , a plea, "don't let life make you hard"; Ride into the Wind a comment on the powerful human connection that lies in the simple act of delivering kindness with a smile; and Still Smiling - an intimate conversation with a lost loved one - completes the album track list on a powerfully positive note "still smiling in the sunshine of your love".
Songwriting has evolved from being a means of processing challenges to a way in which to express appreciation and celebrate this journey of life. From the first concert I performed in 2003 as a solo artist, to the present, my songwriting has always been about creating connection and compassion, and somehow giving back for all the gifts I have been given. The majority of my performances have been affiliated with charities, as I remain committed to the belief that generosity inspires all kinds of cycles of goodness.
My career as a singer debuted in 1982, as part of a duo called B2 Blues. My partner played a Dobro steel guitar, revelling in Robert Johnson and other Delta Blues classics, while I sang Billie Holiday and an array of blues and jazz songs from that era. We even dressed the part, and got ourselves several gigs, including one at the Regina Folk Festival where we shared a stage with Valdy and the then newcomer, Colin James. That glorious introduction to the music scene lasted almost two years, after which I stepped back from it for well over a decade to raise my young family and focus on my also young teaching career.
When the howling wolf of music within me could be subdued no longer, I returned to play an active role in the music scene in 1998, and began to write songs shortly after. I have remained there ever since - first hitting the stage as a drummer, then as a lead singer in a rock band, then as a jazz vocalist for many years, and finally finding my true voice as a singer / songwriter. The evolution into a songwriter was very much connected to the events in my life.
Songwriting was initially a means to process challenging experiences, such as the slow loss of my mother's vibrant personality, and ultimately her life, to dementia, which inspired my song Remember Me released on my first EP IF MY LIFE WERE A SONG (2002). I recall after having written that song thinking that I had finally become a songwriter, as I felt I had something of value to say, some wisdom which came from my own experience.
On my self-titled EP BEV ZIZZY (2008) I recorded What About the Children, a song written in response to the events of September 11, 2001 but which continues to speak to the plight of children caught in the crossfires of war. Eventually the two EP'S evolved into the fourteen tracks on WOMAN IN BLACK (2009), five are which were inspired by my daughter's tragic departure in 2002.
Seven years later, I released STANDING ON A PLATFORM OF KINDNESS (2016) thirteen tracks of primarily original material, which I wrote and co-produced. The album title reflects the theme of kindness which runs through all of its tracks. What a Friend Does is a testimony of gratitude to friends; Stay Soft , a plea, "don't let life make you hard"; Ride into the Wind a comment on the powerful human connection that lies in the simple act of delivering kindness with a smile; and Still Smiling - an intimate conversation with a lost loved one - completes the album track list on a powerfully positive note "still smiling in the sunshine of your love".
Songwriting has evolved from being a means of processing challenges to a way in which to express appreciation and celebrate this journey of life. From the first concert I performed in 2003 as a solo artist, to the present, my songwriting has always been about creating connection and compassion, and somehow giving back for all the gifts I have been given. The majority of my performances have been affiliated with charities, as I remain committed to the belief that generosity inspires all kinds of cycles of goodness.
Teacher / Lifelong Learner
I completed a 35 year teaching career where I engaged with students of all ages, the latter half with high school students, attempting to teach them English literature but mostly learning from them how to stay young, remain a little bit crazy, and laugh a lot.
I was honoured to receive a University of Regina Inspiring Teaching award in 2009. The former student graduating with distinction from the U of R who selected me for this award shared a story of me singing Morrison's Light My Fire in her Grade 12 English class. But of course! My students were often the first to hear new material as well in our regular classroom concerts.
I loved them all, and it was difficult to leave them. But the passion to continue learning is as strong as ever, and the walls of learning have just expanded since I moved on.
I completed a 35 year teaching career where I engaged with students of all ages, the latter half with high school students, attempting to teach them English literature but mostly learning from them how to stay young, remain a little bit crazy, and laugh a lot.
I was honoured to receive a University of Regina Inspiring Teaching award in 2009. The former student graduating with distinction from the U of R who selected me for this award shared a story of me singing Morrison's Light My Fire in her Grade 12 English class. But of course! My students were often the first to hear new material as well in our regular classroom concerts.
I loved them all, and it was difficult to leave them. But the passion to continue learning is as strong as ever, and the walls of learning have just expanded since I moved on.
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Wife / Mother
I was very lucky to meet my husband and soulmate early in my life, and to have had the joy of raising two children – an amazing son and daughter – together with him. Our son - a teacher, registered nurse, devoted surfer, motorcycler and world traveler, is living life to the fullest. Tragically, our daughter died in a car accident when she was eighteen, but, to quote Tony Arata from his song The Dance, made famous by Garth Brooks: How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye. I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end The way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, But I'd have had to miss the dance. |
Lifelong yogi
Introduced to yoga philosophy and practice in the early seventies, I taught Yoga classes for a few years, and in 1976 was the founding President of the Saskatchewan Yoga Association, which served the yoga community in my province for over a decade.
This history earned me a place as one of the yoga trailblazers in the book Om Canada: An Intimate Glimpse of Yoga's Firsts (Petrick, 2020), for which I am humbled to be in the company of yogis like Kareen Zebroff and Swami Radha, founder of the Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia, the first ashram I ever studied at. Although I only taught yoga classes for a half dozen years, I have maintained my study and practice of yoga for a lifetime, and since completing my teaching career have had the privilege of being able to continue my yoga studies in Asia with some of the same iconic yoga teachers whose teachings I have followed, and who first introduced yoga to the west. And in recent years I have been exploring the world of singing mantra, taking my music in interesting directions. The evolution continues.
Lifelong yogi
Introduced to yoga philosophy and practice in the early seventies, I taught Yoga classes for a few years, and in 1976 was the founding President of the Saskatchewan Yoga Association, which served the yoga community in my province for over a decade.
This history earned me a place as one of the yoga trailblazers in the book Om Canada: An Intimate Glimpse of Yoga's Firsts (Petrick, 2020), for which I am humbled to be in the company of yogis like Kareen Zebroff and Swami Radha, founder of the Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia, the first ashram I ever studied at. Although I only taught yoga classes for a half dozen years, I have maintained my study and practice of yoga for a lifetime, and since completing my teaching career have had the privilege of being able to continue my yoga studies in Asia with some of the same iconic yoga teachers whose teachings I have followed, and who first introduced yoga to the west. And in recent years I have been exploring the world of singing mantra, taking my music in interesting directions. The evolution continues.
Adventure Traveler / Dreamchaser
My soulmate husband and I have always been captivated by foreign cultures, and what we can learn from them. This passion has fuelled our global travels, as well as my study of foreign languages - French, Spanish, Indonesian, and the completely musical but incredibly challenging Thai language. I continue to chase lifelong dreams, whether I am at home songwriting, performing, recording, studying the language of music, or traveling around the world, taking adventurous risks while learning and doing as much as possible. And always my guitar is with me, and now my harmonicas will be coming along too, as the opportunities to connect through the universal language of music never cease. I have been very privileged, as I have had both the desire and the ability to pursue my dreams, chasing them with my soulmate by my side, forever grateful for this life.
My soulmate husband and I have always been captivated by foreign cultures, and what we can learn from them. This passion has fuelled our global travels, as well as my study of foreign languages - French, Spanish, Indonesian, and the completely musical but incredibly challenging Thai language. I continue to chase lifelong dreams, whether I am at home songwriting, performing, recording, studying the language of music, or traveling around the world, taking adventurous risks while learning and doing as much as possible. And always my guitar is with me, and now my harmonicas will be coming along too, as the opportunities to connect through the universal language of music never cease. I have been very privileged, as I have had both the desire and the ability to pursue my dreams, chasing them with my soulmate by my side, forever grateful for this life.
Visit our travel blog @ www.mytb.org/The-Dreamchasers