Features
Serena Ryder: Powerful voice mirrors her presence
For all the wonderful things musically that have happened in the life that is exclusively Serena Ryder's, it's difficult to predict there's more to come.
Not because the former Millbrook resident, blessed with a wonderful three-octave vocal range and a stage presence that grabs one immediately, doesn't have the talent and drive to achieve great things but because it's hard to believe there's much more she can achieve.
Born Dec. 8, 1983 in Toronto, Ryder has aspired to and done much as a singer and songwriter, her April 2008 Juno Award win as Best New Artist of the Year a crowning achievement.
Both in the studio and live on stage, Ryder's unique persona is at the heart of her music as she revels not only in the performance but also in the opportunity to be an instrument in the relating of the long and storied history of song.
In fact, her best-selling CD to date, If Your Memory Serves You Well, pays homage to that history and her desire to be its "songperson" with tributes to great Canadian artists of the past such as Leonard Cohen, The Band and Paul Anka.
But don't be mistaken. For all the seriousness attached to the business of songwriting, recording and touring, Ryder loves to laugh and does so often, her infectious smile being, well, infectious.
It has been many years since Ryder received her first guitar from her father. It has rarely left her side since and doesn't promise to anytime soon. That's a very good thing for anyone who has dreamt the dream and then strived to make it happen.
And that's a very good thing for Canadian music. A very good thing indeed.
Not because the former Millbrook resident, blessed with a wonderful three-octave vocal range and a stage presence that grabs one immediately, doesn't have the talent and drive to achieve great things but because it's hard to believe there's much more she can achieve.
Born Dec. 8, 1983 in Toronto, Ryder has aspired to and done much as a singer and songwriter, her April 2008 Juno Award win as Best New Artist of the Year a crowning achievement.
Both in the studio and live on stage, Ryder's unique persona is at the heart of her music as she revels not only in the performance but also in the opportunity to be an instrument in the relating of the long and storied history of song.
In fact, her best-selling CD to date, If Your Memory Serves You Well, pays homage to that history and her desire to be its "songperson" with tributes to great Canadian artists of the past such as Leonard Cohen, The Band and Paul Anka.
But don't be mistaken. For all the seriousness attached to the business of songwriting, recording and touring, Ryder loves to laugh and does so often, her infectious smile being, well, infectious.
It has been many years since Ryder received her first guitar from her father. It has rarely left her side since and doesn't promise to anytime soon. That's a very good thing for anyone who has dreamt the dream and then strived to make it happen.
And that's a very good thing for Canadian music. A very good thing indeed.
