A little about me
Chris Hoskins is a dedicated singer, songwriter and writer. Her love for singing began in early childhood and harmony singing seems to have been something she’s done ever since she can remember. Lying in bed and singing her way through the school hymn book, in harmony, with her sister when she was about nine years of age was a regular bedtime routine!
“No-one taught us how to sing harmony; it’s just something we did”. She has been singing ever since, both as a solo artist and with others.
Chris says; "My singing 'education' began when my sister Elaine and I used to sing at the local chapel in Wales where we were brought up. We weren't welsh and we weren't 'chapel', but it was a chance to sing harmony. So one day we just turned up in our Sunday best and sang. Everyone made us so welcome and we never looked back! It was a fantastic nurturing experience to sing with the rich voices of the chapel choir and for Elaine and I to sing duets at local Eisteddfods and other events, like the opening of the new Cathedral in Coventry for instance! At Eisteddfods, the judges comments were always amusing and encouraging... on the lines of.. Thank you Elaine and Christine for that beautiful rendering... spoken in that wonderful Welsh accent, so we certainly had plenty of encouragement and performing opportunities from a tender age. On Sunday mornings when the choir had gone home and the chapel was still and quiet, I'd sit at the huge organ, pedalling away and playing for hours, picking out the tunes of the hymns we'd sung that morning. What a treat!
Little wonder that these wonderful childhood experiences influenced my future singing and writing career and my desire to sing with and write for others. Sadly my sister Elaine died several years ago and and although her loss is irreplaceable, working and singing with Pam and Corinne in Free Harmony has captured some of that intuitive spirit we shared when we sang together.
This means that we're not only enjoying the development of original material, but having a lot of fun and this is reflected in our overall sound and performance I think! I've sung with many groups in the past but I've never felt the same degree of joy in the beauty of just being and singing until now. Getting to the spirit of a song, playing with my voice and leaning the harmony on another is a really important part of singing for me, now I'm doing just that! Hooray!".
Chris also teaches singing to several groups. (see Singing for the Terrified) Chris says “singing is one of the pleasures in my life that makes me truly happy and so I think I’m lucky to have found my voice at such a young age." Chris keeps her own singing voice and skills regularly updated by attending workshops, working with other professionals and being a member of NVPN. As a trained nurse, counsellor and teacher she is perfectly placed to teach groups about the anatomy and physiology of the voice, body and breathing and to teach, inspire and support others with empathy and understanding.
It’s impossible for me to separate out which of my art forms, writing or singing, gives me the most pleasure. It’s a complex thought. Over the years I’ve never given it much thought at all, I just did it. More recently however, it’s a question others have posed and so I’ve sought some answers. (See Other Writing) I think initially my love of lyric influenced my writing, discovering that the greatest lyrics are pure poetry, was possibly the catalyst, I’m not sure. I do know that writing takes me to an indescribable place where excitement, anticipation and a deeply moving, almost spiritual experience takes place as I search for words sufficient to describe the thoughts and feelings. So I have no choice but to call myself a writer and a singer. They are both inherently who I am, they’re what make me tick. Lyric writing is slightly different because often the music accompanies the words as the piece is forming, so that’s another story entirely!
Chris’s other passions in life are writing short stories and arranging her own songs for herself and others to perform a’cappella. Chris’s poems, short stories and songs are published in numerous literary and singing publications. Please see various links to these and other forthcoming events.