Her voice lights up a fulfilling musical journey

Her name, Stephanie Reese, sounds American. But her talent for singing and performing is every beat and note Pinoy. One thing the Seattle-based performer is proud of is her Asian roots, which she discovered only recently.

Born and raised in the US, the then five-year-old Stephanie only learned she was half-Filipino when her maternal grandparents migrated to the Land of Milk and Honey. She became close to them and they would sing together favorite tunes like Hi Lily Hi Lo, the first song she memorized.

The young Stephanie was part of an all-girl choir in Seattle where she sang classical music and show tunes. She also went on tour with the group and visited countries like Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Austria and Czechoslovakia. She also co-hosted a local Sunday children’s show, Music Magic, where she not only performed, but where she also interviewed musicians, artists and conductors. In high school, Stephanie played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and realized singing was her calling.

As if she couldn’t get enough of her musical experience, Stephanie studied Opera Performance at the Indiana University and Musical Theater at the Cincinnati Conservatory.

Trained to croon opera, Stephanie tried her hand in musicals and succeeded. From 1998 to 2003, she became part of the biggest theatrical productions outside Broadway. She played Kim in Miss Saigon (German version), Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Berlin edition) and Tuptim in The King and I (London’s West End production). She also worked as casting director.

After London, Stephanie has had her shows and performed with local recording artists like Martin Nievera, Lani Misalucha and The Apo Hiking Society in the US. She has also graced benefit concerts. These brought her to the Philippines.

Gawad Kalinga, a non-government organization which aims to build houses and provide livelihood for the less fortunate, invited Stephanie to be part of its recently-concluded concert at the AFP Theater. Stephanie performed four songs including The Prayer with Christian Bautista. She loves to perform before an-all Pinoy audience because Filipinos in the US have always been watching her shows. She recalls that everytime her kababayan learns that a Pinoy artist will be performing, they go out of their way to watch the show.

To seal her love affair with music, Stephanie recorded two CD-albums, The Journey and The Voice.

The Journey is composed of songs from the musicals and shows she has done, from Miss Saigon to The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and The King and I. It is a story of her life. The songs in the album are complemented with dialogues. The Voice, on the other hand, is inspirational, where she talks to her voice. Stephanie has pop, inspirational, spiritual, cultural and opera songs. Some are written in Filipino and Japanese.

The album is about believing in one’s self and finding spirituality.

Stephanie can sing pop, ballad, jazz and R & B and can easily shift to opera and vice versa.

Asked what amazes her whenever she performs, Stephanie replies, "My voice."

"I also wonder how my small body can produce a big voice," she concludes.