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L i s t e n Cullen
Cullen Gravit...
Cullen Gravit grew up the oldest of five children in the San Francisco Bay area in a very musical family. Her aunt sang with the Metropolitan Opera, and her mother was a concert pianist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her Dad played guitar and banjo and all five kids sang around the piano with both parents while growing up. At age 10, Neil Diamond’s manager Joe Gannon, who lived next door to Cullen’s family wanted to take Cullen to Los Angeles to pursue a singing career, but her parents wouldn’t allow her to go fearing the effect that the music industry would have on their daughter.
Cullen attended Regis University and Western State College in Colorado majoring in English and Elementary Education. She taught first and second grade for twenty years at Wheeling Elementary School in Aurora. Through teaching she combined her love of music with her love of children. She had a piano in her classroom and sang with the kids all the time. Cullen soon discovered that music inspired the children to learn by reading the lyrics to songs that they loved.

In 1997, Cullen was involved in a near fatal car accident. She sustained a cervical fracture and a traumatic brain injury resulting in loss of speech and memory. Her three year road to recovery, was a long and painful journey that included physical therapy, and speech and cognitive therapy. Unable to return to teaching, Cullen returned to music.

The accident had a profound impact on Cullen’s life. “I had come through the despair and loneliness and deep sense of loss with a great sense of hope and perspective and an incredibly precious view of life and relationships,” says Cullen. “I had been given a second chance to really act on what was in the deepest part of my soul and that was music. I just wanted to sing.”

The result can be heard on her debut CD, Listen, co-produced by Blix Street recording artist Celeste Krenz and singer/songwriter Bob Tyler. Listen is a soothingly energetic blend of acoustic, Celtic pop that reflects Cullen’s experiences. The songs range from ballads that long for finding love to declarations of strength and independence that only time can teach. Cullen’s hauntingly beautiful voice brings to mind the rolling mist of Irish landscapes with an intimacy that whispers of life and love. Included on the CD are several Celtic songs that reflect Cullen’s Irish heritage. The songs on Listen convey the wonder, joy and loss in love, moving beyond a painful past toward hope and more life-giving experiences.

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