Christine DeLeon
After a short listen to singer-songwriter Christine DeLeon, you might wonder how the voices of Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Judy Collins have been combined into one. Mike Agranoff, host of the Minstrel Concert Series in Morristown, NJ, said "With a strikingly clear and strong alto voice, she delivers her own well-written songs and those of her folk contemporaries with charm and conviction." Scott Sheldon of Sing Out! Magazine describes her voice as "reminiscent of that of a young Judy Collins: Powerful, crystalline and assured."
Raised in Northern New Jersey, she discovered the joys of singing as a member of the children’s choir at her family church at the age of 8 and followed that interest into her school chorus groups. Despite the cautious warnings of a mentor for excessive enthusiasm, Christine started off on her journey as a performer. She began her own songwriting at the age of 17 and, after more than twenty years exploring that creative path, she was chosen as a winner of the 2008 New Jersey Folk Festival Songwriting Competition.
Christine has also been a member of many choral groups such as The Harmony Singers of Wayne, the Morris Conservatory Chorus and Suburban Sound, the Montclair Chapter of the nationwide Sweet Adelines group. Seeking to play music with friends and to share her own songs, Christine joined The Folk Project in 2005 and has enjoyed the many collaboration and performance opportunities within that organization.
Sailing into the studio on her maiden CD recording voyage in early 2007 her first release “January Hiding” offers reflections of a wide range of subjects, from fond childhood memories to the perplexing tragedy of September 11, 2001. Ron Olesko of WFDU radio proclaims Christine has “given us a great, great CD … it’s like a good book you just want to cuddle up with." The entire interview with Olesko, including live music, is captured on Christine's second recording project called "Fine Traditions."
Performances by Christine are varied and adaptable as she embraces many styles and sports a wide vocal range. Equally comfortable offering her original songs of a reflective, humorous or storytelling nature as well as familiar sing-along tunes to inspire audience participation, she can easily appeal to listeners of many different tastes. Her extensive solo performance experience includes The Jefferson Township Public Library, Sanctuary Concerts (Chatham), The Minstrel (Morristown), Acoustic Café (Park Ridge), Café Z (Rahway), Hillside Café (Nutley), Music Off Main (Hackettstown) and the Red Lion Cafe (New Brunswick). She has also excelled at providing casual music for dining at restaurants such as Harmony Tea Room (Westwood), Greenberry's Coffee & Tea Company (Morristown), Amazing Grapes (Pompton Lakes), Bula World Cuisine (Newton), Dolce Café (Ridgewood) and Rivara’s Restaurant (Fair Lawn). She has also performed at the folk festivals Knowlton Riverfest (Delaware), the NJ Folk Festival (New Brunswick), Festival in the Borough (Washington) and the Folk Project Festival (Bloomingdale), where she has also taught music-related workshops.
With a guitar, her versatile voice and an unwavering ability for connecting with many types of audiences, Christine has all the tools to get any performance job done exceptionally well.