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Twins’ careers in harmony
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| NECK AND NECK: Carli Kennedy, left, and identical twin sister Julie, who grew up in Powell River, have graduated from the University of Victoria and are launching their musical careers. They will be attending a CD release party in Powell River from 3 to 4:30 pm on Saturday, October 11 at River City Coffee. |
After graduating from university, sisters prepare for next stage in music profession
By Paul Galinski | reporter@prpeak.com
Identical twins Carli and Julie Kennedy are easy to tell apart. When they’re playing onstage, Carli’s the one with the guitar and Julie’s the one with the violin or bass guitar. Determining who is saying what during a telephone interview from Victoria is a different matter. Even the sisters say they sound identical. “Our voices are so similar we often can’t tell ourselves apart,” Julie said.
Carli and Julie, having graduated from the University of Victoria (UVIC), are now hoping to turn a string of academic successes into a string of musical successes, which is appropriate, given that they played stringed instruments.
Carli, a classical guitarist, was named this year’s top fine arts student at UVIC. Last year, Julie, a violinist, served as concert master for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, receiving a scholarship for musical leadership. She also occasionally fills in with the Victoria Symphony.
On the eve of the release of their four-song CD, the sisters are mapping out their future. They have scheduled a Powell River CD release party from 3 to 4:30 pm on Saturday, October 11 at River City Coffee, which will serve as a harmonious homecoming.
“We are very excited about our recordings,” said Carli. “We worked all summer on that, off and on. It was an interesting experience for us. We really hadn’t done a professional recording before.”
After the launch of this recording venture, which will also serve as a demo, the twins are hoping to record a full-length album. They already have enough songs to do so.
The songs for this CD can be heard online at www.myspace.com/carliandjuliekennedy. The recordings feature skilled musicianship, and also a sonorous vocal style. The voices, like the sisters, are in sync. Their singing was honed in Powell River in a number of choirs at the Powell River Academy of Music, and in school, and they come from a musical family.
The twins’ music is difficult to categorize, drawing on classical, jazz, country and roots stylings.
“We are very passionate about songwriting and performing our own music,” Carli said. “We’ve grown up with so many different types of music. We’d like to think of ourselves as having a kind of Norah Jones and Alison Krauss kind of sound. We’ve had a lot of influences; I hope that comes out in our songwriting. We are classically trained but we have always written in different styles.”
Trying to find what genre to place themselves in is a conundrum for the sisters. “We tend to say we are a combination of all different styles because of our background,” Julie said.
The twins put their first song together when they were about eight years old. By their own admission, it “wasn’t so good.” Today, they find themselves writing with frequency and a lot of their inspiration comes from day-to-day experiences. They typically don’t just sit down and put pen to paper.
“Sometimes we just get an idea and run with it,” Julie said. “Sometimes we write a whole song in an hour or two and sometimes we write it over a period of days or weeks. It really depends.”
The twins have similar life interests. They are best friends and like all of the same things, Carli said. “We really agree on most musical ideas, so rehearsing together is a breeze.
“We’re joined at the hip. We’re lucky that we have each other and passion to reach our goals.”
Studying at UVIC was a great experience for both women and now they are excited about getting on with their new musical journey.
The guitar and violin mix is not one they planned when they were eight years old. However, they believe the guitar and violin are well-suited for each other.
“Carli can do all of the accompaniments and I can switch off between violin and bass,” Julie said. “It makes for a good variety and it’s a great combination.”
“We got lucky with that,” Carli said. “When we were little we didn’t know, but they are versatile instruments.”
The sisters have been undertaking all aspects of the business themselves but it’s time to parcel that off. “Our dream is to be performing; it’s what we want to do,” Carli said.
The sisters are singular in focus. “We play music all day long,” Julie said. “We have lots of big dreams. We want to tour the world. Dream big or go home.”
Carli said the Powell River connection has stood them in good stead for their future in music.
“We’ve been so lucky,” she said. “We’ve had that training our whole lives. In Powell River we’ve had great teachers we’ve trained with and in university, we practiced so much more. Now we feel we can focus on exactly what we want to do. We feel ready musically and emotionally.
“We don’t get bored.”
The Kennedy sisters’ website is www.cjkennedy.com.
Carli and Julie, having graduated from the University of Victoria (UVIC), are now hoping to turn a string of academic successes into a string of musical successes, which is appropriate, given that they played stringed instruments.
Carli, a classical guitarist, was named this year’s top fine arts student at UVIC. Last year, Julie, a violinist, served as concert master for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, receiving a scholarship for musical leadership. She also occasionally fills in with the Victoria Symphony.
On the eve of the release of their four-song CD, the sisters are mapping out their future. They have scheduled a Powell River CD release party from 3 to 4:30 pm on Saturday, October 11 at River City Coffee, which will serve as a harmonious homecoming.
“We are very excited about our recordings,” said Carli. “We worked all summer on that, off and on. It was an interesting experience for us. We really hadn’t done a professional recording before.”
After the launch of this recording venture, which will also serve as a demo, the twins are hoping to record a full-length album. They already have enough songs to do so.
The songs for this CD can be heard online at www.myspace.com/carliandjuliekennedy. The recordings feature skilled musicianship, and also a sonorous vocal style. The voices, like the sisters, are in sync. Their singing was honed in Powell River in a number of choirs at the Powell River Academy of Music, and in school, and they come from a musical family.
The twins’ music is difficult to categorize, drawing on classical, jazz, country and roots stylings.
“We are very passionate about songwriting and performing our own music,” Carli said. “We’ve grown up with so many different types of music. We’d like to think of ourselves as having a kind of Norah Jones and Alison Krauss kind of sound. We’ve had a lot of influences; I hope that comes out in our songwriting. We are classically trained but we have always written in different styles.”
Trying to find what genre to place themselves in is a conundrum for the sisters. “We tend to say we are a combination of all different styles because of our background,” Julie said.
The twins put their first song together when they were about eight years old. By their own admission, it “wasn’t so good.” Today, they find themselves writing with frequency and a lot of their inspiration comes from day-to-day experiences. They typically don’t just sit down and put pen to paper.
“Sometimes we just get an idea and run with it,” Julie said. “Sometimes we write a whole song in an hour or two and sometimes we write it over a period of days or weeks. It really depends.”
The twins have similar life interests. They are best friends and like all of the same things, Carli said. “We really agree on most musical ideas, so rehearsing together is a breeze.
“We’re joined at the hip. We’re lucky that we have each other and passion to reach our goals.”
Studying at UVIC was a great experience for both women and now they are excited about getting on with their new musical journey.
The guitar and violin mix is not one they planned when they were eight years old. However, they believe the guitar and violin are well-suited for each other.
“Carli can do all of the accompaniments and I can switch off between violin and bass,” Julie said. “It makes for a good variety and it’s a great combination.”
“We got lucky with that,” Carli said. “When we were little we didn’t know, but they are versatile instruments.”
The sisters have been undertaking all aspects of the business themselves but it’s time to parcel that off. “Our dream is to be performing; it’s what we want to do,” Carli said.
The sisters are singular in focus. “We play music all day long,” Julie said. “We have lots of big dreams. We want to tour the world. Dream big or go home.”
Carli said the Powell River connection has stood them in good stead for their future in music.
“We’ve been so lucky,” she said. “We’ve had that training our whole lives. In Powell River we’ve had great teachers we’ve trained with and in university, we practiced so much more. Now we feel we can focus on exactly what we want to do. We feel ready musically and emotionally.
“We don’t get bored.”
The Kennedy sisters’ website is www.cjkennedy.com.
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