Changes in the Wind
By Jeanie Fitchen
Biography:
From the age of thirteen, Jeanie Fitchen has enchanted concert and festival audiences from the Alaskan Arctic to the Carribbean Tropics, bringing to them her singular musical art intertwining original stories and stellar vocals in a rich musical synthesis.
Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, Jeanie grew up with the music of great masters such as Verdi, Puccini and Mozart. Her mother had hoped that she might train for the opera but Jeanie found her musical niche in the simple beauty and artistic style of folk music, viewing it as a vehicle for personal and social expression.
At age 15, Jeanie made her festival debut with appearances at the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs and the Fox Hollow Folk Festival in Petersburg, New York. She continues to be a major performer and MC at numerous festivals and acoustic venues around the country.
She is the recipient of the 2016 Florida Folk Festival Legends and Legacy Award.
In 2010 she was awarded the Fellow Man and Mother Earth Award from the Stetson Kennedy Foundation in recognition of her outstanding song contributions to Florida. The songs she has written and sung praise the defense of Florida’s natural and cultural heritage and have done much to enrich the lives of the living and insure that these treasures will be passed on for generations to come.
In 2001 she she received the Florida Folk Heritage award for outstanding folk artists and culture advocates who have made long-standing contributions to the folk cultural resources of the state. Established in 1985, the program parallels the National Heritage Fellowships.
Jeanie’s concert performances take the listener through the entire gamut of emotions as she spins yarns and tugs at the heartstrings, incorporating traditional as well as contemporary topical elements in her programs. She is a highly-acclaimed songwriter with the ability to evoke through melancholy and euphoria the wondrous resilience and vitality of life.
More information about Jeanie’s music is available at her website