Indie Music Channel
Darlene Koldenhoven
Female
Studio City, CA
United States
Profile Information:
- I am an:
- Indie Artist
- Artist's or Band's Name
- Darlene Koldenhoven
- City & State
- Studio City, CA
- Country
- United States
- Music Genre(s):
- New Age, Ambient, World, Classical Crossover
- Bio:
- GRAMMY® Winner and three-time GRAMMY® Nominee Darlene Koldenhoven is an accomplished American soprano, pianist/keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, composer, lyricist, record producer, author, actor, educational speaker, music industry consultant, international voice teacher, touring artist, and sonic therapist.
Darlene has a GRAMMY® Award and three GRAMMY® Nominations as lead soprano in Clare Fischer's 2+2. Her first solo piano album "The Grand Piano Spa" hot shot debuted #4 on Billboard's Classical Crossover Chart the week of May 29, 2021 its first week out. Darlene's second solo piano album "The Grand Piano Spa: Legacy" debuted #8 on Billboard's Classical Crossover Chart week of Nov.2, 2021 its first week out.
Darlene's latest album is “Traveling the Blissful Highway” (10/14/22) which debuted #1 on Australian radio and #2 on American radio in the New Age genre and has already won many awards and nominations, including the GOLD for Best Visionary Music in the COVR Visionary Awards in Denver 6/10/23; the Grand Award from The Akademia for Best Ambient Instrumental Album 2023; the GOLD for Best New Age/Ambient Album from the One Earth Awards; from Global Music Awards the GOLD for Best Producer/Engineer; from One World Radio Awards came a second place Best Contemporary Instrumental Album 2023. For the single “Cheerful Mohana” from the album, comes a nomination from the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Best Ambient/New Age Music; Best New Age Music Platinum Award from LIT Talent Awards International; and a win from New Age Notes Radio for Best New Age Contemporary Instrumental Song, just to name a few.
She is the first ever inductee into the Indie Music Hall of Fame from the Indie Music Channel, held at the GRAMMY® Museum in 2019. One World Music Radio honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 and Hall of Fame induction. The Akademia Awards presented her with the Outstanding Legacy Award 2022. Her instrumental New Age album “Chromatones” won the 2019 Music of the Year from the COVR Visionary Awards.
Darlene is known globally as the featured soprano soloist in the PBS television special and DVD, “Yanni, Live at the Acropolis”. She has an MVP award from the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (The GRAMMYS®) for "Best Studio Singer" for singing on over a thousand recordings of movies, television shows, CDs, commercials, live shows and more. She has a Platinum album for her vocal work on Pink Floyd's "A Momentary Lapse of Reason." She is also known worldwide as the tambourine-waving choir nun in both "Sister Act" films with Whoopi Goldberg and off-camera as the production vocal coach, vocal contractor, and music director. Darlene has two Telley Awards for her song/video, "Love is an Action Word." Several of her albums have debuted #1 or gone to #1 on the ZMR Radio Charts and have been voted by Broadcasters worldwide for Best Vocal Album 2017 Color Me Home, Best Vocal Album 2007 Infinite Voice, Best Holiday Album 2007 Heavenly Peace, a nomination for Best Vocal Album 2011 Solitary Treasures, and a nomination for Best Piano Album with Instrumentation 2014 Tranquil Times. Darlene's first solo piano album, released 5/14/21 is titled "The Grand Piano Spa" followed by “The Grand Piano Spa: Legacy” 10/22/21. Also published are the companion Digital Songbooks & Sheet Music "The Grand Piano Spa Solo Piano Collections.” Her 9th album Color Me Home 2017, has received and 20 awards and 35 nominations from various competitions including Indie Music Channel. Chromatones, an instrumental album debuted #1 on the New Age Radio Guide Charts 6/2018 and won Music of the Year by COVR Visionary Awards, a retailer's award, was inspired by the music of the award-winning Color Me Home.
The artist also has a robust teaching program and published “Tune Your Voice: Singing and Your Mind’s Musical Ear,” an at home guide or classroom supplement to help anyone, especially musical artists, to sing in tune and in harmony, prepare them to compose and sight-read music, learn any instrument faster and/or by ear, and become an all around better singer and musician.
Darlene has teamed up with symphony and Hollywood studio first chair Earle Dumler on 3 singles composed and arranged by Darlene, released in 2020, that span the classical and New Age Neo-Classical genres. Darlene has also composed and released (2019) a single "Sequoia Serenade" performed by Hollywood Bowl 2nd chair violinist Robin Olson and Darlene on piano.
Darlene has performed several free concerts for climate change awareness with her environmentally conscious "Color Me Home" album along with an official Al Gore Climate Reality Project presentation as one of his personally trained Climate Reality Leaders.
She has also taken her music knowledge to become a certified sonic therapist. Sonic music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of a process in which a music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients improve their physical and mental health.
She is a true independent artist, never having a manager nor agent, and starting her own indie record label, TimeArt Recordings with 13 award-winning albums and several singles. She books her own concerts and vocal workshops worldwide. Darlene has traveled the world singing/performing 3 times in India with triple GRAMMY® Ricky Kej as featured soloist, at the Acropolis in Athens Greece as featured soloist with Yanni, as featured soloist with David Byrne in Prince Albert Royal Festival Hall, London, England; in Australia, Japan, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, and in Sierra Leone, West Africa, to name a few places.
Personally, Ms. Koldenhoven grew up in a mixed neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago singing in black churches and white churches, attending Christian elementary and high school, listening to & singing only classical music and Christian/Gospel music. Her only sibling, nine years younger was born deaf with no ears so Darlene was trained starting at age 9 how to teach her sister to speak, sing, spell using vibration as the foundation. This prepared her in later life for her work as a sonic therapist. The two girls lost their war hero father (41) at age 14 & 5 respectively so Darlene helped to raise her sister when her mother went back to work. Captain Richard A. Koldenhoven was only a 1st Lt. when he was presented with the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, & two Bronze Stars, one with Valor for his service in WWII and the Korean War. Darlene started formal training in classical piano at age 9 through college and beyond, although she is most known for her angelic voice and 5 octave range. In addition to her busy career, Darlene has her own 501(c)(3) charity, MusicMatrixFoundation.org to help others in need through music.
For more info see DarleneKoldenhoven.com
Anne Roos
Gorgeous music! Thank you for connecting with me, Darlene :-)
Jul 20, 2020
Darlene Koldenhoven
Much gratitude to the Indie Music Channel for the certification of two categories: #1 Radio Charts Ranking and Performing Before Over 500,000 People. Such a delight and boost to my career. Go IMC!
Oct 21, 2020
Darlene Koldenhoven
May 3, 2021