Award-winning original composition by singer/musician Charleene Closshey, “Ave Maria”
Features the angelic voices of the Sofia Boys Choir, filmed on location at Sofia University in Sofia, Bulgaria.
“It’s funny how music finds you. This song first came to me as a simple melody, floating through my mind and haunting my thoughts for days until I wrote her down. It wasn’t until 2 years after that I realized her words. Although I’m not Catholic, my heart knew the song’s message: an adoration of the Virgin Mary, one of the most potent female energies and understandings. The melody fit seamlessly into the words of a prayer millions have lifted up for centuries. And that forever changed my life.” ~Charleene Closshey
American musician/multi instrumentalist composer/actress CHARLEENE CLOSSHEY first appeared on stage at age 2 — the same year she began reading music & studying piano. She’s performed on Broadway, starred in major motion pictures, sung opera in Rome, Celtic fiddled with world champion Irish dancers, composed film scores, and even duel fiddled with Charlie Daniels. Songs produced by multi Grammy award winning teams featuring her award-winning compositions are performed on international stages, lauded to “break the mold”, even being blessed by Pope Francis.
Fusing her classical music background and angelic voice that “reminds of Joni Mitchell…there is almost a Renaissance-era quality to her voice feeling almost bye-gone compared to most contemporary singers” with “a gentle simplicity and innocence that devastates with a look, a word, and even just in the stillness.”
Charleene’s first mainstream album “Christmas Time is Here” opens with Holiday Radio Top 20 Hit “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. She’s a Top 5 Most Spun Indie Artist on radio with a Top 40 song playing across all radio formats alongside Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Mariah Carey, & John Legend.
The album also highlights her original, award-winning composition “Ave Maria”. The single was recorded between Nashville and Sofia, Bulgaria featuring the Sofia Boys Choir. Filmed on at Sofia University directed by noted writer/director Jeremy Culver, WGA/DGA (and Charleene’s fiance), the “Ave Maria” music video produced by Closshey, Culver, and Bulgarian producer Yuliyan Stoyanov with cinematographer Dobrin Kashavelov was created by a full Bulgarian production team. Minimal English was spoked on set.
The film has just begun the film festival circuit, playing as an Official Selection at the 2020 Nederland International Film Festival and winning the Tagore International Film Festival.
An original choral version of Charleene’s “Ave Maria” won a composition competition with a live performance by the 150-voice Master Chorale of Tampa Bay later airing on WUSF/National Public Radio.
Says Charleene, “It’s funny how music finds you. This song first came to me as a simple melody, floating through my mind and haunting my thoughts for days until I wrote her down. It wasn’t until 2 years later when I realized her words, and although I wasn’t raised Catholic, my heart knew the song’s message: an adoration to the Virgin Mary, one of the most pure female energies our world has seen. The melody fit seamlessly with the words of a prayer millions have lifted up for centuries. That experience forever changed my life.”
Charleene is set to release her next album “Only Love Remains” produced by 6 time Grammy winner Brent Maher in 2021.
NEW SOUNDTRACK “An Evergreen Christmas: Music from the Motion Picture” HITS DECEMBER 4, 2020
