Sharon Lange. com: Singer Songwriter,Urban Soul Pop R&B Reggae Hip Hop USA

Sharon Lange

From the urban underground, Sharon Lange is a lifetime award winning lead performer known for a dynamic five octave voice, and a multi awarded singer songwriter, choreographer, musician and producer. An inspiring energetic young woman, Sharon Lange challenges the norm while singing her heart out to achieve her dreams and owns her own record label.

United States Singer Songwriter: Contemporary Urban Neo Soul: Pop R&B Reggae Hip Hop

Short Bio

Since a preteen, Sharon Lange’s self directed her lead vocal and dance act of soulful pop songs receiving standing ovations. From a Cleveland public high school, she received lead theater awards in the highest theater performance competitions across the state of Ohio for high school students. Sharon studied music, classical opera voice performance and human services at Cleveland State. She transferred to New Mexico State, known for its voice department, where she received a lead voice performance award in classical opera at annual competitions for universities across the state of New Mexico, the highest competitions for voice majors. She also directed her soulful pop act for university events as a solo artist and as the leader of a female reggae vocal group and instrument ensemble called Sharon Lange’s Harmony Sisters. And in college, she laid the plans for a non profit organization that would later become a charity support called Sharon Lange’s Music for the People.

Sharon was scouted to move to Colorado, where she set out as a solo artist, founded her non profit organization and started a business as an independent artist. She instantly became a band lead singer and songwriter, touring for five years with diverse regional urban R&B, Hip Hop, reggae, rock, black Gospel and jazz bands. Simultaneously, she served as each bands’ harmony director and continued as the leader of her female group, Harmony Sisters. Harmony Sisters plays their own vocal and instrument ensemble, sings with bands, sings a cappella, provides back up harmony for regional bands, and sings for charity.

Next, Sharon Lange developed her own label, continuing to work solo as a singer songwriter. As an independent artist with a diverse fan base crossing ethnic, cultural and economic lines, she’s achieved nine grant awards over the past five years where she resides from nationally recognized arts organizations and local teen organizations: The Boulder County Arts Alliance, The City of Boulder Youth Opportunities Board, and the City of Boulder Arts Commission. She’s produced several solo demos receiving work. At her shows, you can hear her playing acoustic guitar, keyboard and classical flute. In addition to writing songs, she composes her own arrangements. With a studio, street and professional dance background, she choreographs urban Hip Hop pop show with world influences. In addition, Sharon books professional women for her group Harmony Sisters.

Sharon's developed programs benefiting local and national charities. She’s reached thousands of at risk and underprivileged middle school and high school age young people with her music at youth centers, youth group homes and meetings backstage at concerts. She’s also performed for over thirty local and national charitable concerts (i.e. Martin Luther King Day, American Disaster Relief, women’s health concerts, earth day and many others) and assisted in several of these concert productions.

CHILDHOOD

Born in Cleveland, Sharon Lange is the granddaughter of a classically trained pianist and the daughter of a trombone hobbyist/professional computer programmer. At age five, Sharon began performing as the youngest church concert choir member and youngest competing solo ice dancer. During elementary school, Sharon sold magazines to buy her first radio and was a scouted model for JC Penny’s multi ethnic spreads. She break danced to the new sounds of Hip Hop with friends, improvised on her grandmother’s piano and performed as the elementary school first chair flutist and band soloist. During the summers, Sharon was musically disciplined by conductor of the Cleveland orchestra, Jahja Ling, while she babysat his children. With the money she made, she recorded at an amusement park at age eleven. At age twelve, Sharon was directing her own act for talent shows - performing as group leader, lead singer and dancer choreographer of popular music including covering soul singer Gladys Knight, receiving standing ovations.

In high school, Sharon progressed as a versatile Cleveland entertainer and was awarded by the state of Ohio, with the highest competitions' award that high school students can achieve for lead theater performance. From age fourteen, Sharon worked in restaurants to buy costumes for her performances. She was the soloist of the school’s main choir and small all-star female dance pop show choirs, the first chair soprano, four year state all-star choir member, first soprano of small harmony groups, lead actress of high school plays and a Cleveland youth improve theater troop, cast in Cleveland independent musical film, and the group leader and lead singer of a female pop vocal duet. Sharon achieved Thespian. She was also entered into a state theater competition by a high school teacher, subsequently, winning one of the highest performance awards that a high school student can achieve in individual and duet for Ohio, winning two years in a row.

UNIVERSITY

At Cleveland State University, Sharon studied music, mass media production and communication. She transferred to New Mexico State University to study classical voice performance and human services. During her time in college, Sharon worked as a scouted model for a Cleveland modeling agency, as an usher at a major music venue and at a charity where upon requests she played the first pop & folk songs she wrote, singing with her acoustic guitar. For extra curricular activities, Sharon cast in a leading role for a season of a college Cleveland community television show and as a performance director of popular music for university cultural events. Whereas, Sharon sang a cappella, with her guitar, and, as the group leader and lead singer of a female classical pop reggae vocal and instrument ensemble called Sharon Lange’s Harmony Sisters. On the side, Sharon learned dance moves from the Latin community at festivals in Jaurez Mexico and Las Cruces New Mexico. Distinguishing Sharon, she received an award that classical opera voice performance majors compete for at multiple universities’ annual statewide performance events - the highest competitions for voice majors. And, Sharon achieved a degree in social work to alleviate the conditions of those suffering from hardship with a focus on working with women, children and non profit organizations, a degree she would later use to found her non profit, Music for the People.

UNDERGROUND SCENE SOLO ACT AND BANDS

Sharon Lange was scouted to move to Colorado by a local music company, Michigan Mike Presents, which helped her start a business as an independent artist. She started singing as a soul reggae pop solo artist in the popular music town of Nederland and as a guest performer at Denver’s largest music awards, The Westward Music Awards, where she performed at the Denver Fillmore Auditorium with the three-year winner R&B Hazel Miller Band. During that time Sharon’s jobs included solo performance, voice instruction and helping a charity put on benefit shows.

Sharon became a band lead singer and songwriter of diverse regional R&B, rock, reggae/dance hall, Hip Hop, black Gospel and jazz bands for the next five years. She also served as each bands harmony director and choreographer, and continued as the leader of her female group, Harmony Sisters. Harmony Sisters, plays their own vocal and instrument ensemble, sings with bands, sings a cappella, provides harmony for regional bands, and, sings for charity. In 2000, Sharon was invited to join and perform with Colorado’s regionally awarded and largest local music business organization and R&B band, the Colorado Music Association. In addition, Sharon became an honorary member of Denver’s renowned for-fronting group, the Colorado Hip Hop Coalition. Sharon was invited and bilaterally contracted for two years in 2002 with a new Boulder reggae group - Jus Goodie and The Jah Family Band and Jah Family Productions. She became a member of one of Colorado’s oldest, renowned and regionally awarded predominantly black Gospel choirs, Boulder Second Baptist. And, she developed a teen Hip Hop rock band called The Wasabies. While singing with the previous groups, Sharon developed a Denver public high school female Hip Hop dance group with the Colorado Hip Hop Coalition, performed dance with an authentic African female group of Bantaba Dance Studios for one of her early benefit jobs, and choreographed for her vocal performances. During her time with the previous groups, she was scouted to sing by eleven of their brother project’s band leaders. Whereas, she performed a dozen more band sets as lead singer, harmony singer and soloist as a guest or work for hire for eleven other Colorado regional bands, most often with Jus Goodie and her Jah Family Band mates. For example, Sharon performed as harmony director and the first female soloist for one of Colorado’s most popular reggae festivals, the Soul Rebel Festival. And, she performed as harmony group leader, harmony composer, band soloist, African harmony singer, and lead singer songwriter for sets with two authentic African Caribbean reggae bands: The Pendo Moja Band with players from Jamaica and Africa, and, Bongo Love’s Zula Zula Band preserving his tribe’s music from Zimbabwe. Sharon’s performed hundreds of different songs and her original material across Colorado, often as a regular, at over seventy underground music night clubs, performance centers, large A-list music venues, and at a church down the street form where she resides.

Next in 2005, Sharon continued working solo as a singer songwriter and with her solo show. As an independent artist she’s achieved nine grant awards from nationally recognized arts organizations and local teen organizations over the past five years: The Boulder County Arts Alliance, the City of Boulder Arts Commission, and the City of Boulder Youth Opportunities Board. Her newest accomplishment is starting her own record label. With her label she currently tours solo, with her group Harmony Sisters, and plans to release a self produced solo album at the end of 2008. You may hear Sharon playing acoustic guitar, keyboard or classical flute. And, with a diverse lifetime studio and street dance background, she choreographs urban Hip Hop pop show with world influences.

CHARITY

In college, Sharon laid the plans for the non profit she incorporated upon graduation called Sharon Lange’s Music for the People to benefit charities in the cities where she lives (formerly Unity Music). Since graduation, she’s performed for over thirty local and national charitable events in Colorado (i.e. Martin Luther King Day Celebrations, Red Cross American Disaster Relief, Earthday, women’s health concerts, and many others.). And, she’s assisted several organizations in the production of these concerts. In addition, every month for the past five years, Sharon visits groups of at-risk and underprivileged middle school and high school age youth at group homes and youth centers in Boulder Colorado to improve their quality of life with music. And, when Sharon visits her family where she was raised in Cleveland Ohio, she is a musical guest at an elementary school for inner city kindergartners.

UNDERGROUND RECORDING DOCUMENTATION:

Sharon Lange and Colorado Reggae Bands with Jus Goodie & Jah Family Acoustic and Electric 2002-2003 15 Tracks

Sharon Lange and the Best of Her Harmony Sisters (Featuring Sandra and Kate) 1999-2003 14 Tracks

Sharon Lange Live on the Denver R&B Funk Jazz Band Scene, Solo A capella, and Acoustic 2001 12 Tracks

Harmony and Solo for Colorado Reggae, Rock and Gospel Bands & Ensembles 2002-2004 26 Tracks
*Sharon’s vocal talent is published underground with diverse regional Colorado bands from 2000 – 2004 on over 175 different songs.

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Sharon Lange, photo by Bill Steinwachs

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