Blues brings River Hill grad back to her roots
gotten me very, very far.”
Music, however, was what she turned to for expressing herself.
She attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she had the opportunity to tour with popular blues musician Joe Louis Walker, while completing her degree.
“I’ve played all sorts of genres — bluegrass, hip-hop, jazz, classical,”
Collier said. “I came back to the blues. The blues are raw and very thoughtful. It is rough around the edges but real.”
She started taking voice lessons in college and now is an accomplished singer and saxophone player.
She has recorded several albums and has performed throughout the United States, Europe and China.
“I find it is immensely fulfilling,”
Collier said of touring. “I love the travel and meeting different people.
“I’ve been in this over 20 years, and there are not a whole lot of young women like Vanessa,” said singer Shemekia Copeland, one of the top blues artists in the world.
Collier has had the opportunity to open shows for her.
“She can play, she can write and she can sing,” Copeland said. “She is also one of the sweetest, nicest people you’ll meet.”
Ronnie Earl, a leading blues guitarist for the past 40 years, echoed Copeland’s comments.
“This lady Vanessa is a star in the making,” Earl said. “She has beauty surrounding her art all around her.
I feel she will be going very far in her field.”
Despite touring most weekends, writing music and practicing, Collier still finds time to teach private lessons twice a week in Howard County, a gig she started after graduating from Berklee.
“I love to do it. It is so worth it for the one high moment when you see the light come on,” Collier said. “It teaches me a lot. I remember what it’s like to be a beginner.”
Both of Collier’s parents are teachers. As a child, she used to watch her mom teach classes at Prince George’s Community College.
“She is a great teacher. I saw a lot of people transformed,” Collier said. “She is a role model for everybody. I thank my stars every day. For every basketball game, every concert or whatever it was, she was always there.”
Eric Posner, director of bands at Atholton High School, wrote in an email that his students “LOVE” when Collier comes to run a sectional and to help out.
“She’s in high demand as a performer and teacher. I can see that she makes lessons fun, and meaningful,” Posner wrote.“I think we’re lucky that she came back to the Howard County area, and we at Atholton are lucky to have her hanging around here.”
Collier teaches saxophone to 25 students of various ages.
“I taught one vocal student,”
Collier said. “It is not my forte.”
When the weather is nice, she likes to teach outdoors, dragging chairs and music stands out of the school.
“It is tough to be in a room with no windows,” Collier said. “Teaching is like pulling teeth sometimes with students. I try to make them leave with a smile.”
Alina Maciorowski, 14, has been a student of Collier’s for three years. She admitted Collier made lessons fun but not easy.
“She gives me more to work on than in band,” the eighth-grade student at Burleigh Manor Middle said.
M. Joe Fischer, Collier’s former River Hill High School band director who now teaches at Mt. Hebron High, said some of his current band students have Collier for private lessons.
“We came full circle with that,”
Fischer said. “It is really neat to see from a teaching stand point.”
Fischer also thinks the world is just beginning to experience Collier’s talent.
“She is doing great stuff,” Fischer said. “This is just the beginning.
She is only scratching the surface of what she is capable of.” kvjones@baltsun.com
Music, however, was what she turned to for expressing herself.
She attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she had the opportunity to tour with popular blues musician Joe Louis Walker, while completing her degree.
“I’ve played all sorts of genres — bluegrass, hip-hop, jazz, classical,”
Collier said. “I came back to the blues. The blues are raw and very thoughtful. It is rough around the edges but real.”
She started taking voice lessons in college and now is an accomplished singer and saxophone player.
She has recorded several albums and has performed throughout the United States, Europe and China.
“I find it is immensely fulfilling,”
Collier said of touring. “I love the travel and meeting different people.
“I’ve been in this over 20 years, and there are not a whole lot of young women like Vanessa,” said singer Shemekia Copeland, one of the top blues artists in the world.
Collier has had the opportunity to open shows for her.
“She can play, she can write and she can sing,” Copeland said. “She is also one of the sweetest, nicest people you’ll meet.”
Ronnie Earl, a leading blues guitarist for the past 40 years, echoed Copeland’s comments.
“This lady Vanessa is a star in the making,” Earl said. “She has beauty surrounding her art all around her.
I feel she will be going very far in her field.”
Despite touring most weekends, writing music and practicing, Collier still finds time to teach private lessons twice a week in Howard County, a gig she started after graduating from Berklee.
“I love to do it. It is so worth it for the one high moment when you see the light come on,” Collier said. “It teaches me a lot. I remember what it’s like to be a beginner.”
Both of Collier’s parents are teachers. As a child, she used to watch her mom teach classes at Prince George’s Community College.
“She is a great teacher. I saw a lot of people transformed,” Collier said. “She is a role model for everybody. I thank my stars every day. For every basketball game, every concert or whatever it was, she was always there.”
Eric Posner, director of bands at Atholton High School, wrote in an email that his students “LOVE” when Collier comes to run a sectional and to help out.
“She’s in high demand as a performer and teacher. I can see that she makes lessons fun, and meaningful,” Posner wrote.“I think we’re lucky that she came back to the Howard County area, and we at Atholton are lucky to have her hanging around here.”
Collier teaches saxophone to 25 students of various ages.
“I taught one vocal student,”
Collier said. “It is not my forte.”
When the weather is nice, she likes to teach outdoors, dragging chairs and music stands out of the school.
“It is tough to be in a room with no windows,” Collier said. “Teaching is like pulling teeth sometimes with students. I try to make them leave with a smile.”
Alina Maciorowski, 14, has been a student of Collier’s for three years. She admitted Collier made lessons fun but not easy.
“She gives me more to work on than in band,” the eighth-grade student at Burleigh Manor Middle said.
M. Joe Fischer, Collier’s former River Hill High School band director who now teaches at Mt. Hebron High, said some of his current band students have Collier for private lessons.
“We came full circle with that,”
Fischer said. “It is really neat to see from a teaching stand point.”
Fischer also thinks the world is just beginning to experience Collier’s talent.
“She is doing great stuff,” Fischer said. “This is just the beginning.
She is only scratching the surface of what she is capable of.” kvjones@baltsun.com
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