Shannon Janssen's Heart Journey


	Born and raised in Iowa, Shannon Janssen began playing a small electric organ when she was very young. She has very few memories of it, but her parents remember Shannon making up tunes at a very early age. When she was eight, formal piano lessons began. Her Austrian piano instructor was strict, only allowing Shannon to play classical pieces. She would practice the lessons her teacher would give while spending additional time at the piano learning pop songs, and working on her own compositions. Shannon continued lessons through high school, then studied piano with a passionate pursuit that led her through the years. She has been a church pianist for 20 years and taught private lessons for twelve years.
	At the request of people who wanted to take Shannon’s music home with them, in 2001 she began the adventure of recording her debut album, “Heart Journey”. Working closely with her producer Mark Pence, orchestration added tasteful beauty to her piano solos. Together they would see eye to eye and hear ear to ear exactly the special touches that would add the magic that Shannon was looking for. Within a year, she began recording her second album “Piano Paintings”, released in October of 2002. “The Keys of Christmas” was released in December of 2005 with a Christmas Concert in Cedar Rapids, IA and a CD signing and performance at Barnes and Noble. With several of her original compositions along with Shannon’s interpretation of traditional Christmas Carols, “The Keys of Christmas” has made a wonderful addition to holiday music collections from coast to coast.
		In recent years she began writing her compositions down in sheet music form. It is her desire in the future to have her music available in song books for students, teachers and anyone who enjoys playing piano. Shannon is now a full time pianist performing for Von Maur department stores, Doozie’s Restaurant, the Cedar Rapids Marriott, for private and corporate parties, receptions, special events and concerts of her original music. She continues writing in preparation for her next CD. Music is her passion, and her style is unique. Her award winning music would be categorized as Contemporary Classical or Romantic Piano. She plays with such feeling and emotion; her melodies will take your heart on a journey.
	" I love music that is soul stirring and touching. That makes you stop to ponder, taking you to another place. This kind of music can be in many categories. But instrumental music without words, allows the listener to use their imagination to tell the story or to paint the picture within the song. The only clue is the title...you decide how the story goes and ends. It's like reading a book verses watching a movie. Your imagination paints the scene and characters, thus allowing the music to take you on a journey."
		"I remember as a child, I was listening to a piece of instrumental music. It was the first time I "felt" the music. The music was building with a crescendo, and as it grew, my heart was beating fast and I felt like it was hard to breath as this lump was growing in my throat. When the crescendo peaked, I felt like bursting into tears. I held the tears back, so worried someone would ask me what was wrong. I didn't have a clue at what had just happened to me. Many times later, I would purposely try to "not get into the music" for fear this would happen to me again. I didn't understand why this was happening or why only certain songs did this to me, not until years later. Many times while practicing the piano, I would find myself weeping at the beautiful combination of notes and chords of some of the most talented composers.
	I was very curious if others could "feel" the music like I did. When the tears would come as I listened to the music...I would look at others to see if they had tears as well. Most of the time, they did not. Over the years I have observed many folks and have had many conversations with people of all ages, trying to determine why some never "feel" the music. I have tried fervently to teach my students to "feel" the music, but it seems that some were born with it, and some were not. I have come to believe that you can't really "teach" it, but there is a possibility it could be developed. Whatever the case, it is a special gift to have the ability to be swept away to another place and time just by relaxing, closing your eyes listening. My goal is to create music that will touch the listener's heart and take them on a journey far away." ~Shannon Janssen~