Karen Shell Bio
Karen Shell: A Brief History
It may have been my mother’s teaching me Chopsticks before I was two years old, or falling asleep listening to barbershop quartets rehearsing downstairs, or harmonizing to all those moon-in-June songs with my expanded family sitting around a campfire – but something about my childhood certainly drew me towards a musical career. Plunking out tunes by ear, when the piano keys were level with my nose, is what prompted my parents to send me around the corner to Hilda Johnson for lessons when I was four. Linda Goodrich took over my keyboard training when I was in high school; then I learned from Virginia Marks and David Pope at Bowling Green State University where, in my freshman year, I transferred from performance studies to composition and graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theory & Composition.
Piano is unquestionably my instrument. Being away from it for more than a few days causes withdrawal anxiety! However, while still in high school I discovered that learning to play the music of the masters gave me only a partial thrill. What kept me enthralled for hours was writing my own music! My first theory teacher was my dad, a barbershop harmony arranger, who explained dominant 7th chords, inversions, and “The Clock” – a term I’ve heard nowhere else but in barbershop circles. At BGSU, the Clock was referred to as the Circle of Fifths by my theory/ composition/ orchestration teachers: Drs. Donald Wilson, Wallace DePue, Burton Beerman, Maralyn Strude, and Lou Marini Sr.
At the end of my senior year, I made the fork-in-the-road decision to forego a graduate assistantship and plunge headlong into the “real world” outside of Academia. That world took me on a journey through rock & roll, having children, directing church choirs, playing organ, writing musicals, directing men’s and women’s barbershop choruses, becoming a homeowner, teaching piano, arranging songs, singing in trios and quartets, and all kinds of miscellaneous, creative endeavors, many of which involved my musically inclined siblings. Currently I play the organ and direct the choir for the Catholic churches in Toronto, Ohio, provide Sunday music and rehearsal accompaniment for the Presbyterian church, teach piano to a variety of students, and occasionally join with my old rock & roll buddies to make recordings or play for some special venue.
Hassamarra Publishing is a venture that has been percolating for about ten years. It was inspired, in part, by having three of my songs published by another small company, validating their worthiness. Then my brother gifted me with a life-changing music program, so I could engrave and print music myself – not only for me, but for friends who had composed songs without ever having put them in a shareable format. With the expansion of small online businesses, the path opened up… and here we are!
That’s the general overview. Later on I’ll share a few details that you might wonder about…like those musicals…that quartet…those little boys…but for now, it’s back to the old piano! Thank you for your interest!