Rebecca Pronsky

Rebecca Pronsky (born September 4, 1980) is a singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. Her musical style combines folk, jazz and country elements.

Early life

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Rebecca began professional vocal training at the age of eight, and was encouraged to continue studying music throughout her middle and high school years. In 1996 she met Lucy Wainwright Roche, then a fellow high school student at Saint Ann's School. Lucy introduced Rebecca to folk music and Rebecca began to study guitar. Rebecca attended Brown University and graduated with a degree in Ethnomusicology in 2002. However, it wasn't until she left college that she considered music to be a serious career option. [http://www.browndailyherald.com/media/paper472/news/2005/12/05/ArtsCulture/Alum-To.Perform.Songs.From.SelfReleased.Albums-1120897.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.browndailyherald.com]

Musical career

Rebecca recorded several songs she had written while in college upon graduating and released this collection as her first album "Milestone" in 2002. She moved back to Brooklyn soon after and began working with other musicians to explore her songs more fully. She met Rich Bennett (Friendly Bears, Monocle) in 2003 and the two began a musical collaboration. Bennett played guitar on Rebecca's EP "The Early Hours" in 2004. The EP received strong reviews in the northeast and prompted Rebecca to begin touring.

In 2005, Rebecca created the Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange, a music series presenting strong local songwriters in the New York City area. The series continues to run today.

Over the next few years Rebecca worked with Bennett to solidify her sound, culminating in "Departures & Arrivals" (2007), Rebecca's third record which Bennett produced, and, which was released by Northampton, Massachusetts label Nine Mile Records. Rebecca spoke of the record as being "much more compositional" than earlier work. [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/music/country_girl__city_girl/Content?oid=472059] The track "Break Even" from the album was featured on XM Radio's The Loft program and Rebecca's tour schedule picked up as a result of the release.

Rebecca now tours nationally and has performed with Peter Case, Catie Curtis, Tracy Grammer, Sarah Bettens, Josh Ritter, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and many others.

Discography

"Milestone" (2002; US; Self-released)

"The Early Hours" (2004; EP, US; Self-released)

"Departures & Arrivals" (2007; US; Nine Mile Records)

References

East Bay Express: 'Country Girl, City Girl,' August 1, 2007 [ [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/music/country_girl__city_girl/Content?oid=472059] ]

Brown Daily Herald: 'Alum To Perform Songs From Self Released Albums,' December 5, 2005 [ [http://www.browndailyherald.com/media/paper472/news/2005/12/05/ArtsCulture/Alum-To.Perform.Songs.From.SelfReleased.Albums-1120897.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.browndailyherald.com] ]

External links

[www.rebeccapronsky.com Rebecca Pronsky's Official Website]

[www.ninemilerecords.com Nine Mile Records]