Melissa Seay Harshaw

Infobox musical artist


Name = Seay
Img_size =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Melissa Seay Harshaw
Alias =
Born =
Died =
Origin = United States
Instrument = Piano
Genre =
Occupation = Musician, songwriter
Years_active = 1995-present
Label = Tuscan Sun
URL = http://www.seayonline.com

Seay (pronounced "say") is an American born singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and visual artist living in Nashville, Tennessee. Her music has been classified as pop, new age and world music. Her voice and music have been featured in film and on recordings worldwide.

Biography

"As rare and unique as an identical snowflake, and more haunting than a scream in space", are but some of the descriptions that make up the mystique of Seay. Her voice can be heard on records in Europe and America and recently her visual retrospective of music's pioneers at Dreamworks Universal, The Nashville Jazz Workshop, The Songwriters Guild, and on the ABC Lifetime Channel.

Raised in a Renaissance environment, her parents encouraged her artistic and musical pursuits. Her formative years were spent studying piano and voice while being exposed to her father's love of classical music and her mother's love of R&B and jazz."It was inevitable that I would do something in Music" with both Opera, and Jazz singers in her Family. Seay has studied voice with renowned voice coaches Helena Shenel, Seth Riggs and Ray Hyson and has a graduate degree from the prestigious Sotheby's Art Institute, in London.

Though American born and raised, her early childhood years were spent in the army, which led her to Korea and Japan, and later Spain and the United Kingdom. It was while living in London that her voice and songwriting got noticed, and her music career began, singing on records and projects for Motown, Warner Music, Carlin and producers and recording artists like Annie Lennox, Mick Ronson and Elaine Paige in London's music scene. Considered incredibly unique by Nashville's standards her place of residence for the last several years, her Engineer says, "Imagine a great songwriter, throw in a unique and interesting sound with the chops of any great singer out there and you have a very special artist".citequote Respected music journalist, RJ Lannan and The "New Age Reporter" named Seay and her debut release, 1 Voice "One Of The Top Ten Releases for 2005".Fact|date=June 2007

One of the highlights of her career has been selections from her debut "1 Voice" being apart of the XM satellite launch of its all new surround sound channel in 2006. Her music can be heard alongside Elvis Costello, Steeley Dan, Sting, Norah Jones and Ray Charles.

In 2007, Seay moved into the world of film and her voice is featured in the film "Gracie" scored with Scott W. Hallgren and directed by Jeff Wedding. "Gracie" has been seen in festivals in Europe, Canada and the US.

Seay's most recent release “A Winter Blessing Songs: For The Season” (2007),  continues the gorgeous and emotive fusion of music that is drawing listeners from across the globe.  A Holiday Top 10 and Life StyleMusic Awards Nominee for Best Seasonal Album, "A Winter Blessing" is a gorgeous listening experience featuring Seay's spectacular voice alongside several renowned instrumentalists.   

Seay makes her home “Music City”, Nashville, Tennessee . She is currently composing her next release which will have some exciting guests and sure to be an unparalleled and unforgettable listening experience.

Discography

Albums

*"1 Voice" (2005)
*"1 Voice Special Edition EP" (2006)
*"A Winter Blessing: Songs For The Season" ((2007)

Trivia

*The song "Angelica" from the album "1 Voice" is often distributed over file sharing networks as "Amarantine" by Enya.

External links

* [http://www.seayonline.com/ Official Website]
* Seay on Myspace MySpace|seaytuscansun
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0t2zefek4gfo/ Seay on All Music Guide]
* [http://www.newagereporter.com/charts/rjtop102005.asp/ Seay on "New Age Reporter" Top 10 for 2005]
* [http://www.newagereporter.com/charts/Top1002005.asp/ Seay on "New Age Reporter" Top 100 recordings for 2005]
* [http://www.newagereporter.com/recording/viewreviews.asp?rvwbrdcmmt=151/ A Voice to Reckon With, Seay 1 Voice, Review by RJ Lannan]