专辑简介

"I live a life guided and fueled by my love of music".

Born in Colombia and raised in the United States, Sandra Melena utilized music as a means of learning the English language. At an early age, Sandra Melena displayed a passion for singing and an ear for music well beyond her age. Growing up and raised by parents who love music, Sandra Melena was exposed to many genres and artists including: Earth Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan, Nat King Cole, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and many more that influence her music today. Sandra Melena's natural ability to memorize lyrics, sing in tune and in time, and ease of performing in front of others was apparent and motivated her parents to find an outlet for their tiny singer. Sandra Melena started to perform at the age of six, when her mother placed her in a professional children’s choir named VOENA. VOENA helped to shape Sandra’s strong work ethic, performance skills, and allowed her to have many unique performance opportunities. With VOENA, Sandra performed at both national and international venues. These included solo performances at The Pageant of Peace in Washington D.C., a duet performance with Daniel Rodriguez at the World Expo in Japan, and the Festival De La Musica in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Sandra has also sung at the National Cathedral, the White House, the Vatican, and even the Great Wall of China. Sandra has performed with Jose Feliciano at the Mondavi Winery, the Napa Opera House, Lonestar, Cece Winans, and Maya Angelou at the Pageant of Peace. Sandra has performed for, not only, President Clinton and President Bush, First Lady Hilary Clinton and First Lady Laura Bush, Pope John Paul II, and Razz B of B2K. Although Sandra Melena has had early success, she has never let her ego take over. Sandra Melena attributes her down to earth attitude to her loving parents and close friends. Sandra Melena has also performed in musical productions through Solano Community Theatre and The Willows. Sandra Melena has also performed with and studied with the UC Berkley’s Young Musicians Program where she found her love for classical music. Following her new found love, Sandra Melena auditioned for and was accepted into the San Francisco Music Conservatory where she trained with Anja Strauss, a world renowned soprano vocalist. Sandra Melena has also performed and worked with The Boys and Girls Club where she participated in the 2001 Omega Continental Talent Show where she placed first in the vocal division and was titled, the Overall Winner, where she competed in Nationals and won third place. Sandra Melena has also performed with Mario B. Productions and YMP, an Oakland based group. With Mario B, Sandra Melena performed for and met Too Short, a well-known Bay Area rapper, and also began modeling as a petite model. Sandra’s sound has been greatly influenced by Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Renee’ Fleming, Eva Cassidy, Beyonce, and many other female artists. Sandra’s dream is to create a blended sound that fuses her South American roots with American Pop and R&B. Sandra Melena auditioned for the Berklee College of Music in 2008 and received both the gift and honor of being accepted to the world-renowned school. Sandra Melena has worked hard for the past year and is proud to finally release her EP. All of the songs are original and Sandra Melena wrote, arranged, and creatively directed throughout the creation of this EP. Sandra was elated to work with some phenomenal musicians who are Berklee alum and hail from Florida, Massachusetts, New Orleans, and the SF Bay Area. Her EP is a compilation of songs that have raw vocals, passionate lyrics, and themes that are derived from personal experiences. Sandra has come a long way and wants to thank those who have supported her throughout her career and give thanks to Miles Hancock (Bass), Trent Bower (Drums), Jesse Biegel (Percussion), Canek Martinez (Baby No More), and Anthony Del Barrio (Keyboard) for their support and awesome musicianship.