While most little girls played dress up and house with their friends, one music student at BYU dreamed of her future as a jazz singer.

“I’ve been singing at weddings and parties ever since I was a little kid,” Jillaine Chaston said. “It’s always been a huge part of my life.”

Chaston will be featuring her unique and powerful voice when she performs on Saturday from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall located in the Harris Fine Arts Center. Admission is free.

“She has a very gifted voice,” said Richard Duke, one of Chaston’s teachers and mentors. “It is very rare to find someone as talented and capable, and who is able to spend the time and effort into becoming better. Part of her talent is that she seeks to find people who are also developing their talents who also have that same amount of energy and enthusiasm.”

Chaston will perform a variety of songs including original music from her debut album “You Really Meant It,” released this month on Amazon and iTunes. She will also perform songs from her sophomore album set to be released in August.

As a jazz studies major with a vocal emphasis, Chaston said she has always been interested in performing.

“It brings me the most joy. I love performing for the audience,” she explained. “I like to get to know the audience members and keep in touch with them.”

A singer and songwriter, Chaston will be performing many of her original pieces at the recital. Dawn, her mother, said the songs she wrote come from her daughter’s personal evolution.

“Not only is it a deeply engraved love of music,” she said, “but it is communicating with such dignity and power what is meaningful to her. A lot of her songs represent her growth.”

Audience members should not expect the performance to just be an ordinary recital, Duke

said.

“You will hear great music by great musicians, but you will also see a great show,” he said. “It is always a fun and lively performance. There is a lot of energy.”

For more information about Chalston, visit her Web site, www.jillainerecords.com.



Copyright Brigham Young University 30 Apr 2009