This is such an exciting announcement for me to make - the release of a wonderful CD that I was invited to sing on, involving my dad and his lovely group of musicians. I had the honor to perform with PECB over the summer.
My vocal numbers include "God Bless America", "Somewhere over the Rainbow", "Till We Meet Again", "I'll be seeing you", and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree".
A few local newspapers published articles about it:
I'm sharing the article, along with the short but sweet biographies of Band Director Ed Pierce and my dad Bob Millers' stories below because I feel so lucky to have this opportunity!
Professional singer, actress
Vocalist Kimberly Fadner joins Palmyra-Eagle Community Band
by Ruth Ann Mueller - Palmyra Correspondent
Palmyra - A very talented vocalist joined the PECB this past summer and is doing all the singing on the band's upcoming CD which members hope to have ready for release by Christmas.
Kimberly Fadner, formerly Kimberly Sau Wai Miller who now lives in Oakland, Calif., is home with her 3-month-old son, Jack Robert staying over the summer and through early October with her family in Mukwonago on Eagle Springs Lake.
"I have made it a tradition to spend much of my summers in the Mukwonago and Eagle area, as it is, hands down, the best place on earth to be during the summer," said Fadner.
Fadner attended Mills College, an all-women's college in Oakland, Calif. and graduated in 2006 with a degree in vocal performance and dance. She also received stage and film acting training at the American Conservatory of Theatre in San Francisco and the Aerial Arts at Kinetic Arts Center in Oakland.
Since then she has been working as a professional singer and actress mostly in the California Bay Area and the Midwest.
"I'm very active in musical theater, as it combines my love for singing, dancing and acting," said Fadner. "I've worked steadily with the family friendly theater, Berkeley Playhouse, where I've appeared not only as an actress but also an aerial dancer on aerial silk and things like you see in Cirque du Soleil."
She also sings professionally for all types of special occasions, charity events and churches.
"Singing is my number one passion, and it has always been that way," Fadner said.
As a little girl around age 4 or 5, her parents gave her a tape player, and she would stay up all night singing along to her tapes, and refused to listen when her parents told her to go to sleep.
"I am fortunate to be a part of a very musical and artistic family," Fadner said, adding, "One of the best things ever is when we sit down together for a good live music session or record songs together in the studio."
Both her husband, Jonathan Fadner, and her brother, Matthew Miller, are composers, and her father, a retired pediatrician, also is a musician who plays baritone horn in the community band. Her mother, Charlotte, does Chinese Brush Painting which she learned in her birth town of San Francisco's Chinatown, and has passed this skill onto Kimberly.
Fadner's relationship with PECB began a few years ago when Ed Pierce, director or the Palmyra-Eagle band, invited her to sing on a summer program with the band, in which her father plays. She sang a Sousa song, "I've Made My Plans for the Summer" and a jazz standard, "Stardust" with her father.
"This began my relationship with this friendly group of talented musicians," she said.
Nothing is more gratifying to her than sharing music with others in a way that inspires positive feelings such as the music from the World War II era.
"The concert at the Palmyra Methodist Church on Monday, Sept. 17, was exactly that," Fadner added. "We were all experiencing the heart-warming effect of this music. It's very touching to look out into an audience and see folks singing along to songs they can recollect firsthand."
These, she said, are some of the best-loved songs of all time; "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", "I'll Be Seeing You" and "Till We Meet Again".
"This music is universal. It speaks to all of us about love and loss," Fadner said. "There is a certain unbridled passion for life that comes from not knowing if you or your loved one will even be here tomorrow.
"Wartime was a scary and dismal time, yet creativity and expression soared due to that sense of urgency," she added. "Everybody in the photographs I see from this era look like movie stars. I love that!"
The vocalist hopes to continue to spread joy and inspiration through music and the arts, and remain active on the stage and a part of special events as a singer and performing artist.
"I'm very excited to be a part of the upcoming community band's CD, and Ed Pierce is an absolute delight to work with!" Fadner said. "Everyone in the band is super welcoming and talented. And above all that, I get the unique opportunity to share this gift of music with my father.
"I'd love to act in one of my husband's musicals someday and release an album with my brother but, most of all, I'm looking forward to being a mom, and watching my family grow and journey through this amazing life together," she concluded.
Ed Pierce has directed the Palmyra-Eagle Community Band since 1994, the year after its founding. He also directs the St. Paul's Lutheran School Band in Fort Atkinson, WI and gives instrumental lessons to 5th-8th Grade students. Mr. Pierce is a Civil War buff and is a performing member and chief historian of the 1st Brigade Band, an organization which performs at historical events and community celebrations all over the state. He is a member of the Wisconsin Band Masters, the National Band Association, and Phi Beta Mu - Professional Band Directors Fraternity. Mr. Pierce also directs the Lebanon Community Band and is Music Consultant to Old World Wisconsin. He and his wife live in Fort Atkinson. Ed has been involved in CD projects with the 1st Brigade Band, the Lebanon Community Band, as well as the PECB, so he is truly a musical ambassador to Wisconsin!
Bob Miller has been playing Baritone horn with PECB since 1998, as well as providing occasional vocal support for selected favorites. Although a pediatrician and hospital administrator (retired) by profession, music has always been a part of Bob's life, whether with community bands and choruses, or at home with his children Matt and Kimberly. "Singing duets with Kimberly is always a joy!" he notes. Bob and Kim sing together on "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" on the CD.
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