Lyn Somers
Lyn Somers grew up in a loving, musical, Italian, close-knit family. Her mom taught her and her brother music and would have them all gather around the piano to teach them to sing harmony. Her dad took the lead or Tenor, her brother sang Bass, her mom sang Alto, and Lyn got to sing whatever parts her dad wasn’t singing. He would flip back and forth from lead melody to tenor. Lyn would alternate filling in the gaps whenever her dad changed parts in order to create harmony. Lyn and her family also sang regularly with her Uncle Sonny, who was the lead singer and lead trumpet player for the Tommy Dorsey Band and who sounded like Chris Botti when he played. Whenever he visited, they would jam. He introduced Lyn to artists like Dinah Washington, whose song “What A Difference A Day Makes” she still sings. Sonny also brought music by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and other greats whose records he played for her. He was truly an inspiration and a legend.
By the time Lyn was three years old, she found herself on stage singing her first solo debut at church. Things escalated from there. By the time she was 13, she had started singing everything from solos, duets and trios, to singing with other choral groups at major venues and events with 10,000 to 16,000 in attendance. She also sang almost every weekend throughout school and onward. Her gift of music caused every musical director and vocal instructor in school to select her for their productions due to what they said was her ‘unique vocal ability’. In her heart she feels that her vocals were taught by her mom and destined by God.
Growing up in a house full of music, Lyn listened to all the artists whose records her mom would play every day. She loved trio harmonies and grew fond of the romantic era the music represented. Her family attended musicals and went to concerts, where she was inspired by live performances of many artists and felt the joy they brought to her heart. She always felt it would be wonderful to perform and bring that same joy to the hearts and lives of the masses, sharing her heartfelt love of music. Even though she was thrown into music at a young age, she fell in love with it during the course of her musical journey. She thanks God for that and the parents who brought music into her life.
Over the years, she has performed in many large venues, such as the Arco Arena, Anaheim Convention Center, Richmond Auditorium, Portland Convention Center, Long Beach Arena, Selland Arena, and the Trinity Broadcast Network in Nashville, Tennessee. She has also performed at smaller venues with 3,500 to 5,000 in attendance, such as the Fairmont Hotel Grand Ballroom in San Francisco where Tony Bennett first sang “I left my heart in San Francisco”, as well as many other major hotel ballrooms. She has performed for many weddings, banquets, conventions, and many large churches; she has also performed on live local TV programs in California. Lyn played in a musical theatrical production with a 200-voice choir backing her solo vocals with the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra as she played the lead role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, for 12 sold-out performances. For several years she sang with the famous Sacramento Symphony Trio. Lyn sang back-up for Alvin Slaughter, the lead singer for the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and was an extra in the movie Carman: The Champion.
The genres she sings include Smooth Jazz, Blues, R and B, Big Band, old standards, the American Songbook, Pop, Gospel, and Contemporary Christian music. It would be very difficult for her to choose favorite songs, due to her love of so many, but Lyn tends to lean towards songs that touch the heart in hope that some of the love can penetrate the hearts of those listening.
Lyn has won several awards for musical performances and has been inspired by many artists, both male and female. Some of these artists are: Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Sandi Patty, Whitney Houston, The McGuire sisters, Brian McKnight, Luther Vandross, and Lionel Richie.