By Rob Hochschild
Berklee.edu Editor
April 2001

	Photo by Liz Linder
	Chrissi's Audio • "I'll Come to You" (C.Poland) Listen: slow | fast

A gospel concert at the Berklee Performance Center provided inspiration to Chrissi Poland, of Marshfield, Massachusetts, just when she needed it the most.

"I was going to Boston Conservatory for musical theater but my heart wasn't in it anymore. I was lost," says Poland. "Some friends talked me into going to a gospel concert in the BPC. So I went in and, oh my God, life-changing moment. I stepped into the Performance Center. The lighting, the microphones, the sound, the singers, the style of music. Everything. 'There it is. That's where I'm supposed to be.' Almost got it right, just one block away."

The next day, Poland took a walk around the corner, picked up a Berklee application, and transferred for the following semester. The first Berklee ensemble she auditioned for was the Reverence Gospel Ensemble, starting a two-year stint that was the focal point of her years at Berklee.

"Gospel choir is a great experience for anybody, even if you're not a religious person," says Poland. "It made me feel all kinds of emotions."

Her immersion in gospel music influenced Poland while experimenting with a new tune at the piano during her sophomore year. "I'll Come to You," poured out of her in one sitting as she contemplated a dream set years in her future.

"I saw myself as an old woman, happy and peaceful, at the end of my life," Poland says. "I was thinking about someone I loved who was already gone, and looking ahead to meeting up with him again."

Poland wrote the tune at a time when the songs were coming quickly, as she found ways to apply what she was learning about harmony and melody. She says her ears had always served her well, but armed with new knowledge of chord progressions and tensions, Poland developed into a more productive and competent composer.

Photo by Liz Linder

"There was a point in my third semester where I wrote two or three songs a week," Poland says. "I had all this stuff in my head for so long, but I didn't have the tools. I didn't understand the language, but once I understood the concepts of how to put things together, it all dumped out at once."

While soaking up musical information in her classes, Poland discovered that her fellow students could be as inspiring as her teachers. She would listen to the work of her classmates and then pepper them with with questions about singing, writing, or anything else she thought might be useful for her own music.

"There's just so many amazing people that go here," Poland says. "Being around these great players and singers is such a learning experience for me."

As the semesters went by, Poland herself became someone that new students were hearing and looking up to. On several occasions, she was selected for the coveted lead vocalist spot in Berklee's popular Singers Showcase, a semiannual concert that put her on the BPC stage that first inspired her from afar.

"If you follow your dreams and fine tune your craft, good things will come to you," Poland says. "If you're passionate and true to yourself, you can't go wrong."

Chrissi's Top Five: Songs That I Love to Experience • "Think" – "An anthem of feminine power! Every time I hear Aretha belt this one out, I just wanna get up and dance." • "Superstition" – This is just one of those down and dirty, nasty groove tunes. Stevie on the clava, Stevie on the drums, Stevie on vocals...the man is bad!" • "Jack of Speed" – "Steely Dan absolutely blows my mind, and their new album, Two Against Nature, is a total masterpiece. This song is my favorite. It is so completely in the pocket! The complex chordal structure supports a simple melody. You add to that a Rhodes, guitar, some great horn arrangements, some killer vocal harmonies, and you've got that unmistakable, classic Steely Dan sound. These guys are monsters!" • "She's Always A Woman" - What can I say? Billy Joel is one of the greatest musicians and lyricists ever. The motion of this song is so beautiful, it almost has a classical feel to it. The lyrics are so poetic and touching. A sappy love song to some, but to me, it's a unique look inside human emotion and reason. I find something new about the song every time I listen to it. • "Sista" – "Rachelle Ferrell is, without question, my greatest musical and vocal influence at this time. Her album, Individuality, literally changed my musical life. This song has so many incredible elements to it that I honestly get a knot of excitement in my stomache when I listen to it. It is so soulful, so rhythmic, so instrumentally yummy! Her voice just makes me never want to stop singing for the rest of my life! She is an inspiration, and so is this song."

	IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS LISTENING TO ANY AUDIO, VISIT OUR ONLINE TECHNICAL HELP PAGE. All audio and video clips require QuickTime. To protect the rights of artists and performers, all clips are streamed, rather than offered for download.