“Sometimes singing is a person’s biggest gift in their life”, says Christine Shelton, a resident of the Falls in Wynstone and a wonderfully talented singer and performer. Christine has performed all over the Chicago-land area, and continues to share her gift with the community. “I’ve been teaching music since 1975, and I’ve been a private vocal instructor in the Barrington area for 17 years”. Christine also helps out at Willow Creek church with the Penguin Project, and loves to sing and entertain the elderly through a program called Barrington Area Council on Aging (BACOA). She has taught kids in Wynstone, including myself, for roughly 23 years and everyone that has met her absolutely loves her! Ms. Shelton is a truly talented individual, and we are lucky to have her in our community!
Christine moved to Wynstone in 1994. She downsized about 10 years ago and currently lives in the Falls. She absolutely loves living here in Wynstone, and especially loves that she can always see her friends and be surrounded by such a wonderful community! Christine also really appreciates the security Wynstone offers and feels that the neighborhood brings a lot of comfort to her and the many others living here. A fun fact about her is that she has sang the National Anthem at Wynstone’s annual Fourth of July celebration many times, so many of the residents here have most likely heard her talented voice over the years!
As it was mentioned earlier, Ms. Shelton loves to sing, and has been singing practically her whole life! She started singing duets with her mother starting at age 7 in local churches and schools, and then continued on in high school and college. Now, alongside performing, she also loves to teach kids all over the Barrington area. Christine explained that her grandmother taught elementary music for 40 years and she saw her teaching and it dawned on her that teaching could be something she could do too. She truly loves teaching kids now, because music makes her happy and she loves being able to share that joy it brings with others.
Before she was a teacher, she was involved with many other performance related events. She had a part time job singing the National Anthem with the Pittsburgh Phillies, she sang with both the St. Louis and Pittsburgh Symphony, and was even able to sing with her 3 children at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House. This, she says, was one of the most fulfilling moments for her as a mother.
When asked what some of the most rewarding moments of being a mentor to young aspiring artists are, she said that it’s wonderful to watch everyone succeed in their own individual way, with their own diverse capabilities. “There’s an immediate gratification you get, when a student realizes their talents”, Christine explains. She has a love for teaching special needs students through the Penguin Project at Willow Creek. She says that when you see a special needs child who has trouble speaking, sing at a recital, it’s a wonderful feeling. Christine also loves working with the elderly and seeing them remember old tunes and songs from their past!
Christine’s advice to any young aspiring artists is to follow your dreams. “Don’t ever let anyone stop you from following your dream. There’s truly a voice within each person, that needs to be heard”. She explains that everyone has their own level of success. An 88-year-old student of hers is successful because he’s doing what he loves to do, and that is his own personal success!
Ms. Shelton was my teacher for many years, and I have always, always enjoyed working with her. “I loved working with Amanda in both Barrington Children’s Choir and one on one. She always came prepared, too.” After a bit of a break, I happily returned to Ms. Shelton to help prepare me for my auditions as a dancer. Many included singing. “She was persistent and had determination. She has such a nice voice, and is a genuinely sweet girl”.
Some of Christine’s favorite vocalists include Barbara Streisand and Judy Garland. She also really enjoys music composed by George Gershwin and many standard classics of the 1940s. Some of her favorite roles she has done include Ms. Gulch in Wizard of Oz, Jacqueline in La Cage Aux Follef, and Queen of Transylvania in My Fair Lady. She continues to bring her talent all over the Chicagoland area, and is currently working on The Lion King, which will be presented in July! Talk about true talent!
Christine loves the advice “Don’t take yourself too seriously”, and her goal is to always bring happiness to other people’s lives and she wants to give music to people to make them happy!