A former actress and model as well as a musician and a composer, Stephanie Quinn has a list of professional credits that spans many pages. She is an active free-lance musician, performing solo or with many of Chicago's musical groups.

Ms. Quinn is fluent in both classical and contemporary music. She is in demand as a private instructor for violin and piano and also serves frequently on music-competition juries. Her music-career highlights include:

• a Carnegie Hall appearance with the St. Cecilia Choir
• recording a solo violin/vocal album inside Egypt's Great Pyramid
• meeting with the Dalai Lama on his 59th birthday
• performing fundraisers for the Tibetan cause
• conducting her ballet composition, inspired by her night in the King's Chamber, and
• serving as Concertmaster of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Italy

Egyptian Inspiration . . .
By Myrna Petlicki

Composer Stephanie Quinn was touring Egypt with a group of musicians.  The Wilmette resident knew that the chamber in the Cheops Great Pyramid has a seven second reverberation and she was positive that would inspire some unique music.  Quinn arranged to spend the night inside the pyramid with several other people.

Armed with her violin, a tape recorder, candles and gum, Quinn was ready for the adventure facilitated by the leader of her tour group.  It seemed like a great idea until she discovered the other people had changed their minds.

The tour leader opened the door for Quinn.

"I went through all the tunnels to get up into the King's Chamber, carrying my stuff with me," she recalled.  "I started doing these sound checks and I heard this big slam.  I didn't find out until the next morning, that I was locked in."

Quinn admitted that it took her some time to get her bearings.

"I don't think there was anything significant musically coming out of me until the last 45 minutes," she said.  Although she created songs throughout the tour at various sites, Quinn said that her night in the pyramid "was an opportunity of a lifetime."

As a result of her Egyptian tour, Quinn created "Saqqara - Passage into Soul Realms," which she later shaped into an orchestral piece well suited for dance, complete with story line. 

Students from the Center of Creative Dance (Wilmette, Illinois), under Artistic Director Mary Anne LaJoie-Sandroff, choreographed part of "Nomadic Hymns," the opening of the piece.  They performed this dance during a Young Artists Concert for the Women's Club of Wilmette.

Note: 
The orchestral piece (referred to in the above article) has been named "Saqqara's Story - Pyramid Dance of the Ages".  Several choreographers are interested in producing this on-stage (summary). Financial underwriting is solicited.

"Our Oneness" MP3 (3rd Movement in its entirety)

Original compositions recorded in the King's Chamber!