On August 7, 2026, Darlene Koldenhoven released “A Grand Memoir”, a 10-track solo piano album born from the writing of her memoir, “Put Your Dress Down and Sing.” The album is more than a new release: melodies that came to Koldenhoven in vivid waking dreams while she was writing about her life became the music itself. Recorded live in her living room on a 1926 Golden Era Steinway Model L, “A Grand Memoir” offers an unusually intimate entry point into the story of the woman behind the music.
Long before Darlene Koldenhoven became a GRAMMY® Award-winning recording artist, a featured soprano on “Yanni, Live at the Acropolis” in 1993, a choir nun alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the “Sister Act” films, and one of Los Angeles’ most accomplished studio session singers, she was a gifted child growing up in an environment where imagination itself could be dangerous.
From a severely restrictive Dutch Calvinist childhood in Chicago to the Hollywood soundstage, the recording studio and the concert hall, Koldenhoven has spent a lifetime transforming what was once forbidden into an artistic principle.
That transformation is the thread connecting “A Grand Memoir” to the life behind it. To understand the music, it helps to go back to the beginning — to the child who first learned that having a voice could be both exhilarating and frightening.
In an interview with the NYC Daily Post, Koldenhoven reflected on the world she grew up in and the place music occupied within it.
“I was born and raised in a severely strict, repressive Dutch Calvinist household. I wasn’t allowed to sing, play, or listen to anything but religious or classical music and was severely punished for being creative or having an imaginative thought. It was considered a sin. It was religion all day, every day; so much so that I devoted a chapter early on in my book, ‘Put Your Dress Down and Sing,’ to explain the intensity of it. My mother and her father sang to me . . . a lot. All religious songs like ‘Jesus Love’s Me,’ ‘Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,’ or the song I sang for my first solo performance in front of an audience, ‘Low, in the Grave He Lay.’”
Music, even within those narrow boundaries, became part of Koldenhoven’s earliest sense of self. What began with the songs she heard from her mother and grandfather would eventually become a language of her own.
“Put Your Dress Down and Sing”
The story behind the title of Koldenhoven’s memoir, “Put Your Dress Down and Sing,” begins when she was just three years old. As she recounts on the second page of the book, her passion for singing emerged during her first solo performance in church:
“My passion was singing, and I discovered it the first time my mom put me on the platform in church, as a shy little three-year-old, to sing a solo, ‘Low in the Grave He Lay.’ Such a song for a three-year-old! I thought she said, ‘Low in the Gravy Lay,’ and that sounded like a fun song to sing.”
But when the little girl looked out at the congregation and saw the enormous number of people watching her, her shyness took over. She pulled her dress up over her face so she would no longer have to see them. Her mother’s reponse was sharp and immediate: “Darlene, put your dress down and sing!” And she did.
The moment would become more than a funny childhood anecdote. Decades later, the words would become the title of her memoir – and, almost inadvertently, a fitting metaphor for the life that followed: facing what frightens you, stepping out from behind what shields you and finding the courage to use your voice.
The forbidden art of improvisation
One of the most revealing stories in Koldenhoven’s memoir concerns something that, from the outside, could hardly seem dangerous: improvising at the piano.
As a child, she was taught to play what was written and to practice what she had been assigned. Improvisation was forbidden. Then, one day while her mother was away, Koldenhoven opened the hymn “Sweet Hour of Prayer” and began experimenting — altering the melody, adding notes and gradually making the music her own.
“One time when she wasn’t home, I took one of the hymns, ‘Sweet Hour of Prayer,’ in the key of Eb, and I just started riffing on it, adding notes here and there to the melody. It was so much fun I added more and more notes until I heard the door open and quickly reverted to playing it like a good Calvinist Christian would, straight and reverent.”
The moment is almost comic, but its significance is not. In those stolen minutes, Koldenhoven discovered the pleasure of doing something she had been taught not to do: changing the music rather than merely reproducing it. Years later, improvisation would become a part of her musical identity.
“I still love improvising in Eb. Not sure if the reason is that that was the first time I got away with improvising or I just love the sonority of that key in particular.”
A talent that had to be discovered from within
Koldenhoven does not describe herself as the product of inspirational mentors. As a gifted but repressed child, she says, inspiration was hardly the point. She first had to discover that there was a self worth listening to.
“No one inspired me in my early years. As a repressed gifted child, being inspired by someone was the last thing on my mind.”
Her first recognition came from her ninth-grade school music teacher, Mr. C.W. Clutter, who, she recalls, “told me I had something special and gave me opportunities to prove myself.”
A few years later, at 19 years-of-age, Koldenhoven was the youngest member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus when she encountered opera legend Beverly Sills backstage at Ravinia. Sills asked her to sing. Without hesitation, Koldenhoven launched into a fragment of the coloratura aria she had just performed with the Chicago Symphony.
“I stayed to eat my bagged lunch backstage on the break. I was wandering around observing notices and posters on bulletin boards when I walked past her dressing room door. She emerged and said hello, asking what I was doing back there. I explained I was in the chorus and told her she was my favorite soprano and that I studied her at the Chicago Conservatory College. Also, that I had just appeared as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony in Orchestra Hall. She asked how old I was. ‘Nineteen,’ I answered. Then she said, ‘Oh, really? Let me hear you sing.’ Without hesitation, right there in the hallway, I launched into a fragment of the coloratura aria I had just performed with the Symphony.”
“She said, ‘Wow, you really can sing! You have a beautiful voice.’ She told me I should pursue a career in singing; I had the voice and the high notes to make it. So, I did!”
Independence as a professional method
It would be difficult to capture Koldenhoven through a single professional designation. Her career has encompassed recording artist, vocalist, pianist, composer, producer, songwriter, lyricist, educator, author, actor, entrepreneur, voice teacher and certified sonic therapist. Her musical vocabulary ranges from classical and jazz to rock, pop, musical theatre and New Age, supported by a five-octave vocal range and extensive pianistic training.
That breadth did not emerge from a single artistic model. Because she was not permitted to listen to non-classical or non-religious music until attending Chicago Conservatory College, she developed a habit of observing, listening and investigating for herself.
“Sure, we learn from and are influenced by others. That’s where the ‘many’ influences come from: carefully observing those who have gone before, listening to them, studying their work, and reading about them; always leaving the door, or ear, open to my own preconceptions.”
That independence eventually became a practical method for building a career.
“As a young adult, I realized early on that if I wanted to get a job done on time and done right, I had to do it myself. I had to search deep inside, with resilience, stamina, and persistence, for who I was and who I was meant to be to create and maintain a successful career in the entertainment business with no agent or manager.”
For Koldenhoven, versatility was therefore more than artistic range. It was also a form of resilience:
“I learned it is better mentally to have many skills; in case one goes down, I have another to support me. Each of my multi-hyphenates requires immense creativity.”
Even sewing became part of that creative vocabulary. She makes her own clothes and gowns and compares the process to composing: assembling individual elements until they form something coherent.
“I find it much like creating music, like putting together pieces of a puzzle. I have been told I was good at puzzles by age three. Must be how my brain works.”
Asked about the mentors and influences who shaped her, she offers an answer that neatly captures the paradox of her career:
“There were none, and there were many.”
The voice behind the voices
That independence proved particularly valuable in the world of session singing, where exceptional musical ability is often paired with near-total anonymity.
In Los Angeles, Koldenhoven became an exceptionally prolific studio vocalist. The Recording Academy’s Los Angeles chapter recognized her as an MVP Best Session Singer for work on more than 1,000 recordings spanning film, television, records, commercials and charitable projects. Her voice has appeared on recordings associated with artists including Pink Floyd, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Neil Young, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Kenny Loggins and Ringo Starr. As a lead soprano with Clare Fischer’s 2+2, she received a GRAMMY® Award and three nominations.
Her work extended far beyond conventional album recording. She sang thousands of radio station IDs, jingles and promotional sweepers, worked with the Johnny Mann Singers, contributed vocals to K-Earth 101 and provided customized vocal packages and commercial vocals for radio and television.
Here, versatility was not simply an artistic virtue. It was a technical requirement. Session work demanded precision, rapid adaptation, exceptional sight-reading and the ability to produce complex vocal arrangements under intense time constraints.
Koldenhoven’s musical identity was unusually suited to that environment:
“I have many styles, but if I had to round up one, I’d say Classical Crossover – New Age. What made it unique was that I have a versatile singing voice with a 5-octave range, and I was an equally good pianist.”
Being a studio singer, much of her work was designed to be heard without the singer ever being seen. Then, in 1993, her voice reached an entirely different scale of audience.
Koldenhoven became the featured soprano soloist singing “Aria” in “Yanni, Live at the Acropolis.” The PBS television special became an international phenomenon, bringing her voice to millions of viewers and making her soprano part of the concert’s enduring sonic identity.
Yet “Acropolis” was only one point on an unusually broad professional map. She has performed with the Chicago Symphony, appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic alongside David Byrne, performed at the Academy Awards with Robin Williams, shared the stage with Paul McCartney at the Hollywood Bowl and performed with composer and environmental musician Ricky Kej at the Queen’s Palace in Bangalore.
Across those settings, the scale and genre changed. The underlying qualities did not: preparation, versatility and the ability to move between roles.
From the studio to Hollywood
For many audiences, Koldenhoven is particularly recognizable from the “Sister Act” films, where she appeared alongside Whoopi Goldberg as one of the choir nuns. But, as with much of her career, what audiences saw on screen represented only part of her contribution.
Behind the scenes, she worked as production vocal coach and vocal contractor, music director and rehearsal pianist during choreography rehearsals. She was not simply performing the music; she was helping construct the musical environment in which the performances took place.
That distinction runs throughout her career. Koldenhoven has repeatedly occupied the space between performer and architect —between the person in front of the music and the professional making the music possible.
The little girl whose creativity had once been treated as something dangerous eventually became a professional whose creativity was central to major Hollywood productions.
And she brought something else with her: humor.
Koldenhoven says she has learned to find humor even in absurd circumstances because it allows her to shift perspective. Her “feistiness,” she says, has served her well—including when it helped her secure her role in “Sister Act.”
There is a certain symmetry to that trajectory. The child who once had to hide her creativity eventually built a career in which she did far more than stand in front of a microphone. She learned to perform, prepare, teach, arrange, contract, rehearse, produce and create opportunities when none were readily available.
The discipline and self-reliance that had once been imposed upon her did not disappear. She reclaimed them and put them to work on her own terms.
A life built on action
That philosophy is at the heart of the title of her memoir, “Put Your Dress Down and Sing.”
“The meaning behind my memoir title, ‘Put Your Dress Down and Sing,’ is that to overcome your feelings, one must take action. By taking action, one receives hope and courage to continue taking action to achieve one’s goals.”
Asked which of her many professions is closest to her heart, Koldenhoven refused to choose:
“Closest to my heart? Hard to say because I enjoy them all so much.”
Today, Koldenhoven’s work extends into education and therapeutic sound. She holds a Master’s degree in Voice and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Chicago Conservatory College and has written “Tune Your Voice: Singing and Your Mind’s Musical Ear,” an educational book accompanied by instructional CDs and downloads. She is also a credentialed voice teacher and certified sonic therapist (see her ListeningMatrix.com to learn more).
What connects these seemingly different pursuits is, she says, the human connection they make possible. Whether teaching, working with sound or performing, she finds fulfillment in helping others develop and witnessing their confidence grow.
“I’m filled with tremendous joy in helping others and seeing the looks on their faces and the joy in their hearts when I’m working with them on improving themselves. That’s equal to what I feel when singing or playing piano in performance for audiences.”
Her many careers are therefore not competing identities. They are different expressions of the same impulse: to create, to learn and to give something to other people.
“I get to give them joy in their lives, even if just for a few minutes. I can’t think of a better station in life.”
When the piano was suddenly taken away
Nearly three decades ago, a serious accident left Koldenhoven without the use of her right hand for five years. Even after reconstructive surgery, one finger remained permanently deformed.
For a regular pianist, it could have been the end of the story. But for Darlene Koldenhoven, it wasn’t. She returned to the instrument, gradually regaining most of her pianistic ability and eventually performing her own solo piano compositions in concert again.
The episode reveals something fundamental about the way she approaches adversity: when a boundary is placed around what she can do, she looks for what remains possible — and works from there.
That same instinct had already shaped her professional life.
Building her own musical world
Long before artist ownership became a central conversation in the music industry, Koldenhoven had already built an independent musical enterprise of her own. As founder, owner and creative force behind TimeArt® Recordings, she developed an artist-driven music company encompassing recording, production, label operations and creative development.
Through that infrastructure, she has produced fourteen albums and maintained an unusual degree of control over her work—from the music itself to the way it is recorded, released and presented.
When an existing structure did not provide what she needed, she created one.
“A Grand Memoir”
That philosophy now arrives in musical form.
On August 7, 2026, Koldenhoven released “A Grand Memoir,” her third Billboard-eligible solo piano album, following two 2021 Billboard Classical Crossover chart debuts: “The Grand Piano Spa,” which entered the chart at No. 4, and “The Grand Piano Spa: Legacy,” which debuted at No. 8.
But “A Grand Memoir” is not simply another album. It emerged directly from the process of writing her memoir, “Put Your Dress Down and Sing.” While working on the book, Koldenhoven began waking from vivid dreams filled with piano music. The melodies that came to her in those dreams gradually became the foundation for the album’s ten original compositions.
The result is an unusual convergence of biography and music: not simply a memoir with a soundtrack, but a musical work that emerged from the same creative process as the story itself. The connection is made explicit in the audiobook edition of “Put Your Dress Down and Sing,” where compositions from “A Grand Memoir“ are woven throughout the narration, allowing the music to accompany the story rather than merely exist beside it.
Recorded live on Jan. 22, in Koldenhoven’s living room, the album was performed on a treasured 1926 Golden Era Steinway Model L grand piano, complete with its original strings and ivory keys. The century-old instrument was entrusted to her by a family whose concert-pianist mother was its original owner.
The 10 compositions move through reflection, cinematic beauty, celebration, stillness and hope, drawing on New Age and Classical Crossover influences. Even the album’s form reflects the breadth of Koldenhoven’s musical identity: 10 original solo-piano pieces, including an improvisation, moving between different moods, meters and modes.
Koldenhoven describes the project simply:
“While writing my memoir, I began waking from dreams filled with piano music. Those dreams became A Grand Memoir. It is the soundtrack to my life’s journey and my invitation to listeners to reflect on their own.”
The album therefore brings the central themes of Koldenhoven’s life into the present: resilience, gratitude, creativity and the freedom to create something that did not exist before. It also represents the latest chapter in the extraordinary journey of a woman-owned music enterprise built through determination, innovation and artistic excellence.
What comes next
There are already further musical ambitions on the horizon. Koldenhoven is considering orchestrating pieces from “A Grand Memoir,” adding violins, oboes and strings — or potentially a full orchestra — and composing new works for a future album.
“My first choice for an arranger/orchestrator collaborator would have been my dear friend Jeremy Lubbock, whom I sang for many times. Now, it is Vince Mendoza who caught my attention when he arranged for Joni on ‘Next at the Kennedy Center – A Joni Mitchell Songbook’ at the Kennedy Center in 2022.”
For now, however, the future can wait. Koldenhoven has begun touring with her memoir and album, combining readings from ‘Put Your Dress Down and Sing’ with performances of selected pieces from ‘A Grand Memoir.’
“I try to live in the NOW as much as possible,” she says. “Keeps me regulated and functional.”
It is perhaps the most fitting answer for an artist whose life has repeatedly been shaped not by waiting for permission, but by doing what comes next.
The voice that refused to be silenced
Across the decades, Koldenhoven’s voice has occupied an unusual position. It has been heard in Hollywood films, on radio stations and national commercials, in concert halls, on award-winning recordings and in one of the most widely seen televised concerts of its era. Sometimes audiences saw the woman producing the sound. Often they did not.
But behind the apparent diversity of her career lies a remarkably consistent trajectory.
The child who was punished for creativity became a professional defined by it. The girl who hid behind her dress became a performer. The pianist who was forbidden to improvise became a composer. The young woman who learned not to depend on others built her own music company.
She did not simply recover a voice that had once been restricted. She built an entire career around having one.
That is the deeper meaning of “Put Your Dress Down and Sing” — and, in so many ways, the thread running through “A Grand Memoir” as well.
She put the dress down.
And she always kept singing.
More information about Darlene Koldenhoven, her memoir, music and upcoming appearances is available at her official website, DarleneKoldenhoven.com and her official book website, darlenekoldenhoven.com/book.
Featured image: Photo courtesy DarleneKoldenhoven.com/book
Edited by James Sutton
