Lynette Biography

I was born in 1975 in Nairobi the capital of Kenya where my parents were running a hospital in the north. Shortly after we moved to England near the lovely riverside town of Upton-upon-Severn.

From the age of two I liked to pick out nursery rhymes on the piano with encouragement from my parents and Grandma. At three I started to learn properly with a teacher. I always talked about learning the violin too (apparently) - so at six I started this as well!

I loved 'making music' so much there were times when my patient mum would let me stay up way after my bedtime to get a new tune 'out of my head' on our piano.

At eight I was sent to a wonderful Christian piano teacher, Barbara Yates, who encouraged - and inspired - my music and entered me for the Oxford Music Festival composition classes. I won a few times too, which also helped my confidence.

By twelve the violin had become an important part of my Christian worship and with Barbara I recorded three piano and violin tapes which proved very popular and raised much support for a new Christian coffee and book shop in nearby Malvern - now The Lyttleton Well.

But my teens were a bad time. I was plagued by deep depression and a terrible lack of self worth. I really struggled to see God in the blackness. I hated school but did love the simple beauty of singing anthems and plainsong in ancient Gloucester Cathedral, part of my school. There I felt could see a little of God.

At seventeen I really hit rock bottom fighting an eating disorder and feeling utterly hopeless. But a teacher encouraged me to enter a song for the national BBC competition Song for Christmas." I was astonished to reach the final! This meant going into the BBC to sing my song ON TV! I didn't win but still felt it was God giving me a little encouragement. A boost to keep me hanging in there.

It was soon after this that the first of my songs on the Psalms (as on my CD 'Even there...') came to me. They really were born out of my darkest times.

I had no idea what to do after school except one thing: I just had to organise a visit to a Childrens' AIDS Hospice in Romania with a big van of goods! So I got a committee together for 9 months during which time we raised £10,000! Four drivers and TWO vans headed off. When we got to the hospice we were told a child had just died. They had laid him out in their little chapel. For me to see this and see and then hear the tragic stories behind some of the other children there moved me deeply.

After returning I took a job at the local Post Office - but carried on writing songs and playing. And I soon found friends and neighbours asking me to teach their children music. Suddenly I had 30 pupils! So I started to take the idea of a music career more seriously. I auditioned for the Birmingham Conservatoire, and was accepted.

Sadly not all of this worked out, and I became very low again, but thanks to an inspirational violin teacher, Janet Masters. I did gain my LRSM (professional music qualification) in 2001.

I now teach 40 pupils at home and in a local school, and lead a String Quartet (The Capriccio Quartet) that plays at many weddings and parties every year.

My violin is still the way I feel I can really worship God. If you watch UCB TV you can see me from time to time doing this. But I love the Psalms, which help me even now when I get great highs and deep lows - and so I felt it was time to record my songs based on them. These are on my new CD 'Even there...' I hope you like them.