Sounds That Astound: Danielle Reed Comes to EMPL

People are bilingual if they can speak two languages and are multilingual if they can speak more than two languages. But what do you call someone who can sing in more than a dozen languages?

You call her Danielle Reed.

At age 22, Reed is already an accomplished singer and musician. She is also a recent graduate of Hofstra University with a B.S. in Music Education.

But what really sets her apart is her ability to sing in 18 languages. That’s right, 18 languages.

She wowed an appreciative audience at the on March 13 with her range and repertoire of singing and instrument play. Her program featured 13 songs, among them Mozart’s “Three Duos,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Pie Jesu;” Rogers & Hammerstein’s “Climb Every Mountain;” Schubert’s “Die Forelle;” and Schonberg’s “On My Own.” For something a little different, she sprinkled in traditional Irish folk (in honor of St. Patrick’s Day); Korean folk and the Star Spangled Banner.

Reed said she learned Spanish in the first and second grades and has always had a knack to pick up the sounds of other languages. “I’m able to duplicate what I hear,” she said. “I’m able to reproduce the sounds as long as I pay attention to the vowels.”

Among the languages in which she sings are English, French, Spanish, Latin, German, Tagalog, Korean, Hindi and Punjabi. She can also play about 20 instruments.  During Sunday’s concert, she played the oboe, banjo and clarinet.

Reed gives private lessons and performs at numerous concerts. “I love what I do,” she said.

She said her love of singing was formed in kindergarten when she joined her church choir. “I also love Disney movies,” she said, citing another source for her singing inspiration.

In her young life, Reed has traveled extensively. She competed as a Korean Idol finalist in South Korea in 2007 and appeared on Indian television, singing in two episodes of a network show.

Joining Reed at the concert were Soh Young Lee-Segredo (“my mentor,” Reed said), who collaborated with Reed on Webber’s “Pie Jesu,” pianist Ann Zalkind, and Kenneth Murphy, a clarinetist and Hofstra senior. Murphy and Reed played the clarinets in performing “Three Duos.”

Reed said she does not have one favorite song but many. “I included all the ones I love in today’s program,” she said.

Earlier this month Reed earned the “Pathfinder Award” from the Town of Hempstead. She was cited for her achievements in music and entertainment and for her involvement in diversity events here and abroad.