ABOUT SCOTT's MUMMY - ELIZABETH STEWART SØVIK

Elizabeth has been singing solo since she was 7. Classically trained, she moved over to pop and rock when she was 22. Her range is big and she has the capacity to sing almost anything from classic to heavy rock. She has sung both pop and rock as well as classical music in the UK. In Norway she has been a soloist with the "Beatles Project" and "From Chaplin to Elton John", two projects with their own presentation on this site. For the last 4 years she has also been involved in teaching youngsters to sing at the local music-school.

Early Years: classically speaking:

Elizabeth sang on the stage for the first time when she was about 7 years old. From the age of 8 she joined the school choir and continued singing in school choirs until the age of 18. At Woodfarm High School, Elizabeth studied music for 4 years with voice as her chosen instrument. When she was 17 she auditioned for the Scottish National Orchestra (SNO) Chorus and became one of the youngest ever to be accepted into the choir (18 being the minimum age). Here Elizabeth was in John Curry's training class for one year before her second audition. After her first audition, Elizabeth sang second soprano and after her second was moved into the first soprano section. Elizabeth travelled and performed in most of the major theatres in Scotland e.g. Usher Hall Edinburgh, City Hall Glasgow, City Hall Perth etc.. The choir also made t.v. and radio appearances. The highlight of her time with the choir was a tour of Israel in 1981-82 where the choir performed with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gary Bertini.

Growing Up: rockin' and popin'

After Elizabeth left school she went to college for 5 years but still continued with her singing. Her singing teacher for 6 years was Mrs Nan MacMillan of Giffnock in Glasgow. While Elizabeth was studying for her B.A in Commerce, she worked in London for 6 months during the summer of 1985. While she was there she sang in a band called The Factor. This was Elizabeth's first dabble with pop-music after singing mostly classical and folk music thus far. The band sang mostly popular covers from the 80's. The band consisted of 11 members which included 6 vocalists. The musicians were very talented and some of them were session musicians with professional groups. The bass-player for example had played with Paul Young's Q Tips and the drummer with the Psychedelic Furs. This experience got Elizabeth hooked on singing pop and rock.

Diva Years: in the spotlight

After moving to Norway in 1987 and marrying Per Gunnar, it was a year before she started singing again. She joined the local choir (Øvre Årdal Songlag) but it wasn't until 1992 that she started singing solo. She has been a soloist with the "Beatles Project" and "From Chaplin to Elton John". These projects have involved a collaboration between local choirs, singers and musicians totally around 200 performers which is remarkable form a town of only 6000 inhabitants. Both projects have been performed locally as well as at Norway's most prestigious venues including the Grieg Hall in Bergen, The Norwegian Theatre (Oslo), Oslo Concert House and The Olav Hall in Trondheim. CD recordings has been made of both projects (live versions). "From Chaplin to Elton John" will be performed at The Hamar Festival in June 1999 and in Bergen 2000 in connection with the city's status as European City of Culture for the same year.

On the side: passing it on with friends

Elizabeth likes singing with her friends and with kids. For the last 4 years she has also been involved in teaching youngsters to sing at the local music-school as well as rehearsing with the kids involved in From Chaplin to Elton John.She still sings with the choir as well as the local Gospel Choir. Recently she has started rehearsing with a new band which is as yet unnamed.