"This Christmas"--TobyMac
Clip from Noel's Acoustic Hour Radio Show interview!
BIOGRAPHY
“Jesus loves me, this I know…†At a mere three years old Noel McLeary belted out every song she had ever heard with perfect pitch as she drove across the state with her grandmother. Little did either of them know that this voice would one day become the key to her success.
Noel began wowing crowds as the “little girl with the big voice†from the first time she stepped onstage to sing a solo in her second grade Christmas concert. Recognizing the talent in her voice, that’s fueled by amazing power with a soulful touch, her elementary music teacher quickly got her involved with a children’s choir. This, in turn, led Noel to perform on local TV and radio stations; in large venues and events, including Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center and the PPG Place Christmas display; as lead in several school concerts; and her first experience in a recording studio to record a benefit for Children’s hospital, all by the young age of ten.
A perfect attendance student, Noel never allowed her music to take her out of the classroom, but that would all change shortly after her first trip to Tennessee. Planning to attend a GMA Academy in Nashville and curious to see what “music city†was all about, Noel’s dad set up a meeting with consultant and producer, Eric Copeland. Impressed by her intelligence, poise, and maturity along with her vocal ability, Eric quickly introduced Noel, now just 16, to Grammy-winning engineer and producer Danny Duncan. Before long they were making plans to help Noel record her first project in Nashville.
The summer before her senior year in high school, Noel had little time to prepare for college visits and applications like her other classmates. That first trip had solidified her dream; she was going to make a record. “It has been so encouraging to see that everyone is behind me every step of the way. The community and school were so incredibly supportive, I couldn’t have asked for more,†Noel says, “I expected to have people shaking their heads, but soon found that everyone was telling me to go for it!†Unable to predict where her career would lead, the school board granted Noel special permission to miss as many days of school as was necessary to pursue her career.
Every other week, from June to September, Noel and her mom would get in the car to commute to Nashville from their home in Pennsylvania. With some of the best musicians in the business, and two solid producers, the foundation was laid for a great first-project. Noel’s hard work in the studio eventually caused her to miss the first week of school but the result, when she returned already ahead in her classes, would be a finished vocal.
The next year Noel continued to sing as much as possible. Some of the places she has performed include the Johnstown Chiefs hockey team (a farm team to the Penguins), an International Dinner for the Church of the Brethren’s Annual Conference (a denomination-wide event), a Support the Troops Rally, women’s retreats, talent showcases and competitions, several coffeehouses, churches, youth events, and even Fort Ligonier Days, an annual festival in her hometown that boasts a crowd of 100,000.
The biggest highlight of her career so far came when she was selected as one of six out of over two-hundred artists to sing at Creation West in George, WA, in the first ever Indiescovery Battle of the Bands. Hearitfirst.com sponsored this nation-wide search, with the winners chosen by online listener votes. The shock was that she would have to travel across the country. “I was ecstatic to be selected for such an opportunity, but I knew that there was no way I could afford the flight let alone food and a hotel. Then something amazing happened,†Noel says without hesitation, “people in the community started making donations so that I could make the trip. God is so good, the day before I left I started out still short of my goal but by the end of the day, my expenses were covered!†Thanks to the support she received, Noel traveled to Washington. Creation West proved to be an amazing opportunity and experience for her still young career.
Just a week before she left Noel’s hard work finally came to fruition in a cardboard box on her doorstep. Her CD, Noel McLeary EP, was finished and packaged.
Now, at 18, singing is still Noels passion, although the stages, the opportunities, and her voice have grown. With a five-song EP to boot, Noel is talking more and more with labels about their interest in the next step of her career. “God has a plan,†Noel boldly states, “I’m not in control but it’s going to work out. Singing for me is not only a career; it is a way of life. Nothing means more to me than living my life to serve my Father, and what better way to do it than to put all of the passion and life Jesus has given me into my every breath? My heart breathes through song… and there’s nothing I’d rather do than tell others about what God has done for me.â€
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