Claudia Page Previn Stasny (née Previn; June 24, 1954) is an American singer, musician, actress, editor and graphic artist.[1]
Claudia Previn | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 24, 1954 |
| Genres | Jazz, classic |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, actress, editor, graphic artist |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Spouse | Jeffrey Stasny |
She is the eldest daughter of American jazz and big band singer Betty Bennett Lowe and German-American pianist, composer and conductor André Previn KBE, conductor of the Houston, Pittsburgh, and London Symphony Orchestras and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[2]
Upon Previn's birth, her father wrote Lullaby On The Name of Claudia, Opus 170, No. 9a, published in 1954 by Casa Ricordi and dedicated "to Claudia."[3] The song Claudia was released again in 2021 in the Oldies Selection: Best of André Previn.[4]
Previn is the stepdaughter of the late master jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe.[5]
Early life and education
editPrevin grew up in Hollywood and attended Highland Hall Waldorf School and played guitar well by age 10.[6]the
She studied under her father as well. About musically instructing her at classical guitar and her younger sister on the violin, André Previn told the Los Angeles Times, "When I help them it's from an abstract view which I like better than if I picked up the instruments and played." She and her sister joined their father on stage at the 44th Hollywood Bowl so he could show them where to put the basket of sheet music he would be using to conduct that evening.[7]
The childhoods of Previn and her sister Alicia, of splitting time between their divorced mother and father and their respective homes in London, New York and Hollywood, are included in the 2016 book Star Babies: The Shocking Lives of Hollywood's Children by Raymond Strait.[8] In July 2024, Previn spoke at the Julian Branch Library about her parents and growing up in Hollywood, what she called "my soap opera life."[9]
Career
editPrevin's editing advice is included in The Chicago Manual of Style's "Shop Talk."[10][11]
She performed in fall 2023 in a “Night on the Town” Broadcast Live 1940s-style Radio Show at Julian Town Hall theater[12] Previn is a member of the Julian Theater Company.[13]
Previn graduated from the University of Southern California in 1977 with dual majors in German Language and Literature and Art History.
Previn sang, in costume, two songs, "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Save the Queen," at the House of England in 2014 to open an event in San Diego's Balboa Park.[14]
In 1995, she performed in Colorado in the Longmont Theatre Company's Much Ado About Chocolate in a quartet featuring Tony White, Terry Strassmann and Susan Nace.[15]
Bibliography
editCover and book design
edit- Dancing Girl: Themes and Improvisations in a Greek Village by Thordis Simonsen (1991) (ISBN 0962976644)
- The Motel 6 Chronicles by P. Dean Coker, Valerie Maxine Schneider[16] (ASIN B006HB9QH4)
Book editing
edit- Uncommon Occurrences: Actual Accounts of Extraordinary Experiences (2018) (ASIN B079HGZP8F)
- A Walk In Faith: Following A Call Of The Heart Led A Common Man On an Extraordinary Journey (2015) (ISBN 978-1441497154)
- Give Bees a Chance: we need them to live (2015) (ISBN 0984710728)
- The Strange Disappearance of Walter Tortoise (2014) (ISBN 0962976644)
- UNfatally Dead: to thaw or not to thaw? by Wayne Edmiston (2018) (ISBN 0999369806)
Personal life
editPrevin is married to Jeffrey Stasny, a jazz and blues drummer, [17] and sings professionally with him. She lives in Julian, California.
References
edit- ^ Crowther, Bruce (December 10, 2019). "Betty Bennett: the chick singer carries on".
- ^ "Column: A fond farewell to jazz and big band singer Betty Bennett Lowe". San Diego Union-Tribune. April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Lullaby on the name of Claudia".
- ^ "Oldies Selection: Best of André Previn". February 8, 2021 – via open.spotify.com.
- ^ Varga, George (December 3, 2017). "Mundell Lowe dies at 95; guitar great played with Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Everly Brothers and others". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Andre Previn's Ex-Wife An Understanding Gal, pg. 3". Republican Herald. September 17, 1969.
- ^ "The Los Angeles Times 20 Jun 1965, page 57". Newspapers.com.
- ^ Star Babies. St. Martin's Press. January 1, 1979 – via Google Books.
- ^ "My Soap Opera Life: Stories From a Showbiz Upbringing". Julian Journal. June 23, 2024.
- ^ Saller, Carol (January 31, 2017). "3* Rookie Editing Goofs You Can Stop Making Right Now".
- ^ "The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Search Results". www.chicagomanualofstyle.org.
- ^ ."Amazon.com: 9/22/23 performance of "Night on the Town" at Julian Town Hall : Audible Books & Originals". www.amazon.com.
- ^ Scott, Cathy (June 21, 2024). "Julian Theater Company to Present 'The Sound of Music'". www.julianjournal.com. Julian Journal.
- ^ Schulte, Richard (April 15, 2019). "English knights, cute Corgis, Harry Potter and more!". coolsandiegosights.com.
- ^ Davis, Joyce (February 7, 1995). Jukebox a blast from the past. Journal-Advertiser.
- ^ The Motel 6 Chronicles. Coastwise Communications. December 2, 2011. ISBN 978-1-886178-05-2 – via Google Books.
- ^ Blue, Mesa. "Mesa Blue | San Diego Reader". www.sandiegoreader.com.