American. Singer. Songwriter. Julie Silver was raised in Newton, Massachusetts. By 18, she was leading song sessions throughout the Reform Jewish movement, and playing coffeehouses in and around Boston. She was graduated from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts and was selected by her senior class to deliver the commencement address and sing an original song at Graduation in May, 1988. After college, Silver landed a job as an on-air personality at WMJX, Magic 106.7 in Boston, a contemporary music radio station. She started as a weekend DJ, and quickly became the host of Bedtime Magic, a top show of the Boston radio market. It was a natural fit for Silver who combined comic timing with a silky-smooth speaking voice.
Silver moved to Santa Monica in June 1994 to continue writing and recording. By the time she released her first album, Together, Silver stepped into the national spotlight. Julie released 4 highly successful albums of original Jewish music between 1992 and 2000 and has sold more than 60,000 CDs.
Her Jewish songs have become tightly woven into the fabric of American Judaism. They are current “standards” in worship, camp, and academic settings in the Reform movement. In 2002, she released her folk rock CD, Notes from Montana, featuring a duet with the Academy Award winning actress Helen Hunt. Julie’s children’s CD, For Love to Grow, was recorded as a tribute to her beloved childhood music teacher, the Boston-based composer, Aline Shader, and released in Spring 2005. The album won a Parents’ Choice Blue Ribbon Recommended work award. It’s Chanukah Time, Julie’s Barnes & Noble CD, was recorded in 2007, and was the first Jewish holiday CD produced exclusively for the bookstore chain.
Silver is currently focused on mentoring up-and-coming singer-songwriters and making the Jewish experience more meaningful. I’m really trying to enhance the way people experience Judaism by adding my own take on our sacred texts Silver says. I also want people who have historically been marginalized to feel included in the Jewish community or in any community. Our tradition compels us to express ourselves& our joys, our hopes, our faith and our fears.
In May 2008, Julie made her acting debut in the feature film, Then She Found Me, in a scene opposite Bette Midler. During the summer of 2008, Julie traveled to Brazil to perform several concerts for the World Conference on Progressive Judaism.
Silver lives with her partner Mary Connelly, the Executive Producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and their rather hilarious daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, in Southern California.
http://www.juliesilver.com