A singer and pianist from childhood, Rachel Zylstra began writing her own songs and performing them in Calvin’s coffeehouse “as an emotional and spiritual release.” She soon realized there was more than simple catharsis going on.

“It gave me such joy, and it seemed to bring the people listening joy, too. I thought, ‘Wow, this is so wonderful! Maybe I should pursue this.’”

While still a student, Rachel won an honorable mention in the national John Lennon Songwriting Contest and was accepted into the Contemporary Music Center’s study program on Martha’s Vineyard. The CD that resulted was nominated for best local folk album in 2003 at West  Michigan’s version of the Grammy Awards. With her local popularity and airplay rising, Rachel decided late in 2004 to leave the Midwest for the opportunities and risks of a city of eight million people.

Sometimes I feel I’m doing time on the Upper East Side/I could be pressed by all I’ve ever wanted/yet I’m haunted by wanting to be free…

“During my first year in New York I went through a personal heartache,” Rachel remembers. “Listeners resonate with the vulnerability of this song. When they hear it speak to their hearts, then the song doesn’t belong just to me anymore, but to everyone who relates to it. Mercy can emerge in our shared experience.”

Less than a year after her arrival in NYC, Rachel released her third CD, “Most of It Is True.” Her rich, edgy alto vocals over a driving piano have since won her a presence and growing following in the city. She’s now preparing new material for a return to the recording studio. Rachel feels comfortable in this milieu because of the approach to popular culture she learned at Calvin. “Pop culture is one big common ground. But piece by piece—song by song—it reveals the beliefs and struggles of the individuals who create and contribute to it. Each piece shapes the whole. At Calvin I was encouraged to see that casting my voice—the things I know to be true—out into that cacophony of voices is part of the work of renewal we’re called to do.”

Hard as it’s been to break into the music industry, Rachel says she feels led to be exactly where she is. Still, she longs for the day she can make her living creating the music she loves. Longing is a theme that threads through much of her writing. “We can’t have complete fulfillment and utter joy in this life, but we’re all built wanting it. Writing and singing about that longing, the ache, takes away some of its potency and connects all of us who feel it together.”

Rachel Zylstra
Singer/songwriter
New York City
www.rachelzylstra.com
Calvin College, B.A.'02