Photo Credit: Jessica Earnshaw
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DEBORAH "ZUKE" SMITHAt age six Zuke knew she wanted to be involved in music. Her father was a professional accordionist, her mother shared her love of words, and her five older siblings shared their adventures in rock music. Music of one sort or another was always playing in her childhood home: polkas and Andy Williams, Hendrix and Fogelberg, Carole King and Joni Mitchell. At age seven Zuke began studying piano, which she continued throughout her life, and through piano discovered classical music from Chopin to Khachaturian; and at the age of fifteen Zuke taught herself how to play guitar. During her high school years, she started to take her songwriting more seriously, approaching it as a craft to be learned and perfected- and found herself drifting toward rock music.
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She attended Indiana University where she met and worked with many wonderful musicians, including her husband, Kent Smith, who was the trumpet player for The Rolling Stones from 1994-2007. While in Indiana, she worked her way into the Indianapolis music scene, where she sang commercial jingles and was the lead singer in a country band, a 10-piece funk band and an all-original punk/new wave band that toured throughout the Midwest and was featured on PBS. Perhaps most influential was Eileen Farrell, the famous Metropolitan Opera star who invited Zuke to be her private student. To this day Zuke credits Ms. Farrell with teaching her how to balance many different vocal styles to sing all different kinds of music equally well- and, most importantly, how to sing from the heart.
Zuke eventually relocated to northern New Jersey to be closer to the New York music scene. While continuing work as a freelance singer, she also produced original jingles for various businesses along with working as a music copyist. She worked her way up to become one of the top copyists in New York City, copying Broadway shows, movies and TV productions.
Zuke has never stopped learning. She continued her vocal studies with Mark Baxter (then with the Katie Agresta school) and Marty Lawrence (father of Don Lawrence). She studied music calligraphy privately with the world-renowned copyist, Arnold Arnstein, and music composition with Edgar Grana, both of The Julliard School. She is also certified with Brett Manning of Singing Success. Most recently she continues to learn with Speech Pathologist and Coach, Tom Burke, to understand more about the voice.
Zuke is currently residing in Lancaster City, PA and available to teach everywhere online.
Zuke eventually relocated to northern New Jersey to be closer to the New York music scene. While continuing work as a freelance singer, she also produced original jingles for various businesses along with working as a music copyist. She worked her way up to become one of the top copyists in New York City, copying Broadway shows, movies and TV productions.
Zuke has never stopped learning. She continued her vocal studies with Mark Baxter (then with the Katie Agresta school) and Marty Lawrence (father of Don Lawrence). She studied music calligraphy privately with the world-renowned copyist, Arnold Arnstein, and music composition with Edgar Grana, both of The Julliard School. She is also certified with Brett Manning of Singing Success. Most recently she continues to learn with Speech Pathologist and Coach, Tom Burke, to understand more about the voice.
Zuke is currently residing in Lancaster City, PA and available to teach everywhere online.