Vanessa went on to complete her academic studies and became a professional accountant at the age of twenty-seven, a mother at the age of twenty-nine and a municipal government chief administrative officer at the age of thirty-one.
She did not actively play the piano or sing in a choir again until she relocated to Ottawa in 2004 and spent an eight-month term at the University of Laval in Quebec City at the age of forty-eight to study French as a second language. While there she actively participated in French choral ensembles, practiced piano on a daily basis at the Faculty of Music, and performed as a classical and jazz pianist at the Anglican Church in old Quebec City.
Since then she has volunteered her time on a weekly basis as a classical / jazz pianist and chanteuse at St. Patrick’s nursing home and most recently at the May Court Hospice Centre. She is also an enthusiastic member of the seventy-two voice University of Ottawa Choir and an aspiring amateur operatic mezzo soprano.
Vanessa recently retired from her position as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and she intends to regain her full capacity as a classical pianist via daily practice and emergent performance opportunities in support of charitable endeavours.
Samples of Vanessa's performances
Chopin, Prelude in F Sharp Major, Op. 28 No. 13
Thelonius Monk, April in Paris
Romantic Etude, by Noreen Lienhard
Danca Verao, by Noreen Lienhard
Castles in the Air, by Noreen Lienhard
