Slovenia Biography

Shirlie Ross Roden is the great great granddaughter of celebrated music hall singer and writer, William Gribbon Ross (described in the 1850’s as ‘the greatest dramatic humorist of the day’). Born in London and brought up in South Wales, she graduated from Warwick University with a BA (Hons) in English and European Literature and is author of the book ‘SOUND HEALING’ (translated into Slovene and Hungarian). She is an international concert performer, workshop leader, teaching the use of the voice as a transformative instrument. She has led sound workshops all over the United Kingdom, as well as in Australia, Malta, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Italy and the Republic of Slovenia where she was first invited to sing in1992.

Since then, Shirlie has become well-known in Slovenia for the relaxing and uplifting power of her voice, songs and sound workshops, and has performed over three hundred concerts in an amazing variety of venues from huge concert halls to beautiful baroque churches, craggy castles and lake-side chateaux, old vineyard wine cellars, hospitals, homes for the mentally and physically disabled and the elderly, schools, forests, mountain-tops and sometimes even rustic barns. She has also learned to sing the traditional folk songs in Slovene and even set some poems by Slovenia’s literary gem Preseren to music.

Shirlie has spent the past sixteen years travelling between two countries and two cultures, but feeling completely at home in both. Her experience of the Slovene heart and soul has translated into numerous songs expressing her adventures during that time, from meetings with a nocturnal dihur – polecat (Mr. Christian Dihur), to learning Slovene with the children (‘Kako Lepo’ – how beautiful), to saving natural beauty spots (‘Save Me’ and ‘Standing People’), to commemorating those who died in a mudslide in an alpine village (Lisa Cernuta), to songs from mountain tops to valleys (‘Mountain Meditation’ and ‘Peace in the Valley’). Her newest Slovene-inspired song written specially for the town of Bled retells the legend of the Wishing Bell which tourists still ring today in the church in the centre of the lake. And certainly, it won’t be her last Slovene song, because she finds inspiration in every corner of this beautiful country, from a Green Dragon (Zeleni Zmaj) on a Ljubljana bridge, to a magnificent waterfall deep in the country (Water of Life).

Shirlie’s latest project, ‘Simply Slovenia’ is a beautiful book with Slovene photographer Bogdan Kladnik’s photographs, her text, lyrics and a cd of her Slovene songs. It has been hailed as ‘one of the best books on Slovenia in the past ten years’, and Shirlie’s vision is to further celebrate Slovenia by creating a multi-visual concert of the songs and photographs together with a symphony orchestra.

Shirlie’s other work includes her cds ANGELS OF SOUND, ENDLESS LOVE, THE VANISHING LAKE, THE PATH OF DARING and SKYDANCER. She also co-wrote songs for Suzi Quatro’s rock cd BACK TO THE DRIVE and recorded a self-help cd with her, FREE THE BUTTERFLY. Shirlie’s theatre composition includes co-writer on the highly-successful ROY ORBISON STORY (nominated for a Best Musical Olivier Award), the Joan of Arc musical JEANNE (the first rock opera to be performed at Sadlers Wells Theatre, London) co-writer with Willie Rushton and Suzi Quatro on TALLULAH WHO? (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch) and with John Kane on the musical AD/BC (Pennsylvania University USA). Other works include original music and lyrics for Sue Townsend’s play BAZAAR AND RUMMAGE, the national tour of PADDINGTON BEAR’S MAGICAL MUSICAL, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST for Liverpool Playhouse, COUNTERPOINT at the GateHouse London, and she has also written book, music and lyrics for a musical adaptation of Richard Llewellyn’s famous Welsh novel HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY.

Acting credits include Fruma Sara with Topol in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at the Manchester Opera House, Musetta in LA BOHEME at the Kammer Oper in Vienna, the Narrator in JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, and Prison Officer Meg Jackson in the stage version of PRISONER CELL BLOCK H. Most recently she played all six wives in the musical comedy THE COMPLETE WIVES OF HENRY VIII on tour and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Shirlie has also worked in rock music with such artists as Ray Davies and the Kinks, Mike Oldfield, Ultravox, David Gilmore, Ian Gillan, Suzi Quatro and Hot Chocolate and has featured as voice-over artist on many radio and tv commercials.