By Mark Bialczak
LPL Communications Specialist
Gina Holsopple will share a big part of her soul with the music lovers who show up at the Liverpool Public Library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 6.
“Music is such a lifestyle for me,” said Holsopple, who will perform with her guitar and voice on the Dinosaur Garden lawn. “It is literally everything I do. I am so grateful to be able to make a living with music. I teach private lessons, as well as performing and songwriting. Some days it is difficult to balance all the pieces, but it truly feeds my soul.”
Holsopple began playing the piano as a third-grader, growing up in a Mennonite family on the prairie of Kansas. The next year, she picked up the violin. As a teen, she turned to guitar. That fueled a desire and a diverse learning curve. She moved to Indiana, where she became a classically trained musician, and then relocated to New York City, where she played the East Village clubs. Holsopple began writing and recording her own songs. And she settled into Central New York. Her ninth album, “2015,” was nominated in the Best Folk recording category at the Syracuse Area Music Awards.
She still likes to perform live, around the country and the area.
“I am really excited to be a part of the library’s community connection,” Holsopple said. “Libraries are so much more than books, and I am so excited to be a part of the ‘and more!’ that so many libraries have invested in to build up and support our communities.”
Holsopple says the music community here has been a good fit.
“I really love Central New York. There is a growing artistic community here that is incredibly supportive and talented, particularly within the music scene. I think it is a wonderful place for a musician to live. The artistic world has in the past been incredibly competitive, but I truly feel that within Central New York we are moving to a model that is deeply supportive,” she said.” I believe that we are headed into a creative renaissance in Central New York, and I am happy to be here for it. It is even worth the winters!”
Holsopple also is working on a recording project that will feature 100 songs from throughout her 20-year career. She expects to release it on a flash drive at a big party in May 2018.
“I am loving it! It is so easy to let the creativity get pushed into the back corner while the day-to-day details take over,” she said of the work. “This project is allowing me to keep creativity a central part. It is always good to be getting my newer songs recorded. However, the piece that I am really loving about it right now is picking up my older tunes and translating them through so many more years of life, and so many more years of songwriting experience. It is like doing musical covers of my younger self. “
Holsopple says she will construct the LPL show around the Summer Reading theme Build a Better World.
“I have not had an easy life, but honestly? Who has? Life is hard and the best we can do is continue to learn and grow and make this world a better place to be,” she said. “Music is how I cope. I don’t know how to make the world a better place other than music. Songwriting is my connection point and if it connects with even one other person, it is worth it. I pay close attention to my lyric writing, and in my live performances I love connecting the stories behind the songs … putting all the pieces together.”
The event is free. It will be held in the Carman Community Room if it rains.
