The ability to produce songs that resonates with millions of people all over the world breaking cultural, physical, and religious barriers is a gift that is rare to come by. Teri Desario is one talented artiste whose talent is undeniable when it comes to different expressions of art. She is a terrific singer, a talented songwriter, and a teacher. She plays the harp and recorder relatively well and has explored several musical genres.
Despite having had a robust career in teaching and the entertainment industry, Teri remains a conservative individual.
Teri Desario Biography
Born Teri Lynn Desario on the 27th of November 1951, in Miami Florida. She grew in a family of conservative parents who loved music. She reiterated that her father was a boy soprano and her mother had a beautifully rich voice but never sung professionally because she was stage shy.
Teri had ideas of becoming a performer at age 10 and used to skip school a lot to go surfing. Growing up, music was her constant guide and companion and she began studying classical voice at Barry University at age 13. Her foray into professional music began at age 18 in coffee houses, bars, and hotels. Two years later, she became a soloist with ‘The Early Music Consort’ and remained active in the group for 6 years.
She began to study jazz voice at the University of Miami but soon withdrew as she was eager to sing, write and perform.
Her big break came in 1977 while performing with her jazz fusion band in Coconut Grove. Bee Gee’s producer (Albhy Galuten) heard her sing and took her demo tape to Barry Gibb. Her career took off from there and she soon began to release her singles and albums.
After years of recording, touring internationally, several TV appearances, and 6 solo albums, Teri went back to school to finish her education. She studied the creative process, creative writing, and women studies at Vermont College and proceeded to California Institute of Arts where she earned her MFA in Vocal Performance in 1996.
Teri has moved around a lot. She has lived in Miami where she grew up, Hamburg, Germany for 16 years (1997 – 2013), Arizona between 2003 to 2006. She returned to the United States in 2013 and currently resides in South Florida.
Unknown Facts About The Miami Singer
1. She is a multi-talented individual.
One of the major reasons Teri has continued to stand out as an artist is her obvious talent. She has tried her hands at various musical instruments and explored several forms of art/music including poetry, early music, contemporary classical music, folk, jazz, pop, disco, new and experimental music, and even contemporary Christian music.
Teri ventured into production with 1993’s Emergence Laughing Medusa Theme Series, Vol. 1 release. She is credited as the executive producer, producer, and vocalist on the album.
2. Teri Desario enjoys teaching and mentoring
Teri is a great writer and teacher. She has shared countless times that one of the things that have given her fulfillment in life and her career is teaching and mentoring others. While studying, she began to teach voice and mentor others.
She has taught and coached voice in both conservatory settings and privately. She has worked with Waldorf Education as a teacher, teacher trainer, and consultant for music curriculum. In 1997, she took up an adjunct position teaching voice at the California Institute of Arts.
3. Her Faith and Christianity
One of the most fulfilling works for Teri has been her contemporary Christian albums. According to her, after she began to make wave as a musician and entertainer, she soon realized the fast lane was to fast for her, she listened to the ‘still small voice’ in her soul and awakened again to the faith of her childhood. This inspired her to write again. Ironically, her only Grammy Award nomination for ‘Best Female Performance’ was for her Christian music in 1986.
4. Marriage to Bill Purse
Teri is married to Bill Purse a musician, composer, arranger, and horn player. Together they formed the band called Abacus. The couple has no record of any children individually or together.
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5. Career Achievements
Asides her Grammy Award nomination, Teri has worked on some chart-topping songs in her career. In the US, she is known for her collaboration with KC where they did a cover of Barbara Mason’s “Yes, I’m Ready”. Their duet was number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and certified gold. It was also number 1 on Adult Contemporary for 2 weeks. Her music was popular in Japan and the Philippines for several decades.
