Colleen Eccleston is an established and integral part of the mosaic of Vancouver Island’s music community. She is a founding member of The Ecclestons Band that has performed throughout BC for over 25 years. The Ecclestons were voted ‘Best Live Act on Vancouver Island’ at the MPower Awards and have toured extensively.
Colleen also enjoys a delightfully checkered career as actress, rock singer, jingle singer, traditional singer, but always, and most importantly, a songwriter. Honing that craft since the age of eleven, she strings along the human condition with a deep reverence for the magic of language delivered with a gorgeous voice equally capable of grit and grace. Her performing and recording career is extensive and includes 12 albums, plus performing in festivals and concerts all over North America. She has composed multiple works for theatre and film and does not shy away from environmental and political songs. Her pop song, “All I Ever Wanted” made Celine Dion’s short list. And her song “Dance As You Go” has been covered by James Keelaghan and The Waite Collective in England.
She has had an extensive career in teaching including 25 years in the School of Music at the University of Victoria and teaching songwriting and popular music history courses on the Beatles as well as history of Rock and Roll. She is currently teaching at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Her classes include Jazz History, Blues and Rock history, as well as Canadian Folk and World Music. She also teaches singing and songwriting.
Her latest book, entitled “Outside the Box”, is based on her experience as a songwriting instructor and life-long practitioner of the craft. Mitch Podolak and Daniel Lapp describe Colleen as “One of the best voices in Canada” and “A Treasure”, respectively, and Valdy says “She is a Sparkler.”