Lynne Poulsen Biography
Lynne is known for her magical arrangements, compelling touch at the piano and a voice that weaves its way intriguingly through diverse vocal styles. But where did it all begin? Well, her passion for music started at around 6 years old when she would play piano duets with her Dad on their baby grand. By the time she was 10 she was a guest performer with her Dads cover band, so it wasn’t surprising that on leaving school she was already playing and singing professionally in venues around Cape Town. After some overseas travel she was off to UCT to study jazz piano and arrangement under the guidance of Prof. Mike Campbell.
On leaving university, there was a big wide world to discover, so she once again travelled to the UK where she ended up performing at the CANTERBURY FESTIVAL with the DAVID REES-WILLIAMS TRIO. On her return, she began gigging around town in venues such as THE GREEN DOLPHIN, THE DOCK ROAD CAFÉ and BERTIES LANDING, as well as writing and performing shows with her brother Adrian Poulsen. These included COLE PORTER UNDER YOUR SKIN, THE POULSENS DO THE CARPENTERS (ARTSCAPE), and WHAT A FEELING – THE ULTIMATE EIGHTIES SHOW (ON BROADWAY).
From 1996-1999, she played keyboards in Mike McCullaghs 60 SOMETHING, 70 SOMETHING AND BEATLEMANIA, touring South Africa and Zimbabwe with these shows.
Lynne lived and worked in Johannesburg from 1999-2006. During this time she was involved with many shows and corporate projects. One of these was Richard Lorings GIRLTALK, which ran for 7 months at THE SOUNDSTAGE, toured Malaysia and also ran at the PRETORIA STATE THEATRE. She was also Co-Founder and Musical Director of THE 6 VOICES PROJECT.
Lynne lived and worked in Johannesburg from 1999-2006. During this time she was involved with many shows and corporate projects. One of these was Richard Lorings GIRLTALK, which ran for 7 months at THE SOUNDSTAGE, toured Malaysia and also ran at the PRETORIA STATE THEATRE. She was also Co-Founder and Musical Director of THE 6 VOICES PROJECT.
On returning to Cape Town, in 2007, she toured with Sarah Theron in her production, DIVA RSA to all the major Afrikaans music festivals around South Africa; and in 2008/09 also supported Melanie Lowe on some of her tours. In 2009 she was Musical Director of 3 Tons Of Fun in their show PARADISE ROAD at ON BROADWAY. Her 2 one-woman shows, THE WOMAN IN ME and ALIAS, were both show-cased at VILLA PASCAL in 2009. In 2010 she did a very successful series of performances at Riverside Estates in Hout Bay with her band “The Dreamcatchers”.
Lynne runs her own recording studio, where she does all her recording and arranging. Here she also produces backing tracks, jingles, and a variety of audio work for the corporate sector. She composed, reworked, and produced songs for the children’s TV program MINAS DAIRY on SABC. In 2002, she composed, and produced the theme song and incidental music to the international childrens TV program A.N.N (ANIMAL NEWS NETWORK) for RED PEPPER PICTURES. In 2007, she produced Sarah Therons CD: DIVA RSA (doing all keyboards, programming and backing vocals.) In 2014, she was involved with the Production of CHRIS WERGE’S album, ‘EXPOSURE’, where she did all the string and brass arrangements.
She is currently performing regularly at the One and Only Hotel, Waterfront, Cape Town.
Photography: Deborah Rossouw
