By Chantelle Constable
As a child in Poland, Bella Parsons began studying music at the age of six, passing her entry exam to piano and beginning instead on the violin, moving on to voice, guitar, and further piano later on.
“I have loved classical music from my very first lessons… …I was always inspired to push forward and to express myself through music. It was also a lot of work, but I have never had a moment when I wanted to stop learning music. I was also part of choirs and orchestras and that was a lot of fun to sing or play with others.”
She came to the United States at age fifteen. She studied at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY for a year then in Wilmington School of Music in Wilmington, DE, both on full scholarship. Bella received further scholarships to study Arts Management & Music at Shenandoah University and receive her Master’s in Music at Azusa Pacific University, California.
With her sisters Aleksandra and Monika — the three are identical triplets — Bella is part of world pop group “Alizma.” Their first album “Tell Me How To Love You” features all original songs in English and Polish with a message dedicated to love and hope. According to their website, “The intention behind our music and lyrics is to convey positive and inspirational messages to our audiences around the themes of ‘staying true to who you are’ and choosing to ‘walk the path of life in truth and love.’”
Bella says, “It is always fun to play/sing with others, especially if they happen to be your siblings. When I perform solo, I focus more on what I as Bella Parsons wants to say and express through music and what my heart is truly saying. I don’t necessarily do it for the sake of money or even trying to impress anyone but for the sake of the gift which is music.”
Bella also collaborates with her husband Timothy under the name Timbella (timbella.com), in fact, Tim’s ability to “compose heavenly music” is one of the things that first attracted her to him.
“I can write music in many different ways. I often just sing what is in my heart and record it on my phone or a computer and then add piano chords or sing it to someone who is able to play the piano well and compose. Or I’ll sit at the piano and play and sing together, or that can be also with a guitar. I also love to compose on the violin with someone playing the piano with me. My favorite way, however, is to simply sing out any melody that is in my heart and have my husband Timothy improvise on the keyboard or a piano. I believe I have created my best music so far through that particular process. I don’t think I have met anyone more gifted in regards to composing music and being able to feel the music the way that he does.”
Bella began composing music in college; drawing inspiration from romantic relationships and her faith, she was motivated by the creative atmosphere of school “…and being around many creative students who were always composing music and sharing it with friends either on the grass in front of dorms or in practice rooms.”
She believes in casting your net wide for musical inspiration, saying, “A painter can paint the Eiffel Tower in Paris but he can also paint the ocean or a city view. I believe us musicians-composers are the same in that regard. We can paint with notes and with lyrics. We can musically paint a moment in time and capture it on the recording.”
As with Alizma, the message that Bella hopes her listeners derive from her solo music is one of transparency and personal truth, regardless of what may be popular or better understood by the masses. “If it’s in your heart and if it’s true then you should express it and that is what I did. Also, I truly wanted to express my passion for the Word of God and my love for Him or rather His Love for me!”
As a hard-working performer, Bella likes to unwind by seeing movies, running, swimming, and getting her hair done. While she neither drinks nor smokes, she admits to a penchant for coffee. A former teacher, who had a Wagnerian career, swore by sugar-free Ricola cough drops and Bella stands by her advice to this day. Of all the places she has performed, which include “Las Vegas (where I lived 7 years), New York, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Brazil, Bahamas, Germany, Poland, England, Italy, and most of the states in America,” her favorite place has been Hawaii. “I still have many places I would like to visit. I really love to perform anywhere and everywhere in the world… Traveling is one of my favorite things about sharing the gift of music.” Her dream duets include Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli.
While Bella is passionate about traditional classical music, she values the crowd appeal of classical crossover and its lack of form and boundaries. “I would love if my album was re-mixed by a DJ. I would still consider it a classical crossover album, but re-mixed version – so even wider audience could dance to it and simply understand it.”
“Vita Aeterna” is an eleven-track original sacred album sung completely in Latin. It was largely produced in Logic, a digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer for the macOS platform, with the guest appearance of flautist Vivien Hibbert on some tracks. Fans of Enya and Sarah Brightman will appreciate the transportive, ethereal nature of the album, while the sacred influence of Bach is clearly divined. Bella’s evocative soprano voice strikes just the right balance between haunting and passionate, handling the Latin fluently and the high notes effortlessly.
Here are some of Bella’s own words about the process of making the album: “For Vita Aeterna, I had the album title first and also the title of the main song. I knew exactly what I wanted to sing about and it was even more challenging because I wanted to make an album all in Latin, which happens to be one of my favorite languages to sing in… …I then told my husband Timothy about it and he caught on to the idea and we made time to play/sing together and that’s how our first two songs of the album came about “Vita Aeterna” (Life Eternal) and “Verbum” (The Word) were written just minutes apart. We simply improvised and sang/played our hearts out for a few minutes. I taped it on my phone and picked my favorite parts of the “jam” and then re-recorded the piano parts first. I then added the vocals and transformed it into Latin lyrics that fit the melody line… The whole album was complete within four months.”
“This is the first time I created a whole album, that was dedicated to God or about God. My number one inspiration for this Album was the Bible and God’s direct Word. I chose to sing it in Latin because I really think it sounds beautiful spoken/sang in that language. Plus, my classical background taught me to appreciate sacred music and that’s where I really fell in love with it first… I consider music to be a vessel, a gift and I believe when I combine it with my faith in God it grows beyond my human capabilities because in some unknown way it touches hearts and souls in a way we cannot understand but can be a part of.”