The voice can remind you of Sarah McLachlan or Joni Mitchell in one moment then turn towards the grittiness of Janis Joplin or the rock power of Pat Benetar in the next. But the ability to possess all these facets in one voice makes singer Kristin Hoffmann intrinsically unique.

As if it were not enough to be immensely talented, Hoffmann is also a humanitarian. She has collaborated and written songs for a number of environmental causes and she would be first to admit there is a spiritual pulse behind much of her music. Her song Song for the Ocean has been selected as the theme song for the Green Lifestyle Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Hoffmann attended Juilliard School of Music’s pre-college program and began studying opera, secondary composition and classical composition; she became influenced by Samuel Barber and French Impressionists like Ravel.

“Opera training really molded my voice into what it is today. Once you study classical voice you can go anywhere with it,” says Hoffmann, who also found inspiration in popular artists like Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel and Radiohead. She soon realized she could marry the two, creating her own unique blend of classical and contemporary music.

“I got a lot more joy out of creating my own music and having it touch people. It was just an unmatchable feeling.”

If her music is any indication, it is a marriage made in heaven.

by EJ Jacobs