Marcia Whitehead was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in suburban Los Angeles. Originally interested in a career in medicine, it was discovered that she had an unusually powerful singing voice and a natural "at home" ease on stage. Not long thereafter, Marcia felt called into a life in the performing arts and was honored in vocal competitions early in her professional career. She currently makes her home in the Pacific Northwest having relocated from New York where she worked exclusively with internationally-acclaimed vocal instructor, Franco Iglesias. Hard-pressed to say which she loves more - the vibrancy of the east coast metropolis or the beauty of the Oregon countryside - Marcia is at home in both, loving the variety that being on the road offers her. One of Marcia's career highlights was an invitation to perform music commissioned specifically for her voice as a guest artist at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. She was deeply honored to be chosen by Burning Heart Productions as a lead actress in the film, Praying the Hours, that is currently in post-production in Los Angeles. Portraying her character in the film was a unique challenge for Marcia as the role crafted by the screenwriter was based on Marcia's life. Her additional film work includes participating in recording the soundtracks for the Hanna-Barbera's Jetsons: The Movie and The Easter Story. Marcia is the subject of the award-winning documentary film, Laundry and Tosca, which has been honored in several international film festivals, broadcast in Africa, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and North America, in addition to being translated into Farsi and broadcast in select countries in the Middle East. Marcia was presented the award for "Best Music" in Milan, Italy for her work in the film. The international success of Laundry and Tosca resulted in a long season of performances where Ms. Whitehead and filmmaker, Lauralee Farrer, traveled with the film presenting stories, music and commentary about Marcia's journey, in addition to making a special presentation for the Windrider Forum at the Sundance Film Festival. After years of experience on operatic, dramatic and concert stages, Marcia's current focus is her faith-based ministry presentation You Raise Me Up that incorporates personal story, testimony, film and song. The nationally acclaimed presentation is an exploration of what it really means to say "yes" to a calling from God and honestly addresses faith challenged, learning to trust God, the desert seasons of life, the faithfulness of God to keep His promises, finding hope in the unexpected, new beginnings and resonates with anyone who has ever asked God, "Why?" Performances of "You Raise Me Up" have taken Marcia to numerous locations across the United States and up into Canada.
