Meet Wendolyn Rose | Singer Songwriter and Psalmist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wendolyn Rose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wendolyn, why did you pursue a creative career?
From a young age, I experienced the impact of music on the human soul. I was 5 years old, very much afraid of the life that was swirling around me as my parents were in the middle of a separation due to my dad’s physical abuse and infideltites towards my mom and his life long battle with drugs and alcoholism. it was one night, huddled in bed with my 5 siblings, that I heard my mamma singing and playing a worship song on the piano. I felt an undeniable urge to go to that sound. I quietly got out of bed and crawled under and bowed in the fetal position under the piano bench and just felt the beauty of the music and God’s presence wash over my broken soul. I don’t know how long i was there unitl my mother heard me sobbing in God’s presence because I had seen the face of Jesus, but it felt like an eternity and marked me for the rest of my life to want to create music that could help draw my fellow man into that kind of an encounter.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been crafting songs since I was a child. In the midst of a sometimes traumatic childhood, I would find tangible peace and comfort sitting at my piano and finding, with my fingers the melodies I was hearing in my heart. My music always had a profound impact on people. I remember from a young age, playing these simple melodies and songs with our visitors and feeling and seeing the impact it had on them. At the time I didn’t understand why, but what I was moved by how the music could touch them so deeply. Looking back, I think my love for people and desire to connect with them, was one of the biggest reasons for me to keep coming back.

I think one of the biggest things that sets me apart from many other songwriters, is that I struggle to call myself a “songwriter”, simply because, I have never been one to sit down and try to write a song. In reality I am what I call a “Song Catcher” or as some would say a “Psalmist” meaning, My songs aren’t a product of an intentional songwriting session (although I have recently been a part of those) but rather, they are a product of my own every day pilgrimage as a human.
I will be praying, wresting with emotions, washing dishes, folding laundry, and the songs just come to me in the middle of every day life. It has been incredible to be able to receive these totally organic songs and see them transform the people who experience them. the thrill of co creating with God never gets old, and although I am currently not reaching millions of people, the messages from listeners who have found my music are what keeps me pressing on to keep creating and trying to reach more people! I have received countless testimonies of people being both physically and spiritually healed while listening to my music, and I am excited to reach as many hearts as I can.

Although my journey has been rewarding and full of mountain top experiences, it has also been full of valleys. I think the biggest battle has been the one with my flesh, My own perception of myself , comparison, self sabotage, those are real things… and I have to choose every day to remember that, this is not about me, its about loving and serving others. Another struggle has been the reality of being taken advantage of in the music industry. I have learned some hard and costly lessons, both financially and emotionally, that you have to do your research, move slowly, and that, it is better to wait and find partners you can trust and who will deliver, than to move quickly out of impulse.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
What a fun question!!!!

Ok, so this is a tough one for me… because I have been so many places that I have fallen in Love with and would want to share with my besties! Peru, Romania..India!!! But assuming maybe they wouldn’t have a passport and its only a week…. hmm,,,I think it would have to be San Fransisco, I was born and raised for most of my childhood in the bay area, and so I love to visit and take friends! The variety of people and different cultured represented along with the the creative energy there, that is tangible from the walking paths in Golden Gate Park, to the restaurants there are just unmatched for me!
We would spend a couple days in the City, enjoying the best coffee and food spots, then hit up the beach out in pacifica for a couple of days to soak up the ocean, then, we would spend a couple nights in Napa and visit the wineries.
We would hit up my friends “DWELL” house of worship and prayer, and finish the trip with a hike through Muir Woods!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So many people to shout out here…wow, where to start! First off, my parents, because they were truly generational cycle breakers of addiction and abuse. And even though, my father wrestled with it his whole life, I saw the reality of God in his life, even in the pain and brokenness, I can look back and see the fight for change, and I am who I am today, because of all of it…
Joaqunia Johnson is another person who I would not be who I am, without! I was not only mentored vocally by her from the age of twelve, but also, as a recipient of her years of teaching, I was branded by her passion to pour into the next generation of singers. The countless hours of chorale and opera rehearsal, private voice lessons left a lifelong impact on me. Her eyes were always so full pf sheer passion for the music and the connection we all shared with the music was just supernatural and always felt by the audience, She never had biological children of her own, but she loved and poured into her students as if they were her own, and she has such a legacy in so many of us who have pursued a career in music and singing.
Chris Burns and Jake Hamilton. Two musicians and songwriters who I heard early on in my “Christian” music journey who gave me permission to not sound like everyone else or cram myself into the “worship leader” box. The first time I heard each of them, I experienced such an impartation of freedom in my artistry and ministry to the Lord in music, that I still fight to remain pure in, today.
Pastor Marty Decker and his beautiful wife, Julie along with the whole Grimes Coommunity Church Family, for seeing who I really was under all the pain and muck… loving me back into The Kingdom, unconditionally when I was at my lowest!

My family and friends who steadily cheer me on, listen to my demos, give me feedback, celebrate my wins, and grieve my losses,,,and sing my songs back to me when my heart forgets. and wants to give up… you know who you are!

My Husband, Jeremiah who has known me since I was 17, and who continually chooses to remember what God told him about me before we were married “She is MY songbird” support me, and share me with the world.

My children who are my most favorite songs I have written,,,, Elleanor, Samuel and Hosea. As I continue to grow in putting my ministry of motherhood to them, first, I am continually humbles, inspired, and. made more bold to forge a path for them to pass through in their own artistry and spirituality.

Recently I have been deeply inspired, challenged and impacted by the podcast “MAKERS and MYSTICS” by Stephen Roach. It has been a watering hole in what can feel like a desert of being a creative artist in the church world,

Lastly, The Lord Jesus Christ for taking my sin on Himself and making it possible for me to be ONE with the Creator of all, from which all my creativity flows. I would not have my marriage, my family, or song to sing without Him.

Website: https://wendolynrose.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saltyandbright.co/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendolyn.garbarino

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@wendolynrose?si=muRuav6z3r7bV7fN

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5baJluKCKup0NpTIj0tfEU?si=AZSHZ1t7Qx-p3F1IzL-yKA

Image Credits
Travis and Rebecca Hohne with “Brand Awesomeness”