the story so far...
Savannah hails from a musical family... her Grandmother (Muriel Law) sang and her Father, (Frank Collimore), enjoyed a long and successful career as a professional entertainer and was regarded as one of Australia's premier exponents of Shadows-style guitar. He was also a brilliant arranger and composer.
Singing in the local church and school choirs as a youngster gave Savannah great elementary experience and during this time she also played leading roles in various musical productions.
Vocal production, elocution, dance and stage presentation instruction followed, nurturing and building on Savannah's considerable natural talent.
At her singing teacher, Neil Williams' urging, she entered and won her first talent quest in 1994, singing The Eagles' hit 'Desperado' and that, as they say, was it - she was hooked. The professional quest circuit honed her skills and working the Sydney club scene, first in cabaret and then later as part of the well-known country rock duo, 'On The Double', with Kiwi singer, Linda Brady, gave Savannah a solid musical grounding and allowed her the benefit of a number of musical tutors who shared their valuable knowledge. It was during this time she discovered her true love was country music and it is in this field she has truly established herself.
'On The Double' worked extensively around Sydney and Newcastle and won several major country music awards... establishing a reputation around the club circuit as being the 'complete entertainment package'.
During this time, Savannah began writing songs and enjoyed singing her own material. As fate would have it, an agent for a publishing company caught Savannah's set at a Tamworth gig one year, heard one of her original songs and liked it so much he offered her a publishing deal.
After the demise of 'On The Double' due to Linda's family commitments, Savannah gained experience in other musical projects, working with her Father, Frank Collimore in a duo called 'Just Us' and also doing guest spots for his strict tempo dance band.
Other fill-in jobs involved such diverse styles as jazz, blues, rock and pop. She loved the variety of music she got to sing in this period and it further honed her singing style and stagecraft.
Some recording, demo and voiceover work also followed and so too did accolades for her songwriting, including several Grand Finals berths at the prestigious TSA Awards in Tamworth and recognition overseas.
Around this time, Savannah's other career, working full-time in the political field as a journalist, took off, and singing necessarily took a back seat. She then made the decision to take a musical sabbatical for a while... and she married and settled down to a 'normal life'.
But, she missed music... and 12 years later finally went back to her beloved country music. Since then, Savannah has taken out many awards at Country Music Festivals around Australia and her knowledge and experience led to judging at these events, particularly in Queensland, where this genre is prominent.
She also enjoys working with various other musicians and can regularly be seen around Sydney venues.
Her debut, self-titled album features 7 tracks, 6 of them her own originals. Two of these garnered Grand Finals places in the TSA Awards in Tamworth. 'Mama Said', in the Contemporary category and 'Trees Are Green', a loving tribute to her grandmother, in the Traditional section.
Savannah has recently co-written with such acclaimed artists as Lyn Bowtell, Max Jackson, Michelle Little, Kylie Gale, Dominique Maurice and Duncan Hill and hopes to produce many more beautiful songs from these collaborations.
Savannah passionately believes in the extraordinary power of music to touch people, and because of this, devotes many hours of her time to performing for the elderly and those affected by debilitating forms of dementia... a pastime she finds personally rewarding. "Music speaks where words fail" is a saying so apt.
For Savannah, life is all about being creative and playing the music she loves. In her 'spare time', she manufactures bespoke fine jewellery and some of her work can be seen at www.savannahsharpejewellery.com . Savannah is also a talented artist, who specialises in colourful and unique abstracts. Please visit her art website at www.savannahsharpeart.com or like her pages on FaceBook. She is also a civil celebrant and Justice of the Peace and is available for weddings, vow renewals, funerals, memorials, naming days, commitment ceremonies, etc at www.heartlightcelebrations.com.au and at www.marrymesavvy.com.au.