WC_021419

winnetkacurrent.com life & arts
the winnetka current | February 14, 2019 | 27
Winnetka singer-songwriter
releases empowering album
Childhood friends
collaborate to
release ‘The
Bransfield Strait’
Alexa Burnell
Freelance Reporter
Many say that the eyes
are the window into the
soul, but Winnetka’s Mark
Bransfield says for him, it
is music that gives others a
glimpse into his being.
This lifelong singersongwriter
recently released
his first album
“The Bransfield Strait,”
co-created by three-time
Grammy award-winner
and North Shore resident
Liam Davis. The result is
an empowering, harmonic
creation that expresses
Bransfield’s desire for tolerance,
peace and appreciation
for the natural world.
“This album is a long
time coming; it is a certified
organic, farm-to-table,
locally-sourced project,
created by two lifelong
friends who want to beautify
the world through lyrics,
melody and harmony,”
Bransfield said.
Bransfield grew up in
Wilmette as one of five
children, all heavily influenced
by their mother’s
love for song and their
own natural born talent.
He attended North
Shore Country Day School
from kindergarten through
graduation, meeting and
developing a deep friendship
with Davis from day
one. Both boys were further
inspired by their music
teacher “the late, great”
Vin Allison. Under his instruction,
Bransfield and
Mark Bransfield (left) and Liam Davis released an album
together and are lifelong friends and North Shore
Country Day graduates. Photo Submitted
Davis performed in the
Barber Shop Quartet, Choral
Groups and just about
every Gilbert and Sullivan
musical the school produced.
“My experience at
[NSCDS] made such an
impression on me, enhanced
by the fact that
good friends, like [Davis]
were by my side during
every performance,”
Bransfield said.
Throughout the years,
both Bransfield and Davis
kept music in their
lives and remained good
friends, but the creation of
“The Bransfield Strait” is
their first adult, joint venture.
The soulful album,
in part, gets its name from
Bransfield’s own historical
roots.
“It is believed that Edward
Bransfield, one of
my ancestors, an Irish
sailor and cartographer,
founded the Bransfield
Strait – a treacherous waterway
nearly 300 miles
long, that lies between the
Antarctic Peninsula and
South Shetland Islands,”
Bransfield said. “This fact
has instilled a profound
sense of wonder and mystery
over my lifetime, with
my interest deepening over
the years. When I was creating
this album, it struck
me as boring to release
this album under my name
– there’s enough of that
in our culture. It was far
more compelling to me to
bring my deep love of nature,
my fascination with
polar exploration and my
personal history into the
album.
“Similar to my ancestor,
I see myself as an explorer
too — one who searches
for the answers to life’s
big questions and one who
is fascinated with conflict
and resolution — all which
is captured in the album.”
For example, one of the
songs, “Etre” which means
“to be” in French, explains
the importance of seeking
and embracing one’s true
self.
“In the album, and particularly
in this song, I
explore the discovery of
being the true and authentic
me, not the person I’ve
tried to be in the past,” he
said.
Read the full story at
WinnetkaCurrent.com.