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Graduate Spotlight
Tessa Souter
 Process
graduates come from every corner of the globe and from countless
religious and cultural backgrounds. While differences between us
abound, our work at the Process holds us in a powerful, beautiful,
unspoken bond.
In this issue we feature Tessa Souter, a graduate who embodies
the heart and soul of the Process, and share her journey from teenage
single mother to a life of extraordinary creative accomplishment
and the fulfillment of her professional dreams.
Tessa was born in London in 1956 to a British mother and a Trinidadian
father she believed was dead until she was 28, when she finally
met him. Tessa sang as a child, and while she was encouraged in
her early teens to pursue a singing career, she married at 16 and
was a single mother by 18, making her singing plans fade away –
although, she says: “I somehow never lost the dream.”
While raising her son, Tessa graduated from college and began what
was to become a 17-year career as a successful journalist –
writing for The London Times, Vogue, Elle, House Beautiful and various
international publications.
In 1996 Tessa moved to New York, and at the strong urging of a
friend she sat in at St. Nick’s Pub in Harlem, where she jammed
with some outstanding jazz musicians, reigniting her dream of being
a professional singer. With her focus firmly on launching a singing
career, she had her professional debut in 1999 – since then
sharing the stage with some of the world’s top jazz musicians
and wowing everyone, including the Los Angeles Times, who wrote
a rave review of a live performance entitled: ‘An unsigned
standout in a crowded field’ before she had even recorded
her first CD.
In 2001 Tessa found her way to the Hoffman Process, after her
ex-husband “insisted” she do it. She credits the Process
with being where she found “a strong sense that there is in
me and everyone else this force, whether you call it Love or the
Universe or God, which is completely indestructible. When I connect
with it, everything in my life works.”
Tessa released her debut CD, Listen Love, in 2004, to
outstanding reviews from the Boston Globe, Time Out New York, AllAboutJazz-New
York and others. It continues to draw accolades from many of the
world-famous musicians and jazz singers she spent her lifetime admiring,
and she now performs regularly to standing-room-only crowds in New
York and London.
In January 2006 Random House UK published Tessa’s first
book, Anything I Can Do You Can Do Better: How to Unlock Your
Creative Dreams and Change Your Life; which is part memoir,
part how-to for anyone wanting to identify and follow their deep
creative desires. “It’s incredibly challenging to follow
your passion -- I wrote the book to be the friend you turn to for
help at 5 am when you can’t call anyone else,” says
Tessa. If her life is any example, Tessa’s book is a must
read!
To purchase either Tessa’s book or her CD, please visit
her website: www.tessasouter.com
If you know a Process graduate whose story should be shared, please
email ellie@hoffmaninstitute.org
or call 415-485-5220 ext. 14. |
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