NEW YORK (Juanita PR) - Juanita is a native of Chester, Pennsylvania, where she was born, raised and musically cultivated. She sang her first notes in a church ministered by her grandmother, Pastor Melvina White. At the age of ten, Juanita began vocal training with performer Maxine Wilson, and later studying with Rosemary Pyatt and Carolyn Pritchard. Soon after, she joined the Gospel
Music Theater of Chester, founded by Maxine Wilson.
In her teenage years, Juanita turned her attention to performing with several different contemporary vocal groups, winning countless awards and competitions. Juanita moved to the Hampton Roads area in 1989. She opened an Insurance Agency in 1997. She operated her company successfully for 5 years and earning $80,000 per year until being called into the ministry full time. She sold her agency in 2002 and blasted onto the gospel scene with her debut release, "Surrender." She worked tirelessly to promote her CD by assembling a Women's Conference, launching her website and showcasing throughout the country from
Bobby Jones Gospel in Las
Vegas to The Regional American Gospel Quartet Convention in New York. Juanita has showcased in a 14-month space in almost 30 venues.
In addition, on October 29, 2002, Juanita's song, "Conflict," received a coveted Top 10 position in the Demo Review Panel & Contest sponsored by the Washington, DC chapter of Grammy.com/The Recording Academy. Panelist/Judges included Melissa Ruggieri, music critic for Richmond Times Dispatch and South Records' Andy Martin. After promoting her debut project into thirty-six stores and 30 radio stations she received a record deal July 2003 from Road to Glory Records. The project, "Surrender was re-released on the Road to Glory label and distributed through Central South Gospel.
Additionally, Juanita Fletcher is the founder of Juanita Fletcher Vocal Ministry, Inc. a non profit music scholarship program designed to help at risk youth. The idea comes from her own childhood. "I grew up in a predominately poor, high crime area. So, for me music was an escape from reality. It gave me something to look forward to and a reason to avoid the pitfalls of my environment. With this program I hope to provide another youth an escape, by helping them to continue their love of music," she states.
"FREE TO BE ME!" this the name of the upcoming CD. Juanita has been away for sometime working on this upcoming project which is guaranteed to please. Juanita stated, "This CD for me was all about spiritual growth. I feel that my faith was really put to the test with this project, in and out of the studio. I entered areas that I had never tried before such as Jazz, spoken word and more challenging lyrics. The idea behind the CD was to provide a message for all walks of life. I have something for believers and non believers, white and black, the young and the old. With this CD I tried to meet people where they were and to provide a word that would penetrate hearts and break yokes."
Her success has everything to do with her mission and she makes no bones about where the "road to success" lies ahead of her. "It's about fulfilling a promise to God. My promise is the vocal ministry that I'm building for the sake of today's teenage girls. I believe that today's young women need understanding, caring, mentoring and someone who can help them believe in their dreams.
My dedication is real and I show the kids this every chance I get by allowing them to be apart of my ministry expressing whatever gift and talent they have in public. I tell them through God, all things are possible."
One thing you can count on about this artist is that she is determined not only to light up the sky, but also the whole world around her.
