Colleen Zandbergen Biography

Colleen is a wife, mom, grandmother "Oma" and singer/performer, actress. She is raising her grandson and trying to live life to the best.

Colleen's musical life started in Pennsylvania with a declaration from her mother stating that she stuck out like a sore thumb singing in elementary school. She went on to the usual events of school musicals and multiple choirs. Colleen has a musical family with her Aunt Diane as musician in an all girl band in the 1960s and her grandmother who played piano. Colleen has always been exposed to music.

She remembers fondly Sunday dinners at home with her mom and dad putting records on the stereo console. (Yes that old) Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra, Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, and many other Jazz greats were the artists. That alone probably instilled a love of jazz in her heart. She went on to perform in a Jazz Trio in Erie,Pa and surrounding areas--Colleen Zandbergen and Friends.

Broadway music is also a big influence in her life. She began with high school musicals and continued performing in local community theaters in Erie, PA--The Erie Playhouse, Riverside Inn Dinner Theater and the Station Dinner Theater. Some of her favorite roles were playing Tammy Wynette in the musical about her life called Stand By Your Man, Marmee in Little Women, Amnesia in Nunsense and Woman One in My Way, A Tribute to Frank Sinatra. She continued to perform and also branched off into commercials. She sang a Jingle for a candy company and acted in a commercial for a chiropractic company in PA. She has also performed in several plays: Kate in Sylvia, Bunny in the Desk Set, Chris in Calendar Girls and most recently in the Duncan Macmillan dramatic play called People, Places, and Things.

Colleen became a respiratory therapist for many years during which she married a Dutchman, had three children and continued to perform. After 20 years working in a Tri County Trauma Hospital she decided to finally go back to school for her first love --music. She wanted to teach kids to sing. She worked full time nights and went to school fulltime days at Edinboro University and graduated in three years with her music degree. She started teaching and while doing that she continued her education acquiring a masters in music from Auburn University.

After her children all left home to go off to live their own lives,, Colleen and her husband moved to Tucson, Arizona to escape the snow belt. It didn't take long for Colleen to get into the theater world and other ventures in Tucson. She got involved with Musical Mayhem Cabaret, The Great American Playhouse, Studio Connections and Arizona Onstage productions along with some smaller companies. She filmed a book trailer for a local author. and recorded an audio book called, Dial L For Latchkey!

Colleen had her directing debut with the musical, Hot Flashes! Recently, she has performed for Mister Bings Supper Club Cabaret shows and as part of the singing group, The Hot Mamas. A group of moms trying to survive life. She produced and performed in My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra in Tucson AZ. She was thrilled to get the opportunity to revamp one of her favorite shows.

There have been some hardships along the way with the loss of her daughter and raising her grandson but she is determined to move forward each day. Her newest adventure is a move across country to Atlanta Georgia, to be closer to family--daugter and her twim granddaughters. Now on to what exciting Atlanta performance opportunities arise!!