Faith Rivera is a dark-skinned Filipina born on Kauai a sunny Easter afternoon. This award-winning singer/songwriter started early singing folksongs with her grandma & playing piano from the age of 6. Like the island rains of her hometown, Faith's groove is warm, exotic & healing.
Years before winning a 2003 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Original Song on NBC'S Passions, she started off as a dedicated teen fronting an all girls band in Hawaii with her first release on cool star-shaped vinyls on Azra International. Faith headed for LA and dived into classical music & jazz graduating with a BA in Music & Minor in Marketing from Cal State Long Beach. Out of school, she jumped in an RV and hit the road playing keys & singing back-up for Interscope artist, Xavier, opening for De La Soul, Morris Day & the Time, and Speech around the country.
After the RV were a potpourri of adventures including her first east coast performance as part of a sexy girl group for thousands of Vietnamese music-goers at Taj Mahal, a balloon-ride for a Persian music video, a three week dream gig at the Embassy Suites in Maui to sometimes unknowing r-rated auditions for this naïve island girl. After paying them dues, as they say, Faith is now a pro session singer working with artists like Luther Vandross, Jon Secada, & Sheila E while her original music continues to be placed on tv & film with her five artist releases ranging from inspirational pop to rockin' salsa.
As a positive music artist, Faith has been featured in concerts throughout the country from a Hawaii performance with Daniel Ho & the Honolulu Symphony, a keynote presentation at Bowdoin University in Maine, work with best-selling author Neale Donald Walsch in the Hamptons & in 2004, her first performance in Costa Rica. Faith continues to write for releases on other artists' albums from Canada, Malaysia, to Japan. She is a recent recepient of the Professional Fellowship Award from the city of Long Beach to honor & support her ongoing work.
Closest to her heart, Faith volunteers her time & talents with a number of organizations committed to making a positive difference in the world. Recently named the U.S. Music & Performing Arts Coordinator for Humanity's Team
she's organized uplifting concerts from New York to California with other positive-minded artists & is now working to connect artists from around the country with empowering groups needing their talents & services. In Los Angeles, Faith volunteers as the Chapter Coordinator for worldwide songwriting organization Just Plain Folks
supporting songwriters in her county with free meetings, workshops & showcases. And on a local level, since the first Women's Festival of the Arts
in 2002, Faith has served annually as Entertainment Coordinator booking an eclectic array of female dancers, musicians, & poets for a two-day festival free to the community. In 2003 she was honored with Community Service Awards from the City & County of Los Angeles, California State Senate, & California State Assembly for her volunteerism.
Whether through her music, performances, or service, Faith is driven by her mission to simply empower others as in her uplifting video, “Wonder,” which recently won the Best Music Video award at the San Fernando Valley's International Film Festival. Through the story of a rag-tag homeless woman & the magic of a cracked mirror, Faith's “Wonder” video, as in all her work, shows us the "wonder" that surrounds us daily!
