Anya Parker-Lentz looks like your typical, All-American teenage girl. The fifteen-year old Short Hills, New Jersey resident loves playing field hockey, writing, sewing and hanging out with friends. Anya is prone to giggle fits with her closest friends, and shows a unique and inquisitive mind in conversation and in her academic pursuits. Everything changes once Anya sits down at a piano, however. The sweet shyness of a teenager falls by the wayside, and she becomes an intense, brooding and eccentric artist who thrives in the maelstrom of creation. With a distinctive ear for melody, and a perspective on the world that reaches far beyond her fifteen years, Anya is an old soul spinning songs written under the influence of youth. While many teen artists are espousing the sort of stream-of-emotion poetry that dots diary pages, Anya digs into emotions and experiences with the fine eye of a veteran storyteller; crafting visions of the world how it is, and how it should be, in lucid and compelling language. Anya's songs illuminate people, places and moments with life; bringing listeners closer to the human experience while maintaining the perspective of a troubadour. Anya can’t remember a time when she didn’t sing, but it was just two years ago when she found her niche as a solo singer. Anya spent four years performing with the New Jersey Youth Chorus, twice singing on stage at Carnegie Hall. An impromptu family performance of Stevie Nicks' "Landslide" changed Anya's musical trajectory, however. With a voice that’s been compared to Nicks, Adele and even Sara Bareilles, Anya has a vocal charisma that stops people in their tracks. She's already performed at New York City's famed B.B. King's, and shows the depth of an accomplished songwriter. One of Anya's very good friends is Jake, is a young man who has endured the neurological movement disorder Dystonia. He and his family are active fundraisers for the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia & Parkinson Foundation. Two years ago, Jake’s mother asked Anya on a lark to write a song about Jake with no real expectations. Anya responded with “Mission Possible”, digging deep into the emotions generated by watching a friend struggle and survive. In the process, she managed to a write a deeply moving song that both defined Jake’s life and his meaning to those around him. “Mission Possible” has become an unofficial anthem for the annual fundraiser Jake’s Ride.
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