When a piano appeared in her family home, 9-year-old Jeanette Alexander sat down and started playing. But it wasn't until many years later that Alexander became a successful musician.

A pianist, composer and Green Lake resident, Alexander started composing music in the '80s. "I found that I would write music to calm down from the busyness of the day," she said. "It was my way of getting quiet."

Alexander said she wanted to get out of New York City, where she originally is from, and moved to Seattle in 1990. "The kind of music I write is a reaction, I think, to the hectic lifestyle that is so much a part of New York City," she said.

She describes her music as New Age, although she said she thinks of herself as a spiritual musician. "I found other musicians like that here in the Northwest," she said. Alexander said some of her main influences are David Lanz, Yanni, George Winston, Suzanne Cianni, Will Ackerman and Jim Brickman.

"When I first moved to Seattle I didn't even have a piano. I thought, 'How am I going to make my music?'"

Over time, Alexander acquired a piano, saved money and made the necessary connections. She started her own record label, Creative Muse Productions, in 1996 and released her first CD, "Still Point," in 1998.

Alexander said the title came to her when she was meditating. She said she named the CD for its overall effect: "I find that I naturally write music that touches the inner quiet of a person: their heart, their hopes and that 'still point' we all have."


READY FOR SUCCESS

At the time "Still Point" came out, Alexander was 40 years old. "I think that when you are older and you prepare yourself, you are ready for success," she said. "It's never too late to go for a dream."

Alexander said she decided to make a CD many years ago. "Some friends of mine who heard my music told me that I should make a cassette," Alexander said. It was called "Out of the Blue," and everybody liked it, she added. Then, Alexander said, she knew she wanted to become a professional musician and release an album.

While she was doing her day job, Alexander said, music was always on her mind. "I knew something was missing in my life," she said.

Over the years, Alexander held administrative positions at the University of Washington and North Seattle Community College and worked as a photographer. She said she was very patient and regarded her day job as "a means to an end."

Alexander said she is a "practical artist" who is fortunate enough to have a good business sense: "I kept the dream alive, but there was also a certain amount of reality."

Now, Alexander helps other people make their dreams a reality. She teaches a class through Shoreline Community College's Extension Program about how to produce and market a music CD for people who are "no longer content with just having a dream."

"Practical-creative is my equation for success," Alexander said. She said she believes musicians can find their niche; they just have to work really hard sometimes.

For her, Alexander said, the journey to success was easy as much as it was difficult. "It's a labor of love when you have a dream," she said.


SHARING HER MUSIC

Alexander performs in and around the Seattle area to promote her three CDs: "Walk in the Sun," "Open Sky" and "Still Point." They can be found at yoga centers and spiritual retreats. Several Northwest musicians contributed to the albums.

Music from "Open Sky" was used in an award-winning documentary "With Honors Denied." The film, shot in the Seattle area in 2002, follows the journey of a Japanese-American woman from the darkest days of her childhood during World War II to the fulfillment of her dream 60 years later.

Alexander's music was also featured on Japan and Delta airlines and is now being distributed in Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

Alexander performs at private events, as well. "I love it that people get married to my music," she said. "Babies are born to my music."

Alexander said she had no idea she would make three CDs, and it all happened because the first one was so successful.

She won two awards from Just Plain Folks, a networking group for songwriters and other members of the music industry.

All her music is instrumental, but Alexander said she has been thinking about writing lyrics.

Alexander said she found a path to yoga and meditation. "I realized that there is a whole world out there where I can get inspiration for my music."

Alexander uses her experiences to create artistic expression. "We are all striving for balance, and I'm very fortunate that it comes to me through my music," she said.