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First Posted: 12/20/2014
Rose Ostrowski loves to sing so much that the 10-year-old Berwick girl enthusiastically says “I sing every minute, every second of the day.”
Her parents Gene and Jeralyn Ostrowski agree, she isn’t overstating the fact. And although Gene could be exaggerating slightly when he notes “I swear she came out of the womb singing, or at least humming,” he said the family was aware of Rose’s talent at an early age.
Mom and dad admittedly say they can’t carry a tune so they don’t know from where Rose inherited her musical ability.
When the little girl turned 8, her father thought it would be a nice experience for her to record a single and have it as a remembrance. Through his motorsports business called Tyler Jett, Gene became friends with several rock and roll bands like FireHouse and Warrant. He contacted Bill Leverty, guitarist of FireHouse, to record and engineer the song at his studio in Richmond, Virginia.
“It wasn’t to try and make my daughter a rock star at all,” Gene said. “I just thought that it would be something cool for her to do, to record a song and have it to look back on someday when she got older.”
When Leverty heard Rose sing, however, he suggested to her father that he put her song on iTunes to at least get back the money invested in making the record.
No one expected it to do as well as it did. Rose’s cover of “Let It Be” jumped into the No. 1 spot on CD Baby’s top 100 in the 70s rock category, where it remained for nearly six weeks. She also made promotional appearances on local radio stations. An anonymous donor matched twice the amount of sales she donated to Cystic Fibrosis.
It was then the family decided that all of the proceeds from the song would continue to be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in memory of Rose’s cousin Camillia, who, at age 21, died from the disease in 2012.
“It makes me feel proud of myself that I could raise money to help them find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis,” Rose said.
“We really didn’t expect the response we got,” Gene said, noting that fans from all across the U.S. wrote messages to Rose. “It’s nice to see such positive comments. She knows what she is doing is right.”
Her second single will also benefit CF and, once again, the same anonymous donor pledged to double the amount of money raised for the charity. “Life is a River” was originally released in June by Tesla.
The Ostrowskis aim to keep Rose level-headed and maintain a well-rounded childhood through all of her fame at such a tender age. “We always make sure that she does her homework first when she comes home from school,” Gene said.
That’s why her parents waited two years before they let her record another song instead of jumping right into it after her initial brush with fame. “We don’t want to make this her job,” Gene said. “We want to make it fun. We treat the 6-1/2 to 7 hour drive to Richmond as a road trip.”
Although Rose is interested in music and takes piano lessons, just like every other child, she loves playing games on the computer. Her favorite singers are Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor.
One of her most memorable experiences was when Orange Street Elementary School played her single “Let It Be” during an assembly program and had Rose stand in recognition as she was applauded by her classmates. “She was treated like a rock star,” Gene said.
“It was my best day of school ever,” Rose, now a fifth grader, said.
“Her teacher two years ago noted how the whole recording and promoting experience made Rose more sociable and confident than she ever was,” Gene said.
Rose can’t wait to get back into the recording studio for her second hit.
“I love music very much,” she said. “It’s a big part of my life.”
If the new single is well-received, her parents say they will gauge her interest and let her do another song next year. Her father is also interested in trying to get a band together comprised of children Rose’s age. “It would be like kid rock,” Gene said. “It’s tough to find kids who can play an instrument like that and do several songs. I really don’t know where to look, but it would really be a cool thing to see them perform.”