Listen or Buy

Johanna wrote Free to Decide (Breathe) after attending workshops with improv singer Rhiannon and rhythm-master Keith Terry. When she shared the song with the a cappella group Absolute (Julie Williams, Elizabeth Wyatt, Micki Reaman, and Shelley Willis), they immediately adopted it into their repertoire. In 2005 Johanna and Absolute recorded the song with no retakes or overdubs for her CD If I Could Fly. Betty Busch, who provided body percussion for the track, invited Johanna to perform the song as a featured artist with Jubilate! Women’s Choir in Corvallis, Oregon.

This video, taken from two of those performances, shows Johanna singing her song Free to Decide (Breathe) backed by Betty Busch and Jubilate! Since this was recorded, the song has been performed by several a cappella groups and choirs across North America. Here’s a beautiful example by Singing O