BILLERICA -- She's a folkie who became a jazzer and along the way got caught up in country, contemporary Christian, gospel and rock.

Sure, it sounds like a lot. But all that and more is packed into Julie Kinscheck's debut solo album, Grace With Jazz On Top.

Kinscheck, who lives in Billerica, is a married mother of young twins, Hannah and Caleb. She also teaches voice and guitar lessons out of her home. But it's through the 10 songs on her new album that her musical talent shines brightest.

When Kinscheck talks about songwriting, she doesn't just focus on coming up with a compelling beat and a pleasant melody. Her mission is to write music that will inspire.

"I've always wanted to do something worthwhile with my music, as opposed to being a singer that someone listens to and then forgets because the music didn't impact their life," Kinscheck said. "Music can be a great influence for people emotionally and spiritually."

Kinscheck started writing songs when she was a 9-year-old girl growing up in Ithaca, N.Y. Music runs in the family. Her dad sang in local operas. Her two older brothers, Gary and Chris, play drums and bass.

As a teenager, Kinscheck honed her performing as an exchange student for a year in Munich. During that time, she traveled around Europe performing on street corners, in subway stations and public squares.

It was the early 1980s, when street musicians didn't have the luxury of battery-powered amplifiers to get their sound out. Kinscheck had to compete with the grind of trains, loud tourists and beggars to be heard. It was a valuable lesson in performance and culture.

"In Germany, whatever happened was part of the show. If a weird guy tried to give me a kiss, everybody just watched. Nobody tried to defend me," said Kinscheck, smiling. "In Italy, the crowd would surround me. They wouldn't even let police through."

Kinscheck said she almost landed a record deal while in Europe, but it fell through at the last minute. She returned to the States and enrolled in Oberlin College in Ohio, where she studied music theory and took voice lessons for the first time.

A free spirit who wanted to make a difference with her music, Kinscheck got the school to approve a special major for her -- "Vocal Music and Social Change in the 20th Century." But a summer studying at Berklee College of Music, where she spent nights jamming in practice rooms with other musicians, made her realize Boston was her calling.

Kinscheck transferred to Berklee, graduating with a bachelor's degree. That's also where she met her future husband, Ralph Kinscheck. The two didn't hit it off at first, though.

"He ran with druggy rockers. I was with the stuck-up jazzers," said Kinscheck. "He thought I was pretty conceited. I thought he was pretty burned out. We had nothing to do with one another."

In fact, they wouldn't meet again for eight years. By that time, Kinscheck became a born-again Christian with the encouragement of her guitarist Jim Peterson. One day, somebody invited Ralph to a church open-mic night.

Soon after, Kinscheck wrote a tune about her budding love for Ralph, "Coffee Song," which appears on her record. The tune is chock-full of double entendres comparing the experience of sipping java to falling in love.

Ralph, who works at Berklee and owns a recording studio, is now Kinscheck's producer, engineer and piano player.

Between being a mother and wife, Kinscheck is trying hard to promote her music. She recently had a CD release party at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley. She'll be performing at All Asia in Cambridge at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Kinscheck acknowledges that being a do-it-yourself musician isn't easy, but she is hoping the quality of her music will open doors for her. She made sure to spend the time and money to have her album mixed and mastered professionally so it would stand up to any professional recording on the radio.

"If you spend a whole lot of years trying to get discovered and thinking you're the best thing since sliced bread, and it doesn't happen for you, eventually you have to stop and take some serious assessments and get real about life," said Kinscheck. "But I'm a dreamer. I can't help it"

Grace With Jazz On Top is available on www.julieksings.com, iTunes, CDBaby and Amazon.com.