Biography

'Her voice is extraordinary both tender and terrifying,'The Sunday Star Times

Sounding like hot treacle on broken glass, Leila Adu has been described as "Nina Simone for the noughties". Praised by critics and fans alike, Leila Adu explores the dissonant edges of familiar forms with a voice that is simply incomparable.

Leila Adu recently recorded a new mini album with the legendary Steve Albini (PJ Harvey, Joanna Newsome, Nirvana) which was mastered by Mandy Parnell (Feist, Depeche Mode, Sigure Ros) and produced by Leila & Gaverick De Vis (Giddy Motors) due for release early 2009.

London-born with a heritage both European and Ghanaian, Leila was brought up in New Zealand. She has appeared with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and produced two acclaimed albums, which led to national tours in Australia, Indonesia, Russia, the US and the UK. Since returning to Europe 2006, Leila has been performing both solo with piano and with her band at various venues in London.

Her tracks and music video have been play listed and she has appeared live on radio and television, including live studio sessions at the BBC World Service and Resonance FM and as part of The Truth in Abstract Blues for Rai Trade Records. The video clip for the title track of Leila Adu's previous album, Cherry Pie, was shot and produced in London and launched in early 2008.

Leila Adu has performed and composed for theatre, film, gamelan and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. She completed post-graduate studies in 2003 in New Zealand, majoring in composition and specialising in Electro-acoustic Music, Ethnomusicology and Orchestration. She has performed her original songs and improvisations at improv, jazz festvials and rock venues with international artists such as John Edwards, Steve Noble, Mike Cooper, Jeff Henderson, Jim Denley, Richard Nunns, Fabrizio Spera, David Long, Jack Body, Audrey Chen, Lissa Meridan, Lol Coxhill and Leo Tadagawa.

Table Of Contents:

International Performances

Reviews

Compositions & Awards

Performance Requirements

Bookings: Contact Bookings & Information

Video: To view a VIDEO of LEILA ADU playing 'Cherry Pie', Live in Soho, London 2007 Click Here

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International Performances

"From the moment she opened her mouth I had almost constant goose bumps. Her voice moved from the absolutely sublime and sensitive to the sultry depths... The set was flawless. Listening to Adu is like being exposed to something elemental."
Salient Magazine

Auckland Festival Homecoming Concerts, Leila Sings Solo & Together Alone with NZ band Jeff Henderson-sax, Tom Callwood-bass and Chris O'Connor-drums, Auckland, NZ, 2009.

Radio Rai (Italian National Radio) Broadcast and recordings for album of Truth in the Abstract Blues, Rome, Italy, 2008.

Solo performances at The Electroacoustic Club series, London, 2008.

Performance with Truth In Abstract Blues, improvising trio, at the improvised music festival ‘Controindicazione’, Init, Rome, 2008.

Music video launch party for ‘Cherry Pie,’ produced in London by Cut the Papaya Productions, The Old Crown, London, 2008.

Solo US Recordings with producer, Steve Albini (PJ Harvey, Joanna Newsome, Nirvana) and performances in New York, Chicago, Boston and LA, 2007

Leila Adu European Summer Solo Tour performances in Rome, Paris and the United Kingdom 2006/2007.

Leila Adu Cherry Pie Tour, national tour promoting second album, 2005.

Sell-out shows at The Wellington International Jazz Festival, Happy, 2004, 2003 & 2001.

Live performance at Civic Square as part of improvising synthesizer trio, Delete! to accompany a retrospective of short films by artist, Joanna Margaret Paul a joint production with the City Gallery, Wellington.

Leila Adu Dig A Hole NZ Tour, 10 city album tour with band 2004.

Leila Adu Dig A Hole Australian tour, solo performances in Melbourne, Canberra & Albury, 2003/2004.

Performed original songs at the Too Much Spirit Too Festival, The Dom, Moscow, 2000.

Leila Adu solo piano residency, The Foundry, London, 2000.

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Reviews:


Live Gig Review

Reviews of Cherry Pie

Reviews of Dig A Hole

Articles/Interviews


Live Gig Review

Tessa Prebble Salient Magazine

Leila Adu with
Sam Flynn-Scott
Happy
Friday 8th July

Leila Adu followed soon after and from the moment she opened her mouth I had almost constant goose bumps. Her voice moved from the absolutely sublime and sensitive in songs like Cecelias Gift (which had me sitting on the edge of my seat in enjoyment) to the more raunchy and guttural growl of songs like Trainand to the sultry depths of songs like For A Man where she matches the baritone saxs lows with ease. The set was flawless.

Adus voice and talent was matched by the skill of her accompanying musicians. Jeff Henderson on the baritone sax, and Rick Cranson on drums both proved their worth during impressive solos. And while Tom Callwood on the double bass, and David Long on guitar, did not get quite as much time to shine- the culmination of all the instruments was mind blowing.

Adu played most of the songs from her latest release Cherry Pie, and at the end of the set, she, and her musicians, were called back on stage for an encore. Although the audience was small, they managed to make enough noise to voice their appreciation well.

I was stunned into near silence at the end of the set. Struggling for words I turned to the friend who had accompanied me and he provided the perfect analogy for the way Adu sounded. You know how Fat Freddys Drop is like the ocean in the day time. Well Leila Adu is like a river at night time. You know. The kind of river that trampers talk about, its that sudden and powerful display of nature. I couldnt have put it any better. Listening to Adu is like being exposed to something elemental.

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CHERRY PIE 2005/2006

Crossing the spectrum from sparsely haunting to loud and raunchy, Leila accompanies herself on piano and vintage organ with some of New Zealand's top musicians. This second album was produced by David Long (producer of the year 2001 sound designer for the Lord of the Rings) and has received high acclaim, which only substantiates the awesome talent that is Leila Adu.

'Adu's voice combines the ferocity of PJ Harvey and Patti Smith with the raw emotion of Fiona Apple and the unnerving drone of Nico.' Salient Magazine*****

Reviews of CHERRY PIE

Nick Bollinger National Radio The Sampler, 23 July

Theres something about the piano as an instrument that inspires an entirely different style of song writing from the guitar and the clearest example Ive heard lately can be found in this album.

This is Leila Adu, a Wellington based singer and songwriter of Ghanaian descent whos just released her second album, Cherry Pie. And centred on her percussive piano playing and an astonishing voice theres little I can compare it to.

There are hooks, theres repetition but these are hardly conventional pop songs. Theres something abstract and irregular about them. She constantly challenges your senses with broken rhythms and unexpected tempo and mood. This track, entitled Train, is typical. It leaves the platform in almost metal-ish locomotive feel but once youre on board, youll find the destination isnt the one you initially promised.
Lyrically too, theres something refreshingly unpredictable about Leila Adu. Her songs certainly capture emotions yet studiously avoid the dear diary confessions of so many singer songwriters. Instead, she seems to be writing from inside a range of personas and inhabiting a variety of voices as well.

The line-up Leila Adu employs for these songs is more akin to that of a jazz group with double bass and the incredibly supple drumming of ex-Trinity Roots percussionist Ricky Gooch and with much of the rhythmic riffery supplied, not by a guitar but a baritone sax. Where guitar is used on Leila Adus Cherry Pie, its more as a colour or texture and its played by David Long, former Mutton Bird and recent Dave Dobbyn producer, who also co-produced this album this album and youll find the disc is full of qualities that are fast becoming Long trademarks. Inventive instrumental combinations and bold, edgy mixes but always at the service of the songs, which in Leila Adus case are curiously compelling.

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Tessa Prebble Salient, 11 July

It has happened. I have been sent an album from an artist I had never heard of, and have fallen in love with it. The sultry and powerfully emotive voice, semi feminist lyrics and wide ranging sound of local artist Leila Adus second album Cherry Pie, have captured my heart.
Adus voice combines the rough ferocity of PJ Harvey and Patti Smith, with the raw emotion of Fiona Apple and the unnerving drone of Nico. What more could you ask for? Similarities aside, Adu has a unique, far reaching, and captivating voice that is all her own.
Adu combines her already very impressive vocals with a wide range of genres; from jazz and soul, to funk and Latino, she masters them all. Adus voice seems to become one with the instruments as in For a Man where she provides a tone perfect reflection of the baritone sax accompanying her. Her voice doesnt just provide the lyrics, it is one of the instruments.
The instrumentation on the album is incredibly well chosen, and makes each song unique and strong enough to stand alone. The gut wrenchingly beautiful Cecelias Gift combines Adus voice with a haunting running piano, while tracks like Suddenly Lost and Train make the most of the guttural baritone sax.
I realise I am gushing here, but seriously this album is well deserving of some decent gushing. Cherry Pie makes you stop what you are doing and listen. I am finding it hard writing even now as I listen to it. If you are unconvinced by my unadulterated praise of Cherry Pie buy it yourself and see.

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John Kennedy The Dominion Post

FROM the opening moments of Walk My Road its clear how far singer Leila Adu has come since her first CD. Her biting lyrics and bittersweet melodies are aglow with a lush intensity. Jeff Hendersons full-bodied baritone sax is pivotal to many of these new songs but its Adus shadowy, powerful voice that gives this music a special resonance. These are provisional, transitory songs; twilight music where sombre, sometimes furious moods unfold in acute focus with little sense of resolution. Overall, Cherry Pie feels much more integrated than her debut. The impressionistic tunes are more powerfully delivered thanks to the presence, sometimes absence of her band. Adus own keyboard playing has grown in subtlety and exerts an influence more sublime. On the haunting Cecilias Gift her piano is a layer of watery melancholy, while on Pedestal it takes on a classical formality that makes the disturbed lyrics and sweet delivery all the more menacing. Like an oil slick, this is thick, viscous music, with an incendiary threat always beneath the surface. It would be difficult to understate the uniqueness of this music, either as homegrown or otherwise. If you havent been acquainted yet with Adu, go do it.

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Simon Sweetman The Package 7-13th, July

This is Leila Adus second album after 2003s debut digAhole. I really liked her first album, but it seemed split between pop songs and experimentation. This time around the experience seems more integrated and the songs are stronger as a result. Her tight compositions have places for un-indulgent improvisation and she is constantly challenging herself. Adus voice is capable of a wide expressive range; she goes from deep groans and dirge-like moans to light and catchy pop melodies. Its an album with plenty of secrets. (Surely the best kind of record?) There are moments when Leila and band allow their free-jazz background to dominate the songs but it is done skilfully.

Comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush might seem obvious, trite even. But I feel that compositionally they are valid, more so than vocally. Like Mitchell, Leila likes to put confessional lyrics down against sprawling, jazzy arrangements that roll and undulate. And like Kate Bush she seems intrigued by the chance to allow mysticism and magic in to bite-sized pieces of her music. The result, like Bushs best work, means that the songs are sweet but never sugary.

Back from some time spent in Melbourne, and touring the country to promote this incredibly good new album Leila Adu plays at Happy on Friday July 8. Dont miss her.

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William Dart CFM New Horizons, 9 July 2005
Radio Interview

Wellington composer and songwriter Leila Adu, whos currently based in Melbourne. I came across her first album, Dig A Hole, two years ago and I had to grasp at names like Patti Waters, Annette Peacock and Carla Blaye for any comparisons at all. At that point., Adu was also an honours student at Victoria University studying under John Psathas.

Adus new album has moved on. Ex-Mutton Bird, David Long, shares production duties with the singer and hes also in the band, together with drummer Ricky Gooch and the surprisingly versatile Jeff Henderson on sax. Ive heard Henderson doing some pretty way out things with his instrument, including making water gurgle in its golden horn. Well, he turns up on Adus title track, Cherry Pie, winding his sax at its most melodious around Adus devious bewitching vocals as she offers a hip take on Aristophone.

Gender issues make quite a stand in this album. The song For A Man, introduced with some far more agro sax from Henderson, opens with shoe cleaning as an act of obeisance. Adu digs deep down into her considerable vocal range and after a while you realise that even the act of performing parallels the message, with the voice carefully following in the ominous authority of her sax partner.

But any notion of obeisance is really in the wishful imagination of the gentleman in question. Its not long before we realise that Leila Adu may be the Antipodean sister of Brechts Pirate Jenny.

As the riff sets in, a familiar sound this from Adus first album, Jenny doesnt really materialise. Theres anger, sure, when the rumbling riffs crescendo their way through the song but Adu keeps the load to herself and theres even a hint of possible escapism in the final lines but just before that, theres the climax, when Adu bursts out with the songs real message. There is no one to hear me cry, she sings, I cry along again. Vocalising with the force and authority and formidable mezzo, standing up for her in a forest of instrumental grind. Its a marvellous moment.

There are songs that dont quite work, such as the relentlessly arty Cecilias Gift with an introductory that produces irritation, rather than any sense of anticipation. Others, like the track Answerphone, despite Adu working through a few changes on her voice, dont quite follow through on the promise of the premise. But just when you think were on a recycling trip, you get slapped over the wrist. The song Pedestal, opens with the same slightly reclusive piano and voice as did Cherry Pie. The chords dont form expected progressions and once again Adus vocals are more fragile than ever. But the second verse doesnt rev up as were led to expect it will. Theres a key stanza in the middle of the song where she sings of her nothingness and her brightness and you find yourself somehow focussing on her vocals alongside wisps from Tom Callwoods bass. Now accentuations and stresses are not what you might expect. Violence and love are chillingly juxtaposed as the song plays through to its end.

If you dont listen to the lyrics of the final song, you might be pleasantly lulled by it all. Adus lullaby waltz presses on for seven minutes, punctuated by a quaint tremeloed refrain of When will I forget? The song has already considered escapism at least once in this album and perhaps despair, however pretty, is now unbearable. Its an epilogue this track, or so Adu tells us with the title The Golden Generation. She pictures images of TV fixation and alien visitors with jokey electronic descant but its a warning. The song opens with an unarguable phrase its no time to fall asleep, and when were about to join her, the warning comes again at a time when we need to wake up, its too easy to put yourself to sleep, why were we born now my friends? was it just to be the ones at the end?

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DIG A HOLE 2003

Leila's debut album received blazing reviews in New Zealand and Australia. Following live recordings from Wellington's International Jazz Festival Performance, her music was broadcast nationally on television and radio.

'A unique mixture of jazz, pop, gamelan and bossa, full of striking imagery and delightful dissonant, droning harmonies,' Sunday Star Times *****
Debut Album, 2003

Reviews of DIG A HOLE

Rip It Up, Zoe Winkler, Feb/March issue, 2004
Dig A Hole

Few debut artists are as daring as Leila Adu, who supplies the piano and vocals on the recently released Dig A Hole. Dissonant chords and unpredictable melodies fill the 11 tracks Adu has produced with her five-piece band. The Wellington-based songwriters voice is reminiscent of Joni Mitchell or Nico, while her style remains unique. A mixture of jazz, folk, and bossa nova blend with the lyrics on friendship, longing, and make-believe. Although not nearly as radio friendly as fellow young jazz-vocalist Norah Jones, Leila certainly has created a sound for herself unlike any other.

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The Sunday Star Times, Grant Smithies, 18th May 03
Dissonant delight

What better place to start than Dig A Hole, the debut album from a highly original Wellington-based singer and pianist Leila Adu (www.leilaadu.co.nz) Hear this record once it stays stuck in your head like a dentists filling.
A unique mixture of jazz, pop, gamelan and bossa, full of striking imagery and delightfully dissonant droning harmonies, the nearest reference point lies somewhere between sad-eyed Brazilian crooner Astrud Gilberto and London-based avant-pop darlings Stereolab.
There are songs concerning love, loss, spirits, and angels, poisonous anger, hot sex and cold regret, and Adus voice is extraordinary throughout. Both tender and terrifying, Valentine contains the line You could be much braver than you are. Adu is addressing a lover, but she might also be issuing a challenge to a host of lesser pop contenders.

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The Dominion Post, John Kennedy, 1st May 03
Dig A Hole

ALTHOUGH Newtown gallery/venue The Space is moving home, it still finds time to release challenging music from within its ranks. Singer pianist Leila Adu sits at the helm of a cracking five-piece band. Unlike their music in the fiercely improvised Ectasy Trio, here the rhythm section of Tom Callwood and Chris OConnor lay out some artful rock beats that nail down Adus unpredictable structures. On the best tracks, like Suspended Disbelief, Adus vocals plough through the music maze with picture-perfect, yet disarming, phrasing. Her voice is as distinctive as any youll hear on these shores dark, sonorous, uninflected and unflinching somewhere between PJ Harvey and Joni Mitchells folksy-jazz, though assuredly her own. The musical sobriety makes few concessions, bar some spells of black humour and the dreamy verses of Sweet Indulgence. Still, with Adus singular voice and courageous song writing, its an impressive debut.

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Beat Magazine (Melbourne) Shane Moritz, 17th December 03

LEILA ADU is New Zealands Queen of Soul. This young lady does spellbinding melodies and cryptic rhythms from a grand piano. She has a hypnotic voice, moderately spiced, sprinkled in firewater. Some call it sultry, and it is, but its also heavy and soothing and gets under your skin in the most welcoming way. Dig A Hole, her self-released debut, is a strange fusion of edgy soul and stuttering beats, complimented by moody strings and an incomparable intensity that smoulders under smoky, stage lights. The title track is a whir of tempos clashing, guitars and strings jerking and pulling, eager to implode until finally it does. The CD has received good support from prominent NZ figures like the legendary Chris Knox, who said her music was interesting and new. Leila Adu plays at the Pony Bar on 18 December with Silver Ray and Sir and on the 20th with I Want A Hovercraft, Amo and Man Madelake.

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Contact, Julie Jacobsen, 19th June 03
Between the dark and the delicate

FOR anyone familiar with the local jazz scene, Adus self-funded debut (thanks too to Creative NZ) will come as no surprise.
Unfortunately, everyone else will probably demand some sort of offshore stamp of approval before Dig A Hole gets too much airplay here. The album is worthy of a whole lot more.
Like Laura Nyro and Nico, or modern-day doppelganger, righteous babe Ani diFranco, Adu inhabits that non-pop world that sits between the dark and the delicate, the erratic and the elegant.
Accompanied by a talented gang of long-time Wellington musos including Tom Callwood, Chris OConnor, Chris Palmer and cellist Francesca Mountfort, the singer-pianist travels the tortured path of love, anguish and self-doubt with a voice thats as much frown as it is teardrop. Discordant and dissolute, precious and poetic. You go girl!
Check www. leilaadu.co.nz for purchasing details.

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Live, Lucy Parr, 12th June 03
LEILA ADU
Dig A Hole

Local pianist, Leila Adu with back-up percussion group release Dig A Hole by SPACE in 2002. An expressive and emotive album featuring a 5-musician concoction. Leila herself responsible for composing both the songs and lyrics. The group features an extensive mix of piano, cello, drums, guitar, bass and percussion as well as Leila and her diverse vocals.

The album starts off with a nice deep jazzy intro and from there each track progresses through a range of genres. From funky to soulful to Latino to heavy, dark gothic styles. The tracks are an intricate and complex mixture of instrumentals and mix-match of beats and tempos. They lead from soft tip-toeing and subdued to heavy, deep frantic climaxs and back down again, continuing their loose instrumental style. All lead by Leila and her unique vocals. In a similar style to the instruments she demonstrates a wide range of pitch, tone and expression. The overall effect is a multiple-layered sound.

Leila Adu and her back-up musicians are definitely talented so look out for an opportunity to see this group live, its guaranteed to be a spirited performance. The album is smooth, clean and well recorded. Finishing off with a very experimental, expressive key track Dig A Hole; a funky intro building up into a heavy chaotic track, confidently demonstrating their full range of ability.

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Articles/Interviews

Beat Magazine (Melbourne) Shane Moritz, 21 Jan 04
SHANE MORITZ SPEAKS TO NEW ZEALANDS QUEEN OF SOUL

This young lady does spellbinding melodies and cryptic rhythms from a grand piano. She has a hypnotic voice, moderately spice, sprinkled in firewater. Some call it sultry, and it is, but its also heavy and soothing and gets under your skin in the most welcoming way. Dig A Hole, her self-released debut, is unlike anything Ive ever heard. She is in town, and in great form. She really shouldnt be missed.
First shall we say she was born in London, to a Ghanaian man and a New Zealand woman. Her mother liked Layla, the love ballad by Derek and Dominos, while her father had a thing for Palestinian liberation fighter, Leila Khaled. He finagled for spelling rights, which he secured, obviously, however, in his attempt to make the childs second name Khaled, he failed. Her middle name is Jo. She thanks her mother for this. The only child grew into an aesthetically-pleasing young lady with French African skin and soul and recently celebrated a birthday, her 25th.
Her first transcendental moment came from Michael Jacksons Thriller, the video of which, she had in a View Finder (and damn it if Leila doesnt bear a striking resemblance to Michaels love interest Ola Ray). She began the music thing growing up in Christchurch, NZ. She met Seth Rees around this time. Seth, who now lives in Melbourne and plays in I Want A Hovercraft, deserves credit for Leilas visit. The two plan to record as a duo in January.
Dig A Hole, her self-released debut, is a strange fusion of edgy soul and stuttering beats, complimented by moody strings and an incomparable intensity that smoulders under smoky, stage lights. The title track is a whir of tempos clashing, guitars and strings jerking and pulling, eager to implode until finally it does. The CD has received good support from prominent NZ figures like the legendary Chris Knox, who said her music was interesting and new.
People say its jazz and Im like no, its not jazz. Its not improvised, Ive written these songs. Leila has never heard Miles Davis or Fiona Apple, two comparisons that spring to mind. I also hear the ultra-satisfying sound of an ultra-modern soul singer covering the Velvet Undergrounds Waiting For My Man.
Her songs are about everything, even though they sound like shes singing to a boy. I dont mind if the audience thinks that they are love songs, but you knowtheyre not! She has toured London, Moscow, Albury, Canberra and now Melbourne. In Moscow they told me I played with passion. The gypsy lifestyle interests her. She recently visited London where her Dad is a professional musician and Ghana where she discovered the source of her uncanny Afro-beat rhythms.
After Melbourne, she will return to Wellington, get the band together and tour the islands. Then she plans to return to London, then Paris where she will live with a saxophone player and do some more travel. She is also multi-lingual, to an extent. I can be polite in six languages, she says sweetly. She would like her music to reach many people. I hate the idea of writing music that is only accessible to one culture. She has written music for films, theatre and orchestras and she has written hardcore electronic stuff. She seems keen on doing it all and it appears nothing will stop her.

Leila Adu plays January 23 at the Empress with Seth Rees, Because of Ghosts, This Is Your Captain Speaking and January Sat 24 at the Rob Roy with Seth Rees, Love of Diagrams and Sir.

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Cook Strait News, Simon Vita, 12th May 03
Individual beats from a personal performer

Island Bay composer Leila Adu doesnt like to be pigeon-holed.
Adu says when shes called a jazz musician or a singer-songwriter it sets her teeth on edge.
She says convenient tags give people preconceived ideas that arent always correct.
While the music on her recently released debut album, Dig a Hole, contains jazz and pop music elements, it doesnt fit in either of those camps.
If you say singer-songwriter people think that you are going to sound like Tori Amos.
People immediately thing that that is going to be the case.
Dig A Hole features emotive lyrics and Adus dark piano playing, cello, double bass, guitar and percussion. Adu says she experimented with different instrumentation and band line-ups until she found a combination that had the right bottom-heavy feel.
I like the bass register, she says.
A honours composition student at Victoria University, Adu intends to work on a second album as part of her studies this year.
She says the follow-up to Dig a Hole will probably use an orchestra in combination with electronic instruments. Adu was born in London, but grew up in Christchurch. She has travelled and studied music in Ghana, Indonesia, Russia, the United Kingdom and Spain.
She says New Zealand suits her creatively.
You might not make any money, but you make better music.
Dig a Hole is available at Slow Boat Records and Real Groovy.

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Compositions & Awards

"Centred on her percussive piano playing and an astonishing voice theres little I can compare it to. Lyrically too, theres something refreshingly unpredictable about Leila Adu she seems to be writing from inside a range of personas and inhabiting a variety of voices as well."National Radio

Performed, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the vocal part of Leilas own composition, Chaitou Feng/Pour Mon Tortionaire based on poems by female poets in Chinese and French as a prize from the SOUNZ Contemporary Awards, 2005

"Leila Adu's Two Songs for Voice and Orchestra, with the composer herself as a piquant soloist in music whose expressive beauties were contrived with considerable subtlety." Sounz News

Devised and performed site-specific, live music and dance piece Emporium, with dancers, Julia Milsom and Julie van Renen, with performances in the shop windows of Buana Satu, on Aucklands KRd and Wellingtons Rex Royale on Cuba St, 2006/2005.

Forty Degrees Something, music composed and edited by Leila Adu, screened at The Film Archive, and as part of a dance film compilation at The International Film Festival, 2005.

Created electro-acoustic with live vocals, piano and percussion soundtrack (1hr duration) for Plunge, an aerial and dance piece in collaboration with director Tom Beauchamp (director MTA at Toi Whakari) and the NZ School of Dance, 2005.

Performs live at Civic Square as part of improvising synthesizer trio, Delete! to accompany a retrospective of short films by artist, Joanna Margaret Paul a joint production with The City Gallery, Wellington, 2004.

Received Highly Commended Award for the instrumental ensemble piece Night Ports, Detachment in the Victoria University Composers Competition, 2003.

Won the Fringe Festival Best Musical Act Award for Leilas Space Cabaret, piano songs with brass, strings and wind, Wellington Fringe Festival, 2002.

Sung and composed Sari performed with Gamelan Padhang Moncar, Yogyakarta Music Festival, Java, 2002.

Where Will I Fly Us? Site-specific pre-recorded electro-acoustic and live vocal piece, performed at The Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, 2002.

Composed and performed 'Cecilia's Gift' and 'Great Spirit' for organ, harp and voice at St. Cecilia's Concert Series, Sacred Heart Cathedral, 2001.

Received the Most Promising Female Musician Award at the Regional Smokefree Rockquest, 1996.

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Performance Requirements

Set Up:
1 Keyboard (or Piano if available)

Technical requirements:
1 Vocal Mic to PA
Keyboard DI to PA

Show Duration:
30-90min, as requested

No. of Performers:
1

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