SIMONA MINNS (NYC)
Simona is a New York-based jazz vocalist, composer, and zitherist originally from Lithuania. Her style is known for its unique theatrical flavor, genre-bending, and virtuosic vocal scat improvisation. Her latest work, “A Hunger Artist,” blends her haunting vocals with elements of jazz, musical theater, Lithuanian folk and even rock music to convey the narrative of Franz Kafka’s short story by the same title.
Classically trained on Lithuanian zither, Simona earned her BA in jazz vocals at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater. Shortly after receiving the European Touring Scholarship, she moved to the United States to study at Berklee College of Music where she majored in Contemporary Composition and Production. She received the Berklee Outstanding Jazz Vocalist Award and regularly performs and presents workshops in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Her compositions have been written for drama plays, string quartets, orchestras, and big bands. Simona’s latest compositional work is a string quartet score for the silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc”.
Simona Minns
Featuring: James Feekes (d), Leonardo Coghini (p), Chris Beernink (b)
Date: Thur 14 February 2019, 8pm
Venue: The Third Eye, Upstairs at 30 Arthur St. Te Aro
Price: General $15, WJC members and Students with ID $10