Tova Kardonne

Tova Kardonne's choral experiences and her Conservatory training in viola and piano fed early on into a passion for classical, African, South Indian, Brazilian, Eastern European folk, and Klezmer music. She studied Vocal Jazz and Composition and Arranging at Humber College, where she benefited from the instruction of Shannon Gunn, Christine Duncan, Pat LaBarbera, Kirk MacDonald, John Macleod and Don Palmer among others. Tova's compositions have toured the United States and Europe as part the Vox Novus 60X60 project. Her compositions have scored film installation and accompanied works of theatre, dance, and performance art in Toronto and internationally. As a vocalist, she has been privileged to share the stage with such esteemed musicians as Dave Douglas, Ravi Naimpalli, Bill McBirnie, Ted Quinlan, David Restivo and Jim Vivian. Her original a cappella performance art has been included in every Nuit Blanche since 2007, including her large-scale live choral performance installation, �Sound Forest� in 2008 (www.kodaproductions.com ). She has led Klezmer bands, the Samba Elegua tambourim section, sings in Alex Samaras' Grex choir and the Toronto Heliconian Choir, plays a daringly instrument-like vocal role in her Jazz trio with bassist Ross MacIntyre and Nick Fraser, and plays in a Brazilian music duo with multi-instrumentalist Amy Medvick. Tova sings her original compositions with The Thing Is (www.myspace.com/thethingismusic), her 8-piece Balkan-Jazz fusion band, and makes guest appearances singing her originals with Christian Overton's Composer's Collective Big Band