Onalea
Spider and the Fly
© 2005 Dandi Productions
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
A wide-ranging collection of original and contemporary songs, drawn from songwriters like Sinead O’Connor, Tom Waits, Radiohead, Leon Russell and Everything but the Girl.
tracks
try this
albums you will love
genres you will love
By Location
links
notes
Onalea :: Biography
(On ahh lee ahh)
Onalea is a theatre artist and concert performer who enjoys experimenting with a wide variety of styles and subject matter. As a recording artist she has co- produced 3 CD’s; Dick and Sandi: Two Nights at the Grotto, recorded “live off the floor” with a 25- piece big band orchestra, In Space, featuring original electronica, and Spider and the Fly, a collection of eclectic songs performed with Jazz trio.
Onalea’s most recent CD project Spider and the Fly (2005) is a wide-ranging collection of original and contemporary songs, drawn from songwriters like Sinead O’Connor, Tom Waits, Radiohead, Leon Russell and Everything but the Girl. It was recorded with her Jazz Trio, and the CD achieves a big, lush sound, incorporating influences from Contemporary Jazz to Funk, from Dub to heart-breaking poetry, topped by Onalea’s unique and powerful vocal range. Backed by her trio of nationally acclaimed musicians, Onalea brings a level of performance and dynamic stage presence that will impress audiences intrigued by her sophisticated and genre-busting repertoire.
Onalea's concert work includes Bernstein’s Mass with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (Hans Graf conducting); Frank Zappa’s Freak-out Burlesque (Whip It Out Ensemble); and being featured as a guest soloist and a recording artist with the award winning Land’s End Chamber Ensemble. With her jazz trio and as leader of the 10-piece Dandi Orchestra, Onalea has acted as musical director and soloist for numerous concerts and special events. Onalea and the Dandi Trio have been the opening act for Daniel Lanois, Bob Newhart and most recently New York’s East Village Opera Company. She is lucky to have worked with several talented Canadian composers including David Rhymer, Dave Clarke, Dave Pierce, Donovan Seidle and Marcel Bergmann.
Also an actor, Onalea has been an ensemble member of One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (www.oyr.org) since 2002, performing extensively in Calgary and across Canada. She has appeared with them in 11 shows including: Dream Machine, (an oratorio on the Beat Poets) In Klezskavania,(with the Plaid Tounged Devils) Doing Leonard Cohen, and Sylvia Plath Must Not Die. This past Spring Onalea received a medal when the entire One Yellow Rabbit Ensemble was awarded the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award.
Other selected show credits include: Assassins, Falsettos, Popcorn, Joni Mitchell: River (Betty Mitchell Award) and Why Freud Fainted (Alberta Theatre Projects); Little Mercy’s first Murder (Vertigo/GZT); Time After Time: The Chet Baker Project (Crow’s Theatre, Calgary); Into The Woods (Citadel); and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Vertigo).
With Dandi Productions, (www.dandiproductions.com) she has co-created and performed several shows for young audiences including: three works of Roald Dahl with original European scores; The Twins and the Monster with a score by John Estacio and The Mysterious Maestro. All of Dandi's shows have toured symphony orchestras from Vancouver to Montreal several times. They appeared at the Hollywood Bowl presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2001. Doug and Onalea also created a pops show called A Swinger and a Miss, a tribute to the swingin' sound of 1960's Las Vegas, featuring their alter egos Dick and Sandi. It has been performed with the Calgary, Winnipeg and Regina Symphonies.
Onalea Premiered her first all original song cycle Blanche at the Banff Summer Arts Festival this past summer and she will be performing the project later in the 2008 season in Calgary, in Toronto at the Harbour Front as a special guest of the Banff Centre and at the Sunset Theatre in Wells BC. A recording of this project will be available on the late spring of 2008