Donna Greenberg is a unique and stylistically versatile vocalist with a deep love of music. Her vocal precision, warmth, musicality, and dramatic flair are always evident in her heartfelt performance. She studied voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, and has performed in both classical and jazz styles.
Donna is not only a singer but also a songwriter/composer and lyricist, with a degree in English literature (University of Toronto) and with extensive background in music theory and composition (Royal Conservatory of Music Toronto). She has composed music and lyrics for a number of classical and jazz vocal works. Her varied musical influences include opera, musical theatre, liturgical music, musical theatre, and jazz.
Donna’s first serious foray into jazz began with a one-woman show A TRIBUTE TO GERSHWIN, PORTER, AND RODGERS, which she wrote, sang, and danced. Inspired by the GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK, she decided in 2008 to devote herself more to jazz and cabaret music, which has led to singing engagements in restaurants and clubs, at events, and on television, radio, and internet.
The singer/songwriter has enjoyed radio airplay across North America and Europe and is a sought after concert performer. She has been featured in publications including Cashbox Canada, Hot Toronto, Canadian Jewish News and New Canadian Music, to name a very few.
Donna’s is known as a singers’ singer and has garnered fans all over the world, including blues and gospel great, Otis Clay. Her original Spanish tunes were featured in two commercial videos for Quebec-based retailer, Olive&Olives. Her television appearances have included a feature on CTS Television, Rogers Television Mississauga and a very entertaining interview and performance on The Being Frank Show Holiday Special seen nationally. See for yourself at: http://youtu.be/GI08u5BaBIs.
RECORDINGS…
Donna has produced six CDs to date.
(2010) features mainly jazz standards, though with three originals.
(2011) presents original songs in various styles and genres: jazz, swing, tango, bossa nova, salsa, lullaby, and Celtic folk.
Song in the Wind (2012) showcases original soulful songs of love, joy, and sorrow.
Burnt…and Toasted! (2013) highlights all the original songs from a one-woman theatrical production of the same name created by Donna and presented at The Toronto Fringe Festival in 2013.
Stuck on You (2017) is devoted entirely to jazz originals, including ballads, swing, bossa nova, and upbeat pieces. Nine of the songs have been arranged for jazz trio by jazz pianist/arranger extraordinaire Mark Kieswetter.
Love Songs of James Joyce (forthcoming March 2017) is a “song cycle” set to poems from CHAMBER MUSIC (1907), an early poetry collection by the famous Irish writer James Joyce (1882-1941). In imitation of the song cycle properly belonging to classical music, this cycle was created by carefully selecting thirteen otherwise unrelated poems from this collection and combining them so as to form a coherent whole that loosely tells a story, in this case, a story of unrequited love, with original music composed by Donna and arranged by pianist/arranger extraordinaire Mark Kieswetter.
