VIRNA SANZONE

Born in Sydney to Sicilian and Armenian / Chaldean parents, Virna grew up in a multilingual household that was as diverse musically as it was culturally. From a young age, she found herself drawn to jazz and soul as pathways to musical freedom and a profound means of musical exploration and expression. Virna went on to study Jazz Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she has held the position of Jazz Vocal Lecturer since 2014.

Virna spent her formative years singing with Sydney’s godfather of soul, Jackie Orszaczky, and has continued to enjoy a busy and diverse performing career ever since, working in a multitude of capacities both nationally and abroad. Under her own name, she has featured extensively at venues and festivals around the country such as the Sydney Festival and SIMA Women’s International Jazz Festival. She has also been an integral part of projects that have seen her move across a wide range of genres, working with an impressive list of Australian greats.

Among many projects, Virna performed alongside a selection of Australia's finest singers including Wendy Matthews and Katie Noonan, as part of the concert series Joni: A Tribute to the Legendary Joni Mitchell, performing at concert halls around the country. She toured with Paul Kelly, Vika & Linda Bull and the Australian Art Orchestra as part of Meet Me In The Middle Of The Air, led by Paul Grabowsky. Virna went on to collaborate with Grabowsky on The Italian Project, a musical exploration of Virna’s Italian heritage, resulting in a series of sold out shows and highly acclaimed festival appearances in Sydney and Melbourne. The theme of cultural exploration continued with Crossroads, a project co-led with pianist and fellow Armenian Zela Margossian, presented by the Sydney Improvised Music Association.

As well as feature performances, Virna is a sought after backing vocalist and has toured and performed with many iconic Australian artists, from Delta Goodrem to Cold Chisel guitarist and vocalist, Ian Moss. In 2023, Virna toured Australia and the UK as vocal director and backing vocalist with Savage Garden front-person Darren Hayes. She performs regularly with David Campbell, sharing duets and contributing backing vocals. 

Virna has worked consistently as a studio session singer for close to 25 years and during this time has collaborated closely with composers, arrangers and producers. She has contributed vocals for a variety of applications including albums, soundtracks, commercials and tracked backing vocals for large-scale broadcast concerts and events.