Whether fronting a swinging rhythm section, big band, orchestra or conducting a gospel choir, Julia Silvera is adept, sophisticated and musical. Her passion is the music, she sings and swings from the heart. One critic says, “Listen to the honey – no, the molasses – of her tone…. Just when you cozy into her velvet sound, she growls out a line that is motivated purely by swing. Phrasing around the rhythm and landing in the pocket, she swings, and swings hard.”
Silvera followed the advice given to her by one of her many mentors, diversify!- She received her Bachelor's Degree in Music, (Classical Vocal Performance) and her Masters' Degree in Choral Conducting from Washington State University while honing her skills as a jazz musician. She is a three-time Lionel Hampton winner in jazz voice and a two-time Downbeat Magazine Winner in the college vocal category. She also began to sing for and with some jazz contemporary greats, including Russell Malone, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Ira Sullivan and many more....
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Whether fronting a swinging rhythm section, big band, orchestra or conducting a gospel choir, Julia Silvera is adept, sophisticated and musical. Her passion is the music, she sings and swings from the heart. One critic says, “Listen to the honey – no, the molasses – of her tone…. Just when you cozy into her velvet sound, she growls out a line that is motivated purely by swing. Phrasing around the rhythm and landing in the pocket, she swings, and swings hard.”
Silvera followed the advice given to her by one of her many mentors, diversify!- She received her Bachelor's Degree in Music, (Classical Vocal Performance) and her Masters' Degree in Choral Conducting from Washington State University while honing her skills as a jazz musician. She is a three-time Lionel Hampton winner in jazz voice and a two-time Downbeat Magazine Winner in the college vocal category. She also began to sing for and with some jazz contemporary greats, including Russell Malone, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Ira Sullivan and many more.
She received a full scholarship to the prestigious University of Miami School of Studio Music and Jazz program where she completed her Doctorate in Musical Performance (DMA) in Jazz Vocal Performance while continuing to work with her own jazz trio. She added background vocalist to some of today's musical greats, including Josh Groban, Michael Bublé, George Benson, Gloria Estefan, Quincy Jones, Bernadette Peters and KC (of KC and the Sunshine Band) to her list of credits. Not neglecting her classical roots, she coached and sang with the fourth chorus with the Florida Grand Opera production of Verdi's, Aida, to celebrate the grand opening of the stunning Adrianne Arsht Center's Ziff Ballet and Concert Hall.
In 2010 she took up the mantle as choral conductor for the Unity on the Bay Choir in Miami, Florida. Under her leadership the choir blossomed musically, challenging itself to conquer not only the traditional gospel and spiritual repertoire, but the contemporary literature as well. The choir would go on to open for Take 6 at the Adrianne Arsht Center in Miami, one of the premier music centers in South Florida, the South Florida Book Fair, various major corporate and private engagements. Dr. Silvera would take her unique approach and passion for gospel music to the Blankenese Gospelchor in Hamburg, Germany, where she, at their invitation, conducted several workshops which resulted in a sold out concert. This series was so popular that she was immediately invited back not only as a clinician, but as performer to gave two more sold out concerts.
She coaches privately in both classical and contemporary styles of voice and piano and is in demand in the United States as well as Europe as a master clinician in jazz, popular vocal style and technique, as well as Gospel choral styles. Dr. Silvera has performed throughout the United States and Europe and for luminaries, including Mr. Donald Trump and his family and the wonderful Jesse Tyson, CEO of Exxon Mobile South America. She currently chairs the vocal panel for Youngarts. She is also a classically trained pianist, and arranger.
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