Kavisha Mazzella, singer, song writer, choir leader

_{KAVISHA MAZZELLA A.M.}

_{AWARD WINNING SINGER SONGWRITER,}_{CHOIR LEADER and SOUNDHEALER}

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

photo © Manuele .Viva Photography WA

" Kavisha Mazzella AM is an Australian singer-songwriter and composer whose music has Mediterranean, gypsy and Celtic influences .Influenced by her rich multicutural background ( Italian and Celtic-Burmese ) she pays respect to folk traditions whilst creating new music . She first came to national attention in 1993 through the film The Joys Of The Women an award winning documentary by Franco Di Chiera about her founding an italian diaspora community choir "The Joys Of The Women" choir in Fremantle WA in 1989 .The film also shows her search for her roots through traditional Italian Folk music .She also went on to form more choirs such as The Voice Of The Moon - La Voce Della Luna in Melbourne from 1996-2013

1998 saw Kavisha winning an ARIA for Best World Music release Fisherman's Daughter .In 2000 the Italian Government awarded Kavisha the "Italia Nel Mondo" Award for her work promoting Italian Culture in Australia through choirs such as La Voce Della Luna Italian Women's Choir .

. La Voce Della Luna's moving version of version of Va Pensiero is featured in Aaron Wilson's 2023 film Little Tornadoes.

Kavisha is bilingual, with a passion for sharing traditional songs as well as composing her music which reflects the experiences of the Diaspora . Her song focus on social justice, community building and the search for deeper meaning .Her performances are filled with humour, wit and warmth.

.2024 has been a big year for Kavisha .She was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024 by Folk Alliance Australia and also was awarded a life membership of one of Australia's premier multicultural music organisations The BOITE .Kavisha continues her passion for sharing culture through music with her formation of Lingua Madre Italian Folk Choir in Melbourne

BOOK KAVISHA to play at your event on +61 (0)412893355

Kavisha Gigs 2024

Kavisha back in OZ

SUN OCT 13th 12.00pm - 8.30pm Segmento Tarantella Festival 5 Uniting Lane Bulla VIC

MON OCT 14th LINGUA MADRE CHOIR Term 4 commences 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill

TUES OCT 15th 6.30pm Segmento Tarantella Festival

MON OCT 21st LINGUA MADRE CHOIR Term 4 at 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill.

SUN 27th OCT 5pm (donation) EMPTY SKY kirtan and meditation at Southport Saint Kilda Uniting Church

MON OCT 28th LINGUA MADRE CHOIR Term 4 at 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill

NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES TOUR

NOV 1st- 3rd TARANTA FESTIVAL BELLENGEN NSW

MON NOV 4th NO CHOIR

Thursday NOV 7th 2pm - Singing is the Home Of Love Healing Songs VOCAL Workshop BOOK HERE Please Join Kavisha learning beautiful chants and songs to heal your Body, Mind and Soul . No experience necessary All welcome at the Never Never Mind Cafe DORRIGO .

Sat 9th NOV 4pm Kavisha in Concert afternoon concert with special guest Giri Mazzella

BOOKINGS HERE at the Never Never Mind Cafe Dorrigo NSW

Enquiries please text Annie Arnold 0431473498

MON NOV 11th LINGUA MADRE Italian Folk CHOIR Term 4 at 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill

SAT 16th NOVEMBER 7.30pm At Coolroom Castlemaine

A special collaboration between Kavisha and Solomon Islands Master songwriter

and storyteller Charles Maimorosa BOOK HERE

Presented as part of the 2024 World Music Series at The Coolroom at the Northern Arts Hotel

MON NOV 18th LINGUA MADRE Italian Folk CHOIR Term 4 at 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill

MON NOV 25th LINGUA MADRE Italian Folk CHOIR Term 4 at 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill

MON DEC 2nd LINGUA MADRE Italian FolkCHOIR Term 4 at 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill

MON DEC 9th LINGUA MADRE Italian Folk CHOIR Term 4 at 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill

MON DEC 16th Final LINGUA MADRE Italian Folk CHOIR Term 4 at 7pm St Marks 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill

2025 AUSTRALIAN TOUR
FEB 9th -16th CHARLOTTE'S PASS

Mount KOSIOSKO WALKING AND SINGING

Beautiful walk lead by Jo Cresswell and singing with Kavisha BOOK HERE SOON to claim your space for this amazing get away !

BIOG of KAVISHA MAZZELLA AM

"ARIA award winner, songbird and folkloric explorer Kavisha's original song's lyrical ingredients include humour, poetry, social justice and the spiritual. Combine this prowess with the voice of an angel and you have the experience of a Kavisha concert. Singing in English, Italian and other languages, she will take you on an uplifting boundary riding journey of well-crafted stories and songs ringing with echoes of Celtic, Fado and Gypsy influences that will strike a resounding chord within. In 2011 she was awarded an Australia Day Honour for services to music and community. In 2023 she was awarded a Lifetime Contribution Award by Folk Alliance Australia for championing diversity in the folk music scene ."

BUY KAVISHA MUSIC HERE DONATE HERE BUY ME A COFFEE ! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Photo ©Cole Kelly 2024 Kavisha at Carmel Hall Cygnet Tasmania at Cygnet Folk Festival 2024

REVIEW From ITALY FROM THE ITALIAN BLOG POST SERENUS BLOOM OF Italian academic CIRO A R Abilitato.

"Kavisha Mazzella is an Italian-Australian singer-songwriter awarded prestigious international awards. She was born in London and resides in Melbourne, Australia. Her mother is Anglo-Burmese, while her father is Neapolitan, originally from the enchanting island of Ischia, the largest of the Phlegraean archipelago, the ancient Pithecusa. Kavisha's lyrics reproduce original songs from the folk tradition of different cultures around the world. Only rarely have I heard a Neapolitan or Sicilian song sung so well even by my fellow countrymen, also due to the attention to accents and diction. Kavisha's songs are authentic lyrical masterpieces, offered with the voice of an angel in various languages: Italian, Neapolitan, Sardinian, Sicilian, French, Spanish, English. These are authentic melodic masterpieces in which Celtic, Fado, Catalan, bardic, Gothic and Gypsy mix lively with truly original effects. Kavisha Mazzella's songs are stories woven of weightless grace and traditional gems that carry within them a great sense of poetry and lyrical depth. This singer possesses the remarkable ability to effortlessly throw her clear and beautiful voice into a microphone, from a meter away, almost like a ventriloquist, and to move from side to side across the stage to fill it with delicate and vibrant sonority. all the surrounding space. Something that really goes beyond words. Her warm and passionate voice conveys emotions that touch her heart. Her energy and love of music are contagious." CIRO A R Abilitato

LINGUA MADRE ITALIAN language Folk Choir TERM Mondays OCT 14th -DEC 16th 7pm

Lingua Madre is Melbournes newest Italian language choir. We share not only singing

but Coffee, Biscotti and great recipes that our nonni have made ! Please note

WE REHEARSE Monday evenings 7pm

We celebrate Australia's amazing Italian immigrants and all they have bought here to Australia !

We sing beautiful traditional italian folk songs of work , love ,death, protest and hope that come from all regions of italy and resonate through at least 600 years of singing if not more

We learn harmonies, dialects language and community sharing with stories and recipes in a safe caring environment at Saint Marks Community Church 100 Hodgkinson St Clifton Hill Melbourne Victoria Australia

FEE= $200/$150 concession

Please note - scholarship on a sliding scale for hardship is also available

please contact Kavisha 0412893355 LINGUA Madre is on Facebook

PHOTO GALLERY

LINGUA MADRE Italian Folk Choir after rehearsal!

Kavisha with Valdo Cantiamo in Tuscany

Cantiamo 2024 Here we are in the world' s tiniest Opera House in Vetriana ,Tuscany Sept 2024 .

Kavisha and Trudy Edgeley ...YES!!!! SEPT 2024

JOYS of the WOMEN 30th Anniversary celebration in Brisbane in July 2023 with Family and Director Franco Di Chiera

Kavisha with Trio Riturnella - NIC LYON and Jack NORTON in Castlemaine

Sam & Dave De Santi , Giri Mazzella at JOYS of the Women 30th Anniversary celebration Brisbane

WARLAYIRTY ARTS CENTRE 35th Anniversary Concert BALGO WA Aug 22 with Giancarlo Mazzella & kids

Collaborating with Kenny Dawson Goondiyandi singer songwriter and visual artist from Yiyili WA

SINGING in Villa Corsano,Ville di Corsano ,Tuscany ITALY Cantiamo Choral Tour 2015

HEARTLPLACE CHOIR FREMANTLE WA 2020 - 2023

At the NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL BUDAWANG STAGE 2023

On Tour with the WOODY GUTHRIE SONGS OF FREEDOM SHOW with BRUCE HEARN and the MACCHINISTS Brisbane Powerhouse 2017

Kavisha founded La Voce Della Luna Italian Women's Choir in Melbourne in 1996 and directed them until 2013 LISTEN HERE

SHENPEN SOUNDHEALING

In 2018-2021 Kavisha studied Integral Sound healing with SHA international Bristol UK and is a qualified level 2 One on One Sound healer .

Her teachcers were Tony Nec , Sally Hutchinson of Soundhealing Journeys and Anne Ridgeway of Laxshmi Sound Sanctuary

She has called her Soundhealing practice " Shenpen" which in tibetan means of benefit to all . her Facebook Page is HERE

Sound with intention creates a beautiful healing journey for you at Shenpen Soundhealing .

Sessions $100 per hour at Kavisha's studio

BOOK YOUR SESSION HERE ph 0412893355

What are the benefits of sound healing?
Some of the most highly reported benefits of music therapy and sound healing that is experienced over time
(say 4 sessions a month )
include:
Reduced stress.
Fewer mood swings.
Lower blood pressure.
Lower cholesterol levels.
Better pain management.
Reduced risk of strokes and coronary artery disease.
Improved sleep.

and most importantly
self knowledge ...self awareness... and self realisation !

Good News!!! NDIS Funding is available. Sound Healing is categorised as Sound Therapy .

price is $100 per hour session - one on one
To book your session via email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TESTIMONIALS
( after 4 sessions over a month )

"I highly recommend the use of this modality.it can go where alot of other healing techniques can't. Kavisha is a natural in this field"AG

"I would encourage people to do soundhealing as it os stimulating on all levels.ones awareness of health is increased through relaxing into the vibrations of sound energy and being immersed in quiet attention "K M

"My levels of Stress have decreased and my ability to let go and relax have improved enormously" DW

" I felt more in tune with my true nature.i was seeing my true self more clearly I became more confident to be myself.(i experienced )Self Acceptance and let go of alot of resistance to my true nature which is a very loving being.Its a necessary experience . Everyone should try it ! " PH

"The healer (Kavisha) was empathic,being well caring of the client (myself).I wholly recommend this process and know it will be helpful for clients "LE

EMPTY SKY SONG CIRCLE and introduction to World Kirtan

TESTIMONIAL "It was such a delight to experience Kavisha’s introduction to Kirtan. It was a beautifully crafted, calming, heart-centred and easy space for people to be in. I think it’s so important that festivals have quiet places where people can restore and reboot. " Jo Cresswell Artistic Director , 2023 National Folk Festival Australia

WHAT WE DO AT EMPTY SKY

After a break I am happy to return to Melbourne and teach what i have learned from doing the Empty Sky Kirtan and my various choirs over the years . One of my inspirations is to get people together to sing with passion whether they are experienced or not and to then enjoy the meditative silence generated from these songs. So this is a friendly inclusive Kirtan that is open to all world wisdom tradition .Open to all who wants to have a dip into the world of Bhakti heart opening songs. No experience is necessary but a desire to jump in !

All are welcome

We sit in a circle .Then I teach healing and beautiful heart opening chants from Sacred World Traditions that contain the lyrics of the mystic poets such as Rumi , Kabir ,Saint Francis of Assisi and others.We sing for a while and the energy generated by all of us singing creates a moment when we stop and experience a beautiful silence together .The whole experience takes about an hour .

Here are some of the songs we sing at EMPTY SKY listen here

KAVISHA's LATEST CD

Empty Sky Sacred Songs and Chants

In SEPT 2018 I recorded these songs with my good friend veteran world musician Nicolas Lyon in Malmesbury .By March 2019 only 6 months later, it was ready for the world but COVID came along ! Time to lockdown so we never had a chance to launch it properly ! However a few friends got copies and they say it got them through the difficult lockdown which made me so happy that the music was healing and useful .We then launched it 4 years later at the 2023 Maldon Folk Festival !

The songs include a soulful version of Jarek Czechowicz's "Love, I call Your Name ", a reworking of the popular "Magnificence" by Peter Makena, my original melodies to traditional wisdom texts the Gayatri Mantra, Heart Sutra, Om Mani Padmi Hum, and the words of the mystic poets such as Kabir and Saint Francis. Finally ending with a rallying call for Mother Earth.

FULL REVIEW by Robbie Greig Melbourne Singer Songwriter , mentor and music teacher. March 2020

"What a beautiful CD it is! Especially in these distressing times, it has provided a calming and uplifting mood when it was most needed. THANK YOU." Jeannie Marsh- Melbourne singer and choir leader

"What it is ..is it calms me and makes me feel grounded and secure and it talks to a part of me which is beyond words .There's something about being from different traditions on one album that makes it absorbing. It touches different emotions from lament to uplift " Padma Locana ,Yoga teacher Melbourne

REVIEWS

PRAISE for Kavisha’s Music

EMPTY SKY

"Empty Sky is a pilgrimage to places in the world and in the mind where the sacred is still honoured. Through a selection of prayers, kirtans, chants, devotional poetry and songs of praise, Kavisha weaves a spell of beauty and tranquility. Flowing along like a gentle river, hypnotic, repetitive, timeless, it’s no surprise that that the album is intended as an aid to meditation and relaxation." Robbie Grieg

RITURNELLA

"Kavisha's new album of centuries-old Italian folk songs is a beautiful thing to hear - a great vehicle for these songs of the heart that have stood the test of time. She plays guitar, mandolin and accordion and the spare production lets her voice naturally shine."

Lucky Oceans ,ABC Radio National Weekly Planet. March 2014

“Riturnella is a beautiful collection of Italian folk songs from the 1400s onwards. Here, Kavisha Mazzella has returned to a collection of songs she heard many years ago on a friends cassette player that ultimately lead to her work with I Papaveri and La Voce Della Luna. These songs of love and loss from all over Italy are rendered starkly and exquisitely with Kavisha accompanying herself with some very fine guitar and mandolin work.”

Paul Barr Readings, Book and Music.****

LOVE AND SORROW Kavisha Mazzella Black Market Music **** (four stars)

‘TIS a musical match made in heaven, though forged in Melbourne during a break in one of Nano Stern’s tours. Local artist Kavisha Mazzella was destined to collaborate with the talented young Chilean, whose own work also exudes a Latin passion for life and travel, and a predisposition to break down musical and cultural barriers. Subtle multi-instrumental colouring from the album’s producer, allied to an exemplary sound engineering and mixing job by Harry Williamson, has helped convert a batch of characteristically well-crafted songs into Mazzella’s magnum opus. Love & Sorrow certainly has an epic sweep, reflecting the writer’s “travels and misadventures” near and far, the former in the case of the evocative St Kilda Lullaby, which poetically encapsulates the raffish charms of Melbourne’s beachside suburb in lines like: “Luna Park’s mask is grinning and blowing the breeze through the dark / The winos are dancing with shadows and glancing for cops as they sleep in the park”. Gecko Song, on the other hand, captures the velvety ambience of a tropical Southeast Asian night via a combination of Mazzella’s Balinese flute, Stern’s marimba and ukulele, and Williamson’s gamelan gong. Elsewhere, the South American’s nylon-string guitar and harmony singing provide simpatico support to the leader’s emotional vocals in Gethsemane and Magdalena. Charango adds a whiff of Andean air to Green Eyed Songbird. Mandolin and fiddle lend a classic British folk feel to All You Sailors.

Tony Hillier *** and a Half

THE FEARLESS NOTE by JOHN SHAND Sydney Morning Herald 7/10

Recorded live in Melbourne, The Fearless Note catches such a strong sensation of intimacy that it is if Kavisha Mazzella is singing for your ears alone. This is crucial, because it ensures you are drawn into the dream worlds of her lyrics: hazes of words that suddenly snap into focus and impale you on a thought, a sentiment or a memory. Often they contain observations from her travels, so the effect is like images drifting past a rainy train window, although she can also lighten the mood with a song like Philosophy Man (“I’m in love with a philosophy man who cannot fix my car”).

LIVE PERFORMANCE REVIEW BY BILL LAWRIE and Photo by CLARE MOODY

"Kavisha takes the stage with John Reed, with whom she first played in 1981 and with whom she has performed many times, notably in the band ‘Rich and Famous’ in the late 1980s-early 90s. John plays cittern, a bouzouki type instrument, as well as ukulele. He also provides some back up harmony and irreverent humour. Kavisha has her nylon string guitar and her amazing voice. There is an easy rapport and fine musical understanding between two first-class musicians.

From the first song, the haunting ‘Invisible/Indivisible’, Kavisha has, not just a voice but an approach to the performance that is all conviction, as if she is out to join heaven and earth. Some moments have the immediacy of a nearby lighting strike. She tells a story about folk music legend Liam Clancy telling her to banish the internal critic and “see the song inside”, then moves into ‘The Fearless Note’ a song about authenticity in life and song. There are more songs about people and places by the sea from Fremantle and around the world. One song about street life and generosity in St Kilda sounds like it would have been a great duet with L Cohen, another servant of the song. Folk music at its best."

Full review here Kavisha at Joanna's Candlight Soiree

TESTIMONIALS

"Gene and I agree that when we attend festivals, Kavisha impresses with her supportive attitude to fellow performers" DR TONY SMITH

"Your beautiful warm heart, music and songs were the perfect antidote for us here in Melbourne at present when we are in the midst of so much doom and gloom.The feedback from all the singers has been overwhelmingly positive and grateful for your sessions - and we can't thank you enough!"

Jonathon Welch AM ( Choir Of Hard Knocks Founder) Melbourne International Singers Festival

"Like all great artists, you bring so much joy into peoples' lives and make it possible for them to get out of their noise ... and ... rest with their feelings ... that's a teacherless teaching. "Robert G

******

"What an absolutely fabulous performance you spoilt us with!! Thank you." Margot Leake, Albany Entertainment Centre WA

******

"Just wanted to say a heart felt thank you for the wonderful workshop and concert at Woy Woy last week. It was such fun - the Seven Hundred Rolls song is truly fabulous. You not only sing like an angel, you know how to get other people to sing. What a gift. " Grace - workshop participant

"I have seen Kavisha concerts for years and have her Dvd's so when I heard she had a choir it seemed the one to try. It has met my expectations being an informal fun class but we do learn. My son- in- law mentioned my singing round the house has improved ! You can change anyrhing you want!!!!" Ange Heartplace Choir member

*****

On the Ganges 2008 with philosphy Man !

BUY YOUR CDS HERE or PURCHASE Kavisha's Albums of Digital Music on Bandcamp

$25 CD plus $10 postage, you can pay here paypal.me/mazzellamusic

Please write to Mazzella Music ; WabiSabi House 338 Rathmines St VIC 3122

or email kavisha(at)kavisha.com THANKYOU !

KAVISHA'S CATALOGUE

EMPTY SKY sacred songs and chants ( 2019 ) CDS and also digitally on Bandcamp
The Fearless Note (2017) also Digitally available on Bandcamp
Riturnella (2014 ) Italian folksongs of 600 years also Digitally available on Bandcamp
Love and Sorrow ( 2010 )also Digitally available on Bandcamp
Silver Hook Tango ( 2003 )also Digitally available on Bandcamp
Fisherman's Daughter (1998 ) also Digitally available on Bandcamp
Mermaids In The WEll ( 1995 ) also Digitally available on Bandcamp
Canberra Cork Calgary...live (2000) also Digitally available on itunes

Kavisha on ABC Radio Conversation HOUR with JON FAINE and Ralph McTell and mysterious box player!

MY Yo utube Channel - INTERVIEWS plus Songs in Alphabetical Order

RECENTLY DISCOVERED !

an interview with SHANKAR KASYNATHAN for RADIO Community Radio 94.9 MAIN FM

COMING SOON 2024 - a short Documentary about Italian folk influence in Australia "Echoes of a Tradition "

MARCH 21st 2024 FISHERMAN'S DAUGHTER live at Kew Courthouse with ROSARIO DE MARCO

MARCH 1st 2024 WORLD MUSIC CAFE PERTH Episode 4 Learning Burmese Cooking with my cousin!

JULY 27th 2023 INTERVIEW with ADA GUGLIELMO of FREMANTLE RADIO about her first choir JOYS OF THE WOMEN reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the film Joys Of The Women by Franco Di Chiera

July 23 2023 PODCAST / YOUTUBE CONVERSATIONS Kavisha with Canadian musician LEAH ROSEMAN
VA PENSIERO Kavisha with La Voce Della Luna Italian Choir featuring Kavisha from the album "Luna Yarra" produced by Paul Petran -AS FEATURED IN Australian Filmmaker Aaron Wilson's 2021 accaimed FILM "LITTLE TORNADOES "

AL GRASSBY'S Grandfather with Neil Adam,Judy Turner and Spanish band from the Asturias FELPEYU
AMOUR from Love and Sorrow 2011
ALL GODS BEGGARS from Silver Hook Tango 2003
ALL YOU FASCISTS with BRUCE HEARN and the MACCHINISTS 2017
BELLA CIAO di Risaia with I Viaggiatori Italian Folk from Suitcase Serenada 2011
EMPTY SKY CHANTS and SACRED SONGS session LIVE Aug 2020
FISHERMAN'S DAUGHTER from Fisherman's Daughter 1998
GECKO SONG from Love and Sorrow 2011
INVISIBLE INDIVISIBLE from Mermaids In The Well 1995
KINDNESS OF STRANGERS Xmas Carol 2016
LOVE and JUSTICE Choir Women's Anthem with VICTORIAN WOMEN'S TRUST CHOIR 2008
LOVESWING (Kabir) 2021
LOVE I CALL YOUR NAME by Jarek Czecowicz from Empty Sky 2020
MEET ME TONIGHT live with Matthew at the Lomond OCT 2023
NIGRA SUM from MARE PROFUNDO Kavisha ,Irine Vela and Richard Tedesco with Boite Millenium Chorus 2006
PHILOSOPHY MAN live performance at Kidogo Arthouse Fremantle NOV 2021
RITURNELLA from Riturnella Italian Folk songs 2014
ROSE IN THE BONES from Silver Hook Tango 2003
SHE MOVES THROUGH THE FAIR from Mermaids In The Well 1995
SING FOR NO ONE from The Fearless Note 2017
TO THE RIVER co written with Arnold Zable
TWO GOOD MEN (Sacco and Vanzetti) with BRUCE HEARN and the MACCHINISTS 2017
THE FEARLESS NOTE from The Fearless Note 2017
VENEZUELA from Silver Hook Tango 2003
VENEZUELA LIVE at the LOMOND with MAtthew OCT 2023

VIVA SARA Live with Matthew Arnold on violin at the LOMOND ACOUSTICA JUly 3rd 2024
VULUMBRELLA Italian Folk Song from Mermaids In The Well 1995
WE ARE ANGELS from Mermaids In The Well 1995
WEDDING SHEETS from Suitcase Serenata 2010
WOODY GUTHRIE SHOW from BRUCE HEARN and the MACCHINISTS 2017