Vanya Van Essen

Born in southeast Brazil in a close community, Vanya Van Essen and her four siblings were surrounded by people of varying nationalities with deep and poignantly different philosophies of life. From a young age, Vanya was bombarded with alternatives that later created a way for her to soulfully and holistically discover her own vision, and her own identity. But the richness of such an upbringing, the understanding of the idiosyncrisies and layers of peoples souls provided her with a sensitive and complex view of the world which comes through in her music.

Vanya has been involved with music since childhood, performing and writing, experimenting with various genres and languages and learning piano and acoustic guitar. This passion was woven throughout her university days, alternating between being the intense focus and being sidelined by her nursing degree; a degree which she later used as an avenue to work with homeless youth in Los Angeles. After completing her degree, Vanya returned wholeheartedly to the music scene, performing in Los Angeles and in Orange County on a regular basis. In 2004, Vanya and her husband decided to move back to Brazil to work on a recording project while delving back into her Brazilian roots. Recently, they moved to Seattle where she is investing herself fully into music. Vanya has been playing regularly at various venues in the greater Seattle area and has a weekly show on Wednesday nights. Vanyas unique voice and sound are reminiscent of Sarah Mclachlan, Natalie Merchant, and Adriana Calcanhotto. Her voice is raw and powerful as she sings in English and in Portuguese. Employing a deep, bassy acoustic guitar and piano, Vanya is not afraid to address the complexities of day to day living. A common theme in her lyrics is the souls search in the face of these mysteries that life brings. Her songs tell a story whose themes can resonate with the most extraordinary and the most ordinary realities of the human experience.