Bella Sorella

Bella Sorella—Nova and Susanna Jiménez with piano and violin accompaniment—is an award-winning soprano ensemble that combines classical and contemporary styles in melodic duets. Bella Sorella’s ethereal music, magnetic stage presence and remarkable personal story has earned them acclaim and recognition throughout the United States and abroad.

With music that spans more than 300 years and seven languages, Bella Sorella has dazzled audiences throughout California at dozens of venues, including Villa Montalvo, the Empire Plush Room, El Campanil Theatre, Community Concerts Concord, AT&T Park, Santa Clara University, San José State University, the San José Italian Festa, the San Diego Indie Music Fest, Lyceum Theater, Cal State Fullerton, La Jolla Athenaeum, Ridgecrest, Bishop, Arroyo Grande, and Poway. Abroad the ensemble traveled to Nagoya, Japan, where they were featured musicians at the Villaggio Italia’s Primavera Festival.

Bella Sorella’s angelic sound has graced the airwaves of radio stations in the Bay Area and Japan, and they have given live television performances on NBC in San Diego and the Bay Area’s Bruce Latimer Show, the longest-running television variety show in the United States. The Los Angeles Music Awards unanimously selected Bella Sorella as the 2007 Vocal Group of the Year.

In 2009, acclaimed composer and arranger Ed Goldfarb joined Bella Sorella’s musical team as music director. Having worked for over 10 years as musical director for Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco, and with the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, k.d. lang, Boyz II Men and Sean Paul, Goldfarb brings a wealth of experience and creative talent to Bella Sorella. Their 2009-2010 touring season will take them to Oregon, Washington, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and California.

The beauty and sincerity of Bella Sorella’s music reflect the love and friendship Nova and Susanna share. Fate brought them together as roommates during their freshman year at University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music in Stockton, California. As vocal performance majors, they shared all of the same classes and their common love of music made Nova and Susanna best friends. The two discovered their vocal chemistry when they began spontaneously singing songs with two-part harmony as a break from long hours of study. They were excited by their unique sound and searched the library for opera and art-song duet repertoire. They then brought these beautiful duets to life in concert throughout their college years.

Fate brought Nova and Susanna together again as roommates and best friends at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. While carrying a full load of classes, taking voice lessons and rehearsing for opera productions, they made ends meet by working the 6:00 a.m. shift at a local café in Boston’s Back Bay. They often sang during their shifts, and customers began requesting songs. These occasional, impromptu performances soon turned into regular one-hour salon concerts for audiences that packed the store on Sunday afternoons. Nova and Susanna eventually took their act to larger audiences, debuting at Boston’s famous Hatch Shell Theater as part of WCRB Radio’s Summer Concert Series.

Susanna eventually moved back to California while Nova remained on the East Coast to pursue independent singing careers. But nothing provided the joy that they found in singing together. Nova came back to the West Coast to join Susanna in forming Bella Sorella. The marriage of their voices mirrors their personal life. Nova and Susanna married brothers, hence the name, Bella Sorella, “Beautiful Sister.”

 

Bella Sorella Musicians   
Joyce Lee, violin
Danielle Naler, piano

 

Joyce Lee has been appearing in performances around the country with Bella Sorella since 2008. She began formal music studies on piano at age four and violin at age twelve and is an alumna of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), where she received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance. She has traveled to Europe on tour with the San Francisco Youth Orchestra, to New Orleans to play with the Louisiana Philharmonic, to Las Vegas to play as concertmaster of the summer festival orchestra and to Indianapolis to play in a workshop with William Preucil. She performs regularly with the Santa Rosa Symphony, with the Vallejo Symphony as assistant concertmaster, and with the Marin, Stockton, Napa and Symphony Silicon Valley Symphonies. With the Nova Vista Symphony, she has soloed and served as concertmaster. In addition to teaching both violin and piano privately as well as accompanying students and colleagues, Joyce coaches young musicians at Summer Music West, a chamber music program at SFCM. She also organizes chamber ensembles for events such as weddings, luncheons and art exhibits. For more information and upcoming performances, please visit www.joyouslee.com

Danielle Naler received her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, as a student of Yael Weiss. She was awarded a graduate assistantship and was involved in coaching singers and accompanying rehearsals of operas including Carmen, Don Giovanni, and Arabella, with acclaimed conductors such as David Effron and Klauspeter Seibel. Danielle earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of California at Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies. She has also served as a rehearsal pianist for the UCSB Opera program and studied chamber music with Anne Epperson. In 2008, Danielle was awarded the Sir Daniel Donahue fellowship for study in the Collaborative Piano program at the Music Academy of the West, under the direction of Jonathan Feldman from the Juilliard School. Currently, Danielle is a staff accompanist for the Livermore Valley Opera and a staff pianist at Las Positas College, as well as a freelance pianist throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. She teaches piano and music theory at Inspire Music Academy in Pleasanton, CA and through her private studio.

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