Name: Bria Skonberg

Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, composer, trumpet player
Current Release: Bria Skonberg's new album Indigo is out via Cellar.
Local Recommendation: Chilliwack BC is famous for its corn! Be sure to visit in summer when it’s at its best and available. There are drive thrus LOL.
Things I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about: I think everyone should be in a band, or find a way to make music with others regardless of age. I’m a co-director of the New York Hot Jazz Camp which is an annual band camp for adults in the heart of New York City. Our past attendees range from 18-85 years old from 5 continents and it’s just beautiful to see people from all chapters and life experiences learn and grow, personally and together. It’s never too late to make music a part of your life and join the global community.
Thank you all very much for listening and sharing my music and joining this wild journey 💛🎺😊

If you enjoyed this Bria Skonberg interview and would like to stay up to date with her music and projects, visit her official website. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and bandcamp.  



When did you first consciously start getting interested in singing? What was your first performance as a singer on stage or in the studio and what was the experience like?

I loved singing as early as I can remember but was too shy to do it openly. I believe playing trumpet in the school band gave me the confidence and camaraderie to sing around others.

I tried out for the school play in 9th grade and earned the role of Sandy in Grease. I’ve been “hopelessly devoted” to singing ever since :)

If you're also playing other instruments, how does the expressive potential of these compare to your own voice?

I do most of my song writing at the piano, because it allows me to explore and access the emotions of harmony. My song “Anywhere” came from sitting at the piano, eyes closed, pressing keys and following what felt right.

When I write and perform with trumpet I feel it as an extension of my voice, but also with the more punctuated, explosive palette that brass and metal provide.

What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer/vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or teachers were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

I started taking private vocal lessons in college and my teacher bluntly asked if I want to learn the instrument or just sing songs. I chose to learn how the voice works, resonates, and started studying technique.

Since living in New York I’ve taken lessons with Roseanna Vitro and Alexis Cole who are both excellent teachers. Having more technique such as range, precision and breath control have allowed me to access more challenging melodies such as “I’m Glad There is You” and “We’ll be Together Again.”



Another vocalist named Banu Gibson taught me how to commit to each note, or in her words “If you’re going to sing, f’ing sing!”

What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

I love a unique timbre such as the slight rasp of Anita O’Day, June Christy, and Lauryn Hill. I also greatly admire the control, power and surety of Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald’s clarity of super swinging ideas.

Ultimately empathy is the most important ingredient as it speaks to your heart. For this reason perhaps my favorite vocalist is Eva Cassidy; she had everything, using her immense talent to tell stories through softness, saltiness, deep melancholy and blues with a singe.  



How would you describe the physical sensation of singing? [Where do you feel the voice, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or tension etc …]

Singing is the greatest release of tension, like a light emanating from your body.

I anchor in my feet, breathe deep into my abdomen and back, propel the air up to my vocal cords and feel the vibrations all throughout my throat, head and sinuses. I will refine the sound I wish to get by directing the air, shaping my mouth and positioning my jaw.

Singing is amazing. “Mood Indigo” has become one of my favorite songs to play with technique in an emotional way, and vice versa.



We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

With jazz I am often trying to elevate my speaking voice, and I like to approach singing in a conversational way.

That said, I’m working on speaking with better technique to be more gentle on my vocal cords. They inform each other.

How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?  

Melody and sentiment are the most important, harmony the most colorful, and rhythm is perhaps the most interesting and playful part of that equation for me.

What are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

I am constantly learning and growing with the instrument. Our voices change over time and it’s been so interesting to ride and challenge its possibilities as I get older.

I don’t think I’ve hit my full potential yet vocally, and the limits mainly exist in my mind. To that end, at this stage maybe the more I give up control, the more I may be able to achieve. I’ll keep you posted!

As a singer, it is possible to whisper at the audience, scream at the audience, reveal deep secrets or confront them with uncomfortable truths. Tell me about the sense of freedom that singing allows you to express yourself and how you perceive and build the relation with the audience.

I love nothing more than building from a whisper to a roar and knowing that the audience doesn’t know what will come next. Sometimes I don’t either because I like to take risks, but it’s about establishing trust and pacing the tension and density.  

I’m a fairly private person but by the end of a show I will have revealed wholly who I am.

I'd love to know more about the vocal performances for your latest release, please, and the qualities of your voice that you wanted to bring to the fore.  

Indigo is my first album where vocals are front and center; I’m used to toggling two instruments and figuring out how to blend the ideas and identities of the two. This album gave me a chance to focus and go deeper into nuances, cultivating breath like splitting silver hairs.

For songs such as “If You Go Away” I would think about speaking to someone directly, even right into their ears.



With a song like “Fragile” it would be about sustaining the cloud-like texture to fit with the arrangement.  



It was such a pleasurable experience to weave within Gil Goldstein’s soundscapes and blend with the instrumentation.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

One of my songwriting principles is to take the pressure off of myself to sound “good”. I want the ideas to come out unfiltered and raw, and refine them later.

Some words resonate better based on their vowel shape, which is universally pleasing but it depends on the intention. I love singing Cole Porter because he’ll take an odd word and find a way to make it beautiful, like a puzzle. In “Just One Of Those Things” there’s a lyric about “gossamer wings”. Gossamer!  



I love sharing original music because it’s a chance to authentically express myself and find like-minded listeners, and further satisfied to share a familiar song that we collectively connect with.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

The biggest factor in vocal strain for me is lack of sleep and speaking too forcefully.

I had to work my way back from laryngitis twice over the last couple of years which gave me a tool kit for consistent vocal care. The most important factors are rest and hydration.

How has technology, such as autotune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

I don’t use any electronic processing live and at this point don’t need things to sound perfect. Perfect is boring.

I remember when Cher first used auto-tune as a stylistic choice and I think that’s how it makes the most sense. If you cultivate and start with good ingredients, you don’t need to process much.

For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What are some of the favourite recordings of your own voice so far and what makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?

Indigo is my best vocal recording to date, mainly because of the people behind the console.

My producer/manager Matt Pierson and I have worked together for over a decade through several chapters of my career, as well engineer Chris Allen. They know me and my voice very, very well. I trust them completely. They are indispensable in this process, and I welcome and expect their feedback to be consistent on stage.

Investing in a good vocal mic makes a difference and I credit our production guru Christine Vaindirlis for setting me on the right path with that. I travel with my own Neumann KMS 105.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression, and culture in general. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

That’s an interesting take which makes sense!

When my son was a baby I would exaggerate high pitches because it made him laugh, and consequently I stretched my range by a 4th. Five years later I’m implementing it into my music, go figure.

I strongly believe everyone can and should sing, whether it’s for and with others or starting in the shower. It’s the most cathartic, human thing to do with immeasurable benefit.