Desna Sisarich (born c. 1946)''Studio One''
1968 - Sisarich composition (and info about her age) appears at 3:55 in part 2.

NZ On Screen NZ On Screen is a state-funded online promotional showcase of New Zealand television and film. Funded by NZ On Air, it provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide ...

is a New Zealand pop singer who released a handful of songs in the 1970s. She was one of New Zealand's first woman singer/songwriters.Marc Saxon
''Desna Sisarich Profile''
18 November 2015,

AudioCulture AudioCulture is a New Zealand On Air funded online project billed as the "''Noisy Library of New Zealand Music''". Working with artists, historians and music industry people, the website tells the story of nearly 100 years of New Zealand popula ...

Bruce Sergent
''Desna Sisarich''
sergent.com.au

Biography

Sisarich was born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

to Croatian parents. Learning piano and guitar at a young age, her musical talent was not always obvious to her school peers due to her shyness and reluctance to perform publicly. She won a talent contest while visiting Auckland in 1964, and subsequently began singing with New Plymouth band the Nitelites while working as a reporter for the Transport Licensing Authority. In 1968 she appeared on the ''New Faces'' portion of the New Zealand talent show ''Studio One'', and also had one of her compositions performed by Yolande Gibson. In the early 70s Sisarich relocated to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and worked at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. There, she was in demand as a session vocalist and sang on several radio and television ads. In 1972 and 1973 she released three singles under her own name, ''Thought He Was a Friend of Mine'', ''Some Time in the Morning'' and ''Take My Life'', and had three songs on a rare live album recorded at the

Christchurch Town Hall The Christchurch Town Hall, since 2007 formally known as the Christchurch Town Hall of the Performing Arts, opened in 1972, is Christchurch, New Zealand's premier performing arts centre. It is located in the central city on the banks of the A ...

with Lutha,

Blerta Blerta (''"Bruno Lawrence's Electric Revelation and Travelling Apparition"'') was a New Zealand musical and theatrical co-operative active from 1971 until 1975. It was the idea of Bruno Lawrence to arrange a group of musicians, actors and fr ...

and Quincy Conserve. She was a support act for

Kenny Rogers and the First Edition Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, until 1970 billed as The First Edition, were an American rock band. The band's style was difficult to singularly classify, as it incorporated elements of country, rock and psychedelic pop. Its stalwart member ...

. She married drummer (and later music historian) Roger Watkins and became involved in managing the Wellington rock music venue Ziggy's. The club ran at a loss, largely financed by her day job, and eventually folded in the late 70s.John Dix
Ziggy's
18 February 2015,

Her last release was a 1976 New Zealand promotional record entitled ''You’re Our Way, Naturally New Zealand'', and her last television appearance was in 1978 on ''Song for the Pacific'', recorded at the Christchurch Town Hall. She has since retired from music.

References

External links

Sisarich at Worldcat Identities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisarich, Desna 1946 births Living people New Zealand women pop singers New Zealand women singer-songwriters New Zealand singer-songwriters New Zealand people of Croatian descent People from New Plymouth