Maria Manna, (born as Maria Antonia Cocquio; February 26, 1961) is a Canadian singer, actress, and Ordained Minister. She was a judge for the 50th Canadian Juno Awards June 2021. She is known for her reign as "Klondike Kate" for the years 1999 and 2000. Manna was selected by the Edmonton Klondike Association to become Edmonton's Klondike Days Festival Ambassador and Headliner.

Life and career

Manna was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

to immigrant parents Danilo Cocquio, born in

Castiglione Olona Castiglione Olona is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Varese, in Lombardy. As of 31 December 2015, it has a population of 7,753 inhabitants. History The town of Castiglione Olona rose around the fifth century CE under the Roman Empire doma ...

, and Antonina Cantoro, born in Ortona Chieti. She received a diploma in hair styling at the

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is a applied sciences institute in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. NAIT provides careers programs in applied research, technical training, applied education, and learning designed to meet the deman ...

and then attained a diploma in Police Sciences with Distinct Honors in 1995 from the International Correspondence School of Canada. In 2000, Manna was owner and operator of the Maria Manna Etiquette and Finishing School. She also owned and operated a spa, Maria Manna Life Spa in 2002. Her 2000 album ''Klondike Kate in Bosnia'' featured her 10-city goodwill tour to

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

with Canadian peacekeepers to entertain international troops as Edmonton legend Klondike Kate. The Canadian military sponsored her fundraising CD, and she later filled a military plane with clothing, medical and school supplies. In 1999, Manna was diagnosed with a nodule on her

vocal cords In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speech ...

. After trying various alternative therapies, Manna chose to move forward with surgery, despite the 50% chance of permanent damage to her vocal cords. This surgery involved the removal of the nodule. The surgery was deemed successful, extending Manna's range from one

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

to three octaves. She has opened for

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

and performed with Paul Horn,

Tommy Banks Thomas Benjamin Banks (December 17, 1936 – January 25, 2018) was a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and senator. Television and musical career Banks was the host of nationally - and internationally - s ...

Alfie Zappacosta Alfredo Peter "Alfie" Zappacosta (born July 5, 1953), also known by just his surname, is an Italian-born Canadian musician. Career Zappacosta's first band was Surrender, a five-piece group that recorded three albums in the late 1970s and earl ...

and

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

. From April 2013 to April 2014, Manna undertook a donor relations coordinator position for the Victoria branch of

Mercy Ships Mercy Ships is an international charity that operates the largest non-governmental hospital ships in the world, providing humanitarian aid like free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs, ...

Canada, which operates charitable hospital ships that provide medicine and surgery to needy third world nations. In addition to her music, Manna is a contributing author to a work of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

: ''Earth Angels-Edition #1'' (2018) with the short story "Bella Figura". Manna was a host and producer on the musical competition ''Victoria Idol'', in 2009, the proceeds of which were donated to PEERS (Prostitute Empowerment Education and Resource Society). Manna's acting debut was in 2005 in ''The Engagement Ring'', a

made-for-TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

which featured

Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for '' St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...

and

Patricia Heaton Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on sitcoms, having played Debra Barone on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005) as well as Frances "Frankie" Heck on '' The Middl ...

. In 2010 Manna produced ''Vancouver Island's Got Talent'', a talent competition with proceeds funding the Maria Manna Bursary at the

Victoria Conservatory of Music Founded in 1964, the Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM) is a music school in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The VCM has earned an outstanding reputation of quality in education, performance and music therapy. As a music school for the whole ...

, a non-profit organization for children who cannot afford music lessons. In 2016 Maria produced and starred in a talk show called "Maria Manna City Chat, a 5 segment show for SHAW Television discussing common topics with a new angle. Manna is the co-founder and president of the Universal Jazz Advocates and Mentors Society, which is also known as U-JAMS. Manna performs to raise funds for charity and has helped raise $750 million. Manna is an ordained minister. Manna has volunteered with non-profit organizations The Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission, Canadian Bar Association Benevolent Society, Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders Society,

Royal Jubilee Hospital Royal Jubilee Hospital is a 500-bed general hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada located about east of the city centre, in the Jubilee neighbourhood (itself named after the hospital). Overview Its name commemorates the Golden Jubilee o ...

. Other projects include the Maria Manna Bursary Fund, established at the

to provide music lessons for talented children with socio-economic difficulties. Manna has performed at the Christmas Ladies of Jazz fundraiser for the Kidney Foundation of Canada at Hermann's Jazz Club with fellow musicians Maureen Washington and April Gislason.

Awards and honors

Manna received the Governor General's Sovereign's Medal for volunteers in 2016. On January 24, 2013, Manna was awarded the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award at Government House for her charitable work.

Discography

* ''Solo Amore'' (1993) * ''Klondike Kate in Bosnia'' (2000) * ''Maria Manna'' (2006) * ''With Love Maria Manna'' (2017)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manna, Maria 1961 births Living people Musicians from Edmonton Canadian women jazz singers