Shara Nova (previously Worden) is the lead singer and songwriter for

My Brightest Diamond My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova. The band has released five studio albums and a remix album, five studio EPs and four remix EPs, and made several tours across the United States. Histo ...

. As a composer she is most recognized for her choral compositions and the baroque chamber opera "You Us We All". New music composers Sarah Kirkland Snider, David Lang, Steve Mackey and

Bryce Dessner Bryce David Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American composer and guitarist based in Paris, as well as a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother Aaron is also a member of the group. Together they write the music, in coll ...

have composed pieces for Nova's voice. She has recorded as a guest vocalist with

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy ( lead vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion), Nate ...

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

Jedi Mind Tricks Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) are an American underground hip hop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1996 by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 19 ...

The Blind Boys of Alabama The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a changing roster ...

and Stateless as well as extensive collaborations with visual artists

Matthew Ritchie Matthew Ritchie (born 1964) is a British artist who currently lives and works in New York City. He attended the Camberwell School of Art from 1983 to 1986. He describes himself as "classically trained" but also points to a minimalist influence. ...

and

Matthew Barney Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well ...

. She was formerly the

frontwoman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

of AwRY. On March 3, 2016, Shara legally changed her last name from Worden to Nova after divorcing her ex-husband, to whom she had been married most of her adult life.

Life

Nova was born in

El Dorado, Arkansas El Dorado, founded by Matthew Rainey, is a city in, and the county seat of, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 18,884. El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...

. Her father was an accordion player and choir director and her mother was an organist for their

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

church. Nova's uncle Donald Ryan, a classical and jazz pianist and arranger, taught her piano lessons as a child. Nova's family moved to many different states when she was a child, including significant time in

Sapulpa, Oklahoma Sapulpa is a city in Creek and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 20,544 at the 2010 United States census, compared to 19,166 at the 2000 census. The population as of 2022 is 22,205. As of 2019, the estimated popul ...

, and

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

. Nova graduated from the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

with a BA in vocal performance. After college, she lived in Moscow, Russia, for a year where she studied Russian and wrote songs, producing a self-released, limited edition EP, ''Session I''. She moved to New York City, where she continued to study

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

with Josephine Mongiardo. In 2009 Nova moved to Detroit, Michigan. She married in 1997 and divorced in 2016, legally changing her name from Worden (her ex-husband's surname) to Nova. With her ex-husband she has one child, Constantine Jamesson Worden, born in 2010.

Career

In 2001, Nova self-released two albums in collaboration with guitarist Shane Yarbrough under the moniker Awry, ''The Orange Album'' and ''Quiet B Sides''. A short tour followed the release of the albums, after which the band dissolved. In 2002 and 2003, Nova wrote music for

Adam Rapp Adam Rapp (born June 15, 1968) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician and film director. His play ''Red Light Winter'' was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006. Early life Rapp was born in Chicago to Mary Lee (née Baird; died ...

's play ''Trueblinka'' (directed by Simon Hammerstein) and subsequently for Hammerstein's production of

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

's ''Men Without Shadows'' (''Morts sans sépulture''). She began studying composition with Padma Newsome during this time. Then in 2004 she began touring in Sufjan Stevens' band to support his album "Michigan". In 2006, she released the album "Bring Me The Workhorse" o
Asthmatic Kitty Records
under the moniker My Brightest Diamond and was nominated for Female Artist of the Year in the

PLUG Independent Music Awards The PLUG Independent Music Awards, or just PLUG Awards, began in 2001 as a "cartel" of music lovers ranging from DJs and managers to indie retailers and fans. Winners Album of the Year Americana Album of the Year Avant Album of the Year DJ ...

. The My Brightest Diamond albums "A Thousand Shark's Teeth" (2008), "All Things Will Unwind" (2011), and "This Is My Hand" (2014) were also released on Asthmatic Kitty Records. Nova became a Kresge performing arts fellow in 2012.

Collaborations

She made a guest appearance on the

album ''

Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell ''Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell'' is the fifth studio album by hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. It was released September 19, 2006 through Babygrande Records. The first single, " Heavy Metal Kings", featuring Ill Bill of La Coka Nostra, was r ...

'' in 2006 and on the

Vinnie Paz Vincenzo Luvineri (born October 5, 1977), better known as Vinnie Paz (formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram), is a Sicilian Americans, Sicilian American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks ...

album ''Season of the Assassin'' in 2010. In 2008 Nova sang as a background vocalist for

during five performances at The Rose Theater for the show ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

''. She performed guest vocals on "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" and "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing" from the 2009 album by

, ''

The Hazards of Love ''The Hazards of Love'' is the fifth album by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released through Capitol Records and Rough Trade in 2009. The album was inspired by an Anne Briggs EP titled '' The Hazards of Love''. According to the ...

'', singing vocals for the part of "The Queen". She also performed with The Decemberists on their "A Short Fazed Hovel Tour" along with Becky Stark from

Lavender Diamond Lavender Diamond is an American, Los Angeles-based band, fronted by singer Becky Stark. History While living in Providence, Rhode Island, Stark began performing as Lavender Diamond in a play that she and puppeteer Xander Marro wrote, created a ...

. She performed vocals on Sufjan Stevens' album '' The Age of Adz'', notably taking the lead during a section of "Impossible Soul". Nova performed in and wrote the song "Nine" for Bryce and Aaron Dessner's multi-media performance ''The Long Count'' with texts and images by

. ''The Long Count'' was performed at the Krannert Center (2009), BAM (2009), the

Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and archite ...

(2012) and the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

(2012). In January 2012 Nova performed the premiere of the song cycle ''Death Speaks'' by David Lang with pianist

Nico Muhly Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...

, violinist

Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett (born September 7, 1979) is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their erstwhile moniker of Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album ''He Poos Clouds''. Pallet ...

and guitarist

. In 2015, Nova provided vocals for Sarah Kirkland Snider's Unremembered, and debuted her opera (co-written with Andrew Ondrejcak), ''You Us We All,'' in the United States.

Compositions

* ''Letters from Charles'': fo
yMusic
Performed at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...

in Tribeca. Performed March 2010. * ''A Paper, A Pen, A Note to a Friend'': for yMusic. Released on ''Beautiful Mechanical'' (

New Amsterdam Records New Amsterdam Records is a record label in New York City that was formed in 2008 by Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and William Brittelle to promote classically trained musicians who fall between traditional genre boundaries. Often abbrev ...

2011). * ''A Whistle, A Tune, A Macaroon'': for yMusic. Released on ''Beautiful Mechanical'' (New Amsterdam Records 2011). * ''Skin and Bones'': for yMusic * ''From the Invisible to the Visible'': for organist James McVinnie and violist Nadia Sirota commissioned by MusicNOW festival in March 2012. Released on the album ''Baroque'' (Bedroom Community 2013) * ''The Pyramid Songs'' : 3 songs fo
The Brooklyn Youth Chorus
first performed by the choir at Crossing Borders Festival at BAM in New York, May 2012. * ''Kings of Macedonia'': music for brass quartet, drums and choir fo
Andrew Ondrejcak
s play ''Kings of Macedonia''. She also performed in the play as the character The Whore in May 2012 at

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founde ...

. * ''Phase 1 & III'': music for marching band. Performed by The Detroit Party Marching Band (2013) for the opening ceremonies of Art X. Funded by

The Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, enviro ...

. * ''The Pleiades'': 5 songs for the Young New Yorkers' Chorus. Commissioned 2013. * ''YOU, US, WE, ALL'': Nova composed the music for a baroque opera designed and directed by Andrew Ondrejcak; performed in Antwerp, Belgium, May 2013.

Discography

Solo albums

Collaborations and guest appearances

Credited as Shara Worden

=Significant album contributions

=Individual songs

With AwRY

With My Brightest Diamond

Collaborations and compilation contributions

References

External links

Thelmagazine.comAsthmatickitty.comPacificlectic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nova, Shara American women composers 21st-century American composers American women pianists Living people University of North Texas College of Music alumni 1974 births People from Ypsilanti, Michigan Singers from Michigan 20th-century American composers 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Michigan 20th-century American women singers My Brightest Diamond members 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American pianists 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers