Kavisha Mazzella

Kavisha Mazzella
Mazzella on stage at the Cygnet Folk Festival, 1999
Background information
Birth name	Paola Mazzella
Born	London, UK
Genres	Folk world
Occupation(s)	Composer, musician, arranger, singer, songwriter, choirleader
Instrument(s)	Voice, guitar, accordion, mandolin,
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Mazzella Music

Kavisha Mazzella AM (pronounced KAV-eesh-a Mutt-Sel-la) is an Australian composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, activist and choirleader whose style has mediterranean, gypsie and Celtic influences.^[1] She won an ARIA Award for Best World Music Album for Fisherman's Daughter produced by Mick Thomas (ex Weddings Parties Anything) in 1998.^[2][3] Mazzella has released several studio albums independently. She is also a member of I Viaggiatori (The Travellers), an Italian folk band which play Italian folk music and independently released one studio album, Suitcase Serenata, in 2010.

Early life

Mazzella was born in 1959 in London, United Kingdom to an Italian father and an Anglo-Burmese mother. In the 1960s the family emigrated to Perth, Western Australia.^[4]

In 1981 through researching her Italian heritage Mazzella formed I Papaveri with brother Giri Antonio Mazzella and Sanjiva Gianni Margio playing Italian folk from the 14th century onwards.^[5] They released a cassette "Flowers in the Desert" in 1981.

In 1987 after returning from busking in Europe Mazzella formed the band Rich'N' Famous with Lee Buddle, Gary Burke, Reuben Kooperman, Peter Grayling including John Reed. Rich 'N' Famous played shows mainly in Fremantle and various festivals such as Woodford, Port Fairy and Brunswick Music festival.

In 1989 Mazzella founded the Fremantle Italian women's choir Joys of the Women with Italian immigrant women. This was documented by Franco Di Chiera's film The Joys of the Women, which received a national television cinema release in 1993. She led them from 1989 to 1993.

Kavisha Mazzella with Aniello (Andy) and David De Santi performing their Italian music set at Georgetown Folk Festival, Australia, 1996

In 1996 Mazzella formed the Melbourne Italian Women's choir "la Voce Della Luna".(The Voice of the Moon);^[6] in 2000 she was awarded the Italian Government award Italia Nel Mondo for her work in promoting Italian Culture in Australia. She directed la Voce Della Luna until 2013.

In 2004 the Victorian Government commissioned Kavisha to write "Tunc Justus" a choral work celebrating Raffaello Carboni, the famous Italian translator and assistant to Peter Lalor who led the Eureka Stockade uprising in the Victorian Goldfields.The anthem celebrates the Italian connection in the Eureka Stockade.This was first performed at the Echoes of Eureka festival in Ballarat in 2004 to standing ovation. In 2007 Mazzella was commissioned by the Victorian Women's Trust to write the women's Anthem "Love and Justice" to celebrate one hundred years of women's suffrage in Victoria.This premiered in BMW Edge Melbourne Federation Square sung by a choir of over 600 women from regional and metropolitan Melbourne . In 2008 she won the Multicultural Commissions Award for Excellence for her work in community music. From 2011 to 2019 she founded and led the Moon's A Balloon Mental Health Choir in Melbourne.

Mazzella collaborated with Angela Chaplin, the theatre director in Deckchair Theatre Company in Fremantle for many years writing and composing music for shows. In 2002 Mazzella together with co-writers Katherine Thomson and Angela Chaplin won a Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work for Mavis Goes to Timor.^[7]

Advocacy

Kavisha has also worked with indigenous communities in outback Australia teaching songwriting workshops and has also been an advocate for refugees and mental health in many theatre projects. Her concerts and theatre projects promote multicultural harmony and coming together of cultures to share common humanity.

In 2011 Kavisha was awarded an Order of Australia for her services to singing, songwriting and reflecting the experiences of refugees, indigenous and multicultural communities through performance.^[8][9]

In 2023 Kavisha was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from FOLK ALLIANCE Australia for advocating for cultural diversity in the Australian Folk festival scene.

Discography

Albums

List of albums

Title	Album details
Mermaids in the Well	Released: 1995 Label: Kavisha Mazzella (MPCD001) Formats: CD
Fisherman's Daughter	Released: 1998 Label: Black Market Music (km004) Formats: CD
Canberra, Cork, Calgary...Live 2000	Released: 2000 Label: Formats: CD Note: live album
Silver Hook Tango	Released: 2003 Label: Black Market Music (KM002) Formats: CD
Love and Sorrow	Released: 2010 Label: Kavisha Mazzella (KM005) Formats: CD
Riturnella	Released: 2013 Label: Kavisha Mazzella (KM006) Formats: CD
The Fearless Note	Released: 2016 Label: Kavisha Mazzella (KM006) Formats: CD
Empty Sky - Sacred Songs and Chants	Released: 2020 Label: Kavisha Mazzella Formats: CD

Soundtracks

List of albums

Title	Album details
The Joys of the Women	Released: 1993 Label: ABC Music (5141292) Formats: CD

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. The Cat Empire has won one award.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
1998	Fisherman's Daughter	Best World Music Album	Won	[10]
2003	Silverhook Tango	Best World Music Album	Nominated

References

1. Martin Mulligan (20 November 2014). An Introduction to Sustainability: Environmental, Social and Personal Perspectives. Routledge. pp. 157–. ISBN 978-1-134-54875-0.
2. "Aria Awards 1998". Aria Awards. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
3. "Songs of joy for the choir and its pig-hearted mentor". The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 December 2013, Larry Schwartz.
4. "The voice of a heartbroken angel". kavisha.com. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
5. "Melbourne singer-songwriter Kavisha Mazzella mines Italy's past on new CD". The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 2014, Larry Schwartz
6. "City warms to sweet sound of complaint". Ian Cuthbertson, The Australian, 6 July 2010
7. "Past nominees and winners". Helpmann Awards. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
8. MAZZELLA, Paola Kavisha – Member of the Order of Australia, at It's an Honour, www.itsanhonour.gov.au. Retrieved 26 November 2015
9. "Outstanding Australians rewarded for their achievements and contributions". ABC AM, Emily Bourke, 26 January 2011.
10. ARIA Award previous winners. "ARIA Awards – Winners by Award – Best World Music Album". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 November 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Artist's Facebook page