Ana Everling LLC

Description

Ana Everling is a creative vocalist from Republic of Moldova, based in Chicago. Her music is often described as both innovative and respectful of traditional Eastern European folk music. Everling has been praised for her ability to bring new life and energy to these timeless musical traditions, while also creating something entirely new and unique. Ana's love for Romanian folklore - carols, drinking songs, wedding laments, doinas, dance music, and the genre of music for children, infused with tales, riddles, proverbs and old sayings, lead to several projects, including the septet "Taraf de Chicago". Coming from the world of village communities, these musical pieces preserve some of the oldest Romanian poetic achievements, unveiling a new territory of unexplored, vibrant and constantly evolving art form.

Work Sample

Fragments from Chicago World Music Festival 2022, Schubas. This is a solo version of my Eastern European-Inspired Fantasia Project. I translate and explain the pieces throughout the live performance. The performance length is up to 60 minutes.

Sleeping Village, TNK fest, Chicago, 2023, "The Suite from the Oas County". This is a quartet version of my Eastern European-Inspired Fantasia Project. I translate and explain the pieces throughout the live performance. The performance length is up to 90 minutes.

A video from the studio recording session of "Balada", by Ciprian Porumbescu. This is a septet version of my Eastern European vocal instrumental ensemble, aka "Taraf de Chicago". The performance length is up to 90 minutes.

My vision for this project is to work in different formats, different instrumentations, including the solo, one-woman show. The goal is to keep experimenting with sound and tailor it to the needs of the venues that book it. The concept stays the same: an Eastern European-inspired vocal music, that sounds timeless, yet modern and refreshing.

History

I am an independent musician from Moldova. I come from a family of actors and have been exposed to theater, music production and performance since early childhood. Throughout school years I studied piano, voice, choral music and music theory at the Iulia Hasdeu Lyceum in Chisinau, Moldova. Attending the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts later, I studied vocal performance, and participated in national folk music festivals and competitions. I moved to Chicago in 2010, and starting 2015, began to establish myself alongside many of the great working musicians in the city. I offer vocal music inspired from folklore, classical, Bazilian, as well as improvised music. In 2018 I released my debut album "Soleira", with guitarist Carolina Folmer; in 2019 I started the 7-piece band, the project "Taraf de Chicago" - An Eastern European-Inspired Fantasia. Supported by the IAP grant from DCASE, I was able to record an album of 14 pieces. This body of work is still in production; In 2022 I released my second album: a multimedia project "The music of Guinga".

Artistic Vision

I present the culture of my country, which is deeply rooted in Eastern European traditions of music. Highly syncopated, with odd rhythms, expressive, vocally challenging, with rich philosophy and history behind it. Each piece comes with spoken word, that explains it, unveils it and makes it universal and accessible to a large audience. My goal is to and be a special part of the rich Chicago cultural life, with this very meaningful project.

Traditional Folk/Ethnic Artform Statement

I perform Romanian traditional music from Moldova, Bassarabia area. This is the music I grew up with, I studied in music school and sang in the choir. Being able to present it here, with Chicago-based musicians, to a diverse audience, gave a new dimension and meaning to my career. Growing up in the theater environment, I learned to adapt and change genres as if they were roles I get to play. With this music it's different. It reveals my brand. But the most important element, that keeps me going, is how this music is received by the audience. It gave me the most fun, sold-out events, it brought people together, generated income for my musicians, and most important, created relationships and new partnerships. I am confident that this is a necessary project for us, for our city, for our culture.