Vanessa Perica
Vanessa Perica is a Composer, Arranger, Conductor based in Melbourne, Australia.
Originally hailing from Perth, Vanessa majored in Jazz Composition and Arranging at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Upon completion of her Bachelor degree in 2003, she was awarded the prestigious Bob Wyllie Scholarship for ‘Most Outstanding Graduating Jazz Student.’ Other recipients of this honour include Mat Jodrell, Linda May Han Oh, Troy Roberts and Ben Vanderwal. Her mentor was the legendary Graeme Lyall AM.
Recent career highlights include performances at the Sydney and Perth International Jazz Festivals. In 2018, her composition ‘Dance of the Zinfandels’ was a finalist in the Anonimus Big Band International Composition Competition. Selected by Guillermo Klein, it was performed live in front of a jury in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In this same year, Vanessa was a recipient of an Australia Council grant to record her debut album. The Vanessa Perica Orchestra (VPO) features an all-star lineup including Julien Wilson, Mat Jodrell, Jamie Oehlers, Andrea Keller, Sam Anning, Carl Mackey, Paul Williamson, Jordan Murray, Ross Irwin, Phil Noy, Nick Mulder and Ben Vanderwal. Recorded in January 2019, the album titled ’Love is a Temporary Madness’ has been released, reaching as high as number 3 on the ARIA Jazz & Blues charts and number 1 on the AIR Independent charts. It won ‘Best Jazz Album’ at the Music Victoria Awards, and is also a nominee in the Australian Music Prize.
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Album Review
- Love is a Temporary Madness by Jack Bowers
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Album Review
- Love is a Temporary Madness by Angelo Leonardi
“A mighty achievement, and a milestone in Australian music.” - Julien Wilson, award winning saxophonist on ‘Love is a Temporary Madness’.
“…She is a big talent — still under-the-radar, but probably not for much longer.” - Ted Gioia
4.5 stars “…an ambitious album of great depth…” - Eric Myers, The Australian
...Perica creates dense, multi-layered works, full of complex shading, that are forever twisting and turning, alternating solid rhythmic foundation with free-flight