Sarona has one goal in life, and that is to truly make a difference in the lives of the singers she works with. She firmly believes that through Music one does not only have the opportunity to teach music literacy and musicianship skills, but those life skills and qualities that are universally important. Those  of love, compassion, humanity, respect, discipline, passion and joy! Born and raised in South Africa, Sarona is a graduate of the Teachers’ Training College in Pretoria where she majored in Math, Languages, Psychology and Remedial Education, and specialized in Classroom Music, Voice, Choral Conducting and Drama. Her formal voice training culminated in postgraduate work at the Conservatory of Music at North-West University in Potchefstroom.

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Her early singing career included memberships in children’s and youth choirs, as well as completion of theory and practical exams in voice, piano and clarinet through the University of South Africa Conservatory.  It  later extended to solo recitals, and lead roles in Musicals and Operettas. Following ten successful years of teaching Music and conducting Choirs at Elementary and Secondary School levels, as well as directing Musicals and plays, Sarona immigrated to Canada with her husband and two children.

 

In 1997 she founded the White Rock Children’s Choir, which had Choirs at several levels under her artistic direction for 20 years. The Choir participated regularly in International Festivals and traveled as far as Calgary, California, Montreal, Italy, Hawaii, Mexico, South Africa and England, and she conducted them in prestigious venues including Canterbury Cathedral,  St Peter’s in Rome, the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, Notre Dame Basilica Montreal, and St Georges Cathedral in Cape Town where the Choir performed for Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  One of the highlights for Sarona and her Choir was the invitation by Mr. Henry Leck to perform in Carnegie Hall as part of a Children’s Festival Chorus under his direction in April 2014. Over the past 10 years Sarona organized two Children’s Choir Festivals celebrating diversity and World Music,  and  also founded and conducted the Cantrix Women’s ensemble.

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Sarona has taught in both the public and private school systems here in Canada, where she directed both Elementary and High School Choirs and Musicals. She was on the board for the BC Choral Federation for five years, and has been a guest conductor for several honour Choirs. She regularly serves as Adjudicator at Music Festivals & Clinician for Conductor and Choral workshops,  and has taught Vocal, Choral and Leadership workshops on several trips to both Taiwan and South Africa. She has been on the faculty for the BCCF Choral Conducting Course since 2006, and in 2015 received the Willan award for outstanding service to the BC Choral Federation. 

 

Sarona has participated in and completed level three of Creating Artistry – Conducting workshops and Master Classes with Henry Leck and Vocal Training with Steven Rickards at Butler University in Indianapolis. Together with Henry Leck she co-conduced a North American Choir with members from the Indianapolis Children’s Choir and the White Rock Children’s Choir on a 14 day Concert Tour of South Africa in 2008.

 

Sarona is a certified Instructor training for SongShine - a program designed around the science of neuroplasticity that provides music based vocal therapy for people whose voices are affected  by Parkinson's, stroke,  neurological disorders, and aging.

 

She recently moved to Gibsons, on the Sunshine Coast, where she  founded INSPIRITO VOCAL ENSEMBLE, teach voice at her private studio, and lead SongShine classes.