Biography:
Mara was
born Mara Julienne Dinanga Wa Tshibaka in July of 1980
St. Paul, Minnesota. Mara’s soulful voice and exotic,
natural look, is truly fitting for this African princess.
Mara’s grandfather was the chief of the Baluba clan
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and her royal
lineage traces back fourteen generations. Although born
in St. Paul, Mara has spent most of her life living
overseas with her family. She’s lived in several countries
including Africa, Brazil, Spain, and Germany. Over the
years she has also studied several languages, including
Spanish, French, and German. It was during her time
growing up in Spain that she discovered that she had
a gift. At the age of eleven, she began singing in church,
and by the time she was twelve, at her brother’s insistence,
she had begun her vocal training. She has had intensive
training in many areas of music, and is capable of performing
a range of musical styles, including opera, musical
theater, and jazz, but Mara’s passion lies in R&B.
In high school Mara began performing in musicals and
plays at school. She somehow was able to juggle basketball,
soccer, and tennis, while still being very involved
in theater. By her senior year she not only won the
part of Beatrice in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”,
but she also played Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls.” For
her senior theater thesis she also wrote, produced,
and directed her first play. Her theater teacher was
so impressed with her work that she gave her the highest
score possible for her efforts. It was also during her
time in Frankfurt, Germany that she met Elona Müller,
a former opera star who agreed to take her on as a student.
Elona brought Mara from the “child-like” voice she had
been using into her “womanly” voice that we hear today.
Right before high school graduation Mara was introduced
to some producers that were interested in working with
her on a single, with the possibility of putting together
an album. They already had a record deal, they just
needed a singer. Mara was at a crossroad, her family
had always wanted her to go to college, but this was
a once in a lifetime opportunity. Mara’s father was
not willing to make the decision for her; he did not
want her to regret any choice he had made on her behalf,
so he let her decide. Music was her dream, her life,
but Mara also understood the importance of a higher
education. She didn’t want to miss out on the college
experience, so she made her family proud by deciding
to go to college.
By 1998 Mara had applied to several colleges but when
she found out she had been accepted to a prestigious
school called Amherst College, the decision of where
to go became very simple. She knew that she wanted to
continue with music, and Amherst had always been known
as the singing college, but she just wasn’t sure where
to begin. That’s when her brother, then a senior at
Amherst, suggested she try-out for the Amherst College
Bluestockings, an all women’s a cappella group.
It was during this time that Mara honed her skills as
not only a singer, but as a musician as well. Being
part of an a cappella group meant that you learned to
blend; unless the song was your particular solo, you
were not to be heard as an individual. As the years
went on Mara decided that she wanted to become more
involved with her group, so she then asked for the chance
to be director her junior year. She was given that chance,
and it shows in her musicianship. Being director meant
that you not only needed to listen to yourself, but
you were also listening to fourteen other women, and
making sure each one was on pitch. As director it was
also her job to direct the tempo of the song, and make
sure that the dynamics were followed. They met three
times a week for two hours at a time, and since the
women spent so much time together, ‘situations’ had
to be dealt with sometimes. Luckily Mara had also had
two years experience and training as a Resident Counselor
at Amherst College, and was usually able to dissolve
the situation. And of course if the RC training didn’t
work she could work out her frustrations on the Rugby
field where she played for a year.
In May of 2002 Mara graduated cum laude from Amherst
College with a Bachelor of Arts double major in German
and Spanish. Mara knew that music was still her first
love and it was time to decide what she was going to
do with that knowledge. At first she wanted to go to
Madrid, Spain and even had a modeling job lined up,
but she realized that New York made more sense. While
in New York she contacted her best friend whose older
brother, Jesse Wellner, was involved in music. Through
him she was introduced to the Kumar brothers who helped
her put together her second demo CD. And by some lucky
turn of events she was contacted by Rich Cocovich who
has been instrumental in helping her further her singing
career.
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