MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND

"Let's just start with the most important thing you need to know about Shara Nova: Her voice transcends accents. It transcends genre. Her light lyric soprano is simply a miraculous instrument. Listen."

- Rob Rushin-Knopf, Southern South

My Brightest Diamond is the moniker of Shara Nova, a classically trained vocalist and self- taught

multi-instrumentalist whose music is as dazzling as it is shape-shifting. Since assembling the project in

2006, Nova has consistently resisted genre conventions, blending elements of rock, art pop, and chamber music into a sound unmistakably her own.

Raised in a family of traveling evangelists, Nova spent her childhood crisscrossing the country, her father

leading church choirs and her mother playing organ. When the family settled outside Detroit in the early

’90s, she absorbed the sounds of hip-hop and soul filling the airwaves, alongside the likes of Samuel

Barber and Bach in her high school chamber choir. After studying classical voice at the University of North Texas, Nova relocated to New York City, where she formed My Brightest Diamond and released the critically acclaimed debut Bring Me the Workhorse. To date, the project has produced six bold and

genre-defying albums, each inhabiting a distinct musical landscape while remaining anchored by Nova’s

singular voice.

Beyond My Brightest Diamond, Nova is an in-demand collaborator across contemporary classical and

indie music. She produced, co-composed and was the featured vocalist on The Blue Hour (Nonesuch /

New Amsterdam Records), alongside the string orchestra A Far Cry and co-composers Rachel Grimes,

Angélica Negrón, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Caroline Shaw. The album received a 2024 Grammy

nomination for Best Engineered Classical Album and was named one of NPR’s Top 10 Albums of 2022.

Her choral and vocal compositions have been performed by The Crossing, Conspirare, Cantus Domus,

Roomful of Teeth, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Detroit Opera’s Touring Company, and numerous university

and community choirs. Nova has composed orchestral and chamber works for yMusic, Brooklyn Rider,

Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Indianapolis

Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, and the BBC Concert Orchestra, among others.

Her honors include fellowships and awards from Kresge Arts, Carolina Performing Arts Creative Futures,

Knight Foundation, United States Artists, New Music USA, and Opera America. Recordings featuring her

work with Conspirare and The Crossing received multiple Grammy nominations in 2023.

In 2024, Nova appeared as a musical performer in the Tony Award-Winning Illinois(e), the Broadway

production based on Sufjan Stevens’ album, singing and playing guitar on music she originally helped

bring to life. Shara continues to share the work through performances both with the band and in orchestral settings around the world.

Nova also regularly publishes Songs in 4 Dimensions, her Substack newsletter, offering reflections on

songwriting, creativity, and the evolving process of music-making.