Tania Sona Smith

My father, Vikke (Victor) Harvonen (1925-2010), was from Karelia, Finland. He was an avid music collector, and I grew up singing and dancing to Finnish music. In my late teens and early 20s, I taught myself to play basic accordion accompaniment as I sang. I joined the Finnish Society of Edmonton and spent some years doing choir, folk dance, and solo singing at Edmonton Heritage Days Festival. Papa made many recordings of my singing at home. He made an album and distributed the CD among friends and acquaintances. Many years later, when I was in my 40s, I began seriously studying voice, focusing on Baroque repertoire. I returned to Finnish music in 2017 with a goal to share some of my own singing (past and present) and some of my father's collection.