Angela Gjurichanin

Angela Gjurichanin: Once you discover your unique voice, embrace it wholeheartedly and let it shine through your art!

For the exceptionally talented young opera singer from Macedonia, music has been a constant in her life. “When I perform it feels like I am sharing a gift to the people who are listening to me – it's not about the attention or the applause, it’s about the connection; about the giving,” says Angela with a conviction that is both uplifting and endearing.

In 2015, soon after completing high school in Macedonia, Angela Gjurichanin immigrated to Saskatchewan along with her parents and siblings. For the young music student from Macedonia, the first year in Canada was tough. She struggled to upgrade her English language skills for her university education in Canada. She became shy, timid, and almost lost her music. Taking a retail job, she practiced her English-speaking skills interacting with diverse people in her newly adopted country. Angela reflects on that first year, “it was just me trying to be in this new country with different architecture, different cuisine, different languages, different everything.”

Angela attended a Music High School in Macedonia. Like her high school peers, she too had a plan of where she would go with her music. Reflecting on those early days in Saskatchewan, Angela says, “It was hard to make friends, to have a sense of belonging. You do not belong here, and you do not belong back in Macedonia. I was too loud for Canada, and my humor was too sarcastic. It made me
suppress myself in the first couple of years. Even though Canada is multicultural, I still had to change before I felt like I belonged here.”

It was only in her second year in Canada that Angela returned to her beloved music, something that she had done since she was six years old. She focused on getting into an undergraduate program in music at the University of Saskatoon. She seriously started considering her voice as her instrument only in her second year at university. Not believing in herself as a performer, she wanted to be a theory professor. Angela reflects on that turning point, “I had been performing in Macedonia, but here in Canada I just wanted to bottle myself and stay in my shell. My professor looked me in the eye and said, you need to perform, you need to sing. Your voice speaks to people, and it allows you to connect with your audience. That reminded me of why I sang in Macedonia – it was my way to connect with people, but when I moved to Canada, I lost that connection.”

As part of this journey to focus on fully exploring her talent in a Canadian context, Angela moved to London to complete her graduate studies in music. The warmth and sense of community in London captured her heart and made her feel right at home. She arrived in London during COVID and while able to attend online courses there was not much opportunity to perform for audiences. Angela describes one of the highlights of her time at UWO – “In my second year I was doing a lead role in the Italian comic opera L’elisir D’amore (Elixir of Love). I was Adina, and we had just one performance. For that one performance, we had a full house, not one seat was vacant, and the audience participated with laughter and applause and responded with such enjoyment. As artists, we tend to focus on the things that do not work out, but the success of that show will always stay deeply within my soul, along with the friendships and the joy of singing.”

Over the past few years, Angela has become a much lauded and highly respected opera singer in Canada. In 2021, she was one of the District Winners of the prestigious opera competition, The Laffont Competition, and the following year she represented Canada at the Regional Competition in Seattle. In 2022, she was the winner of the Gordon Wallis Opera Competition. She has also featured as the soprano soloist for Messiah with the Regina Symphony Orchestra in December 2022. Angela joined the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques Showcase as a young artist in October 2022, and some of her roles include Zerlina in Don Giovanni at Lyric Opera Studio of Weimar and Cercatrice I in Suor Angelica with Grand River Opera. And just recently, in April of 2024, she had her debut with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra as the Soprano Soloist for John's Passion (J.S.Bach); celebrating three hundred years since the piece was first performed.
Angela believes that her passion for music comes from her love of storytelling. She says, “Music truly is a universal language that transcends borders and cultures. It is a powerful way to celebrate the richness and diversity of cultures while promoting unity and harmony.”

Angela takes inspiration from her family, especially her parents who moved from Macedonia to Canada to give her and her siblings a better life. “Even today they fight for us,” she says, “so we can do what we want.” Through her involvement with the community, her church, and her vocal teaching, she has been trying to find spaces to belong. “With my students, it helps to tell them who I am and where I come from, I share with them the same sense of self in a new place, and that belonging to Canada does not mean we have to lose our culture or our history.”

Angela leaves us with this self-reflection, “my journey is and continues to be a beautiful example of how resilience, openness to new experiences, and the pursuit of education can lead to personal growth and fulfillment. Now I want to dig into that essence of myself that I have suppressed. I want to bring out those parts of me that I left behind in Macedonia.”