Alchemy Rose is Aleksandra Danicic (violin, viola, guitar, voice, bass & mandolin),  and Rosanna D’Agnillo (voice, piano, guitar, ukulele).  We work frequent with other prominent Calgary string players to create larger ensembles: Eileen Kosasih (violin, viola) and Liz Tremblay (cello).

Rosanna and Aleks are versatile Calgary musicians with big pedigrees and perform in every major Calgary venue.  We are classically trained from young childhood, but we play a lot more than classical music. In fact, we each play several instruments and perform music of all genres all the time. We play by sight & by ear, so we can learn any new song almost instantly. That’s why we are so flexible about repertoire; we’re not limited and slow like some classical musicians who can only play by sight and who require a lot of rehearsal time to learn each piece.

Aleks is a staple of the Ironwood, Blues Can, and Mikey’s; Rosanna coaches two choirs and in addition to an enormous music studio, teaches mindfulness meditation to thousands of children in the Calgary area, as well as offering family meditation classes.

Biographies

Aleksandra Danicic (violin, guitar,vocals)
Aleksandra’s earliest musical experiences were deeply influenced by a rich German and Southern European cultural heritage. A native of Belgrade, she grew up in Erlangen, Germany, where her principal teachers were Sylvia Reichard and Eberhard Klemmstein. She later continued her classical music studies in Canada with Bill van der Sloot and Dr. Lise Elson. Her passion for teaching youth has continuously grown and evolved. Aleksandra was on faculty at Medicine Hat College from 1992 to 1998 and has been teaching for Mount Royal University’s Conservatory in Calgary since 1998.

For the past ten years she has also been the coordinator and principal coach of the Junior/Intermediate and Associate Violin classes at MRU’s renowned Academy Scholarship Program. Aleksandra is passionate about playing music of varied styles and origins and believes that music should be accessible to everyone. In addition to playing in various ensembles and bands ranging from flamenco to old country, lyrical folk to punk and rock, she has recently launched the “Bach To The Future” project. During the past two summers, you may have heard the sounds of her Solo Bach violin in various locations throughout the city.

Rosanna D’Agnillo (voice, piano, guitar, ukulele)

An Italian-Canadian lyric mezzo-soprano and pianist, Rosanna completed her Masters degree at the University of Calgary and then moved to San Francisco to study at the Music Conservatory. She trained under Jim Page (San Francisco), David Jones (New York) but her primary vocal coach was Karl Lindemann (San Francisco), who himself was the last protege of Puccini’s leading lady, Rosa Raisa. Rosanna relocated to Los Angeles and toured for several years with her classical/global/jazz/pop crossover quartet, Liata, releasing Adeste Fideles (2001), Sensations (2004) and Intermezzo (2009) before moving back to her hometown with her children.

Her direct bel canto lineage to the Italian masters of the late 19th and early 20th century keeps Rosanna in high demand as a voice coach, and she also trains several singer/songwriters in classical, jazz and pop repertoire. She has performed at all the major Calgary and Southern Alberta festivals as a vocalist and/or pianist, either as a soloist or in a variety of indie bands. She also records voice overs, audio production for videos, and composes for film and TV. Songs from her albums have been featured on radio stations and TV shows worldwide.

Currently Rosanna is a primary Calgary advocate for live performance opportunities for youth; her music studio has toured many senior care centres and particpated at open mics through the Calgary area. She also offers free vocal workshops to youth at several youth open mic venues on a regular basis.