About Me
When Canadian electronic-pop diva Victoria asked her father to bring home a piano for her at age four, she never imagined that he would actually bring home a real piano. "I was hoping for one of those little Fisher Price toy pianos," laughs Victoria. "He literally came home with an upright piano!" Those early piano lessons, combined with the love and support of her music-loving Greek family, put Victoria on the path towards her musical future where, before long, she had earned a degree with First Class Honours in Classical Piano & Operatic Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. With formal training in song structure and music theory, intensified by her natural musical ability, Victoria was soon prolifically writing her own songs - a fact that was noted early on by Vince Degiorgio (Love Inc.) who had just started Power Records. "I was blown awayâ€Â¦" says Degiorgio of those early demo tapes from Victoria. At only 16 years old, she had landed her first publishing deal.As her profile and experience within the music industry deepened, Victoria developed a persistent urge to sing her own songs, rather than simply write for other artists. She sought out the best vocal coaches in the world, and totally committed herself to honing her skill graduating from the vocal program in operatic performance at the Royal Conservatory of Music. As the months passed, Victoria realized she needed to take her career into her own hands. In 1991, Victoria released the club single "Be Mine" on vinyl through her own Bass Productions, which included a house mix and a freestyle mix. As it turned out, Freestyle was blowing up in Miami at the time, and "Be Mine" shot up the dance charts to 2. The track was picked up for distribution in Miami, L.A., Chicago, New York, as well as Toronto, and Victoria was crowned "The Queen of Freestyle". What followed was a whirlwind of high-profile performances in the U.S., and the breakout she was looking for. Victoria won Billboard’s 6th Annual Song Contest, was nominated for a Juno Award performing at the pre-Juno bash, received special recognition from ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and was voted the Hottest Female Vocalist on Miami’s legendary Hot Traxx Awards. That next year proved that her early successes had been no fluke - offers from Ti Amo Records (first home of Joee), countless releases on top Indie compilation label Hot Productions and famed UK Seduction series, as well as the release of Victoria’s first Bass Productions compilation written, arranged, produced, and A&R’d by Victoria. Victoria’s star was in ascension and there seemed to be nothing that could stop her - until her career took an ill-fated turn. Her second breakout single "Don’t Break My Heart" was immediately picked up by SPG Music and garnered her the attention of a Toronto record company exec who offered Victoria a lucrative distribution deal in North America and Europe. Seduced by the fact that she would be working with renowned producer Tolga Katis (Linear, Stevie B), Victoria signed the deal and flew to Miami to record the compositions. To her and Katis’ complete shock, the record company exec disappeared after the masters were delivered to him. The next thing Victoria knew, her music was released on compilations all over Europe & Asia, then Canada and the U.S., without any credit or compensation. Betrayed and deflated, Victoria began a self-imposed exile and threw her energy into writing and perfecting her vocal style through intensive vocal training in Europe.Her songwriting and vocal performance stronger than ever, Victoria returned to Canada armed with a throng of infectious commercial dance-pop tracks culminating in her first full-length Canadian release in four years, "Together Forever". Featuring superbly delivered vocals and infectious club mixes from Toronto’s top re-mixers and producers, the first single to hit CHR radio across Canada is a cover version of the Richard Marx hit "Right Here Waiting".Adversity is long behind her, she only has the future to offer us. Currently, she is not only writing & recording her second full album with her long-time friend, writer/producer George "La Vie" Apostolou (of La Vie Entertainment);the team also continues to write & produce tracks for various other artists. On an even more serious note, as a reknown master vocal & piano coach, she’s penned several voice & piano books for aspiring young students while operating her own chain of music schools. From time to time, she takes on various roles with opera companies while simultaneously keeping up with examining students of all levels & adjudicating major music competitions across Canada, the US & Europe.
