Callandra Youngleson is a South African vocalist, composer and educator. She has performed internationally collaborating with some of South Africa and America's greatest jazz musicians. Callandra is a proud graduate of the University of North Texas College of Music having completed her Masters in Jazz Studies in 2019. During her tenure at UNT, she also served as a jazz voice teaching fellow teaching jazz voice majors, directing her own vocal ensemble and being the graphic designer and live-sound manager for the jazz voice department. As a member of the award-winning UNT Jazz Singers, Callandra has performed around Texas, Chicago and New York and has collaborated with artists including Kurt Elling, the Swingles, Johnaye Kendrick and Michelle Nicolle.

 

Callandra is passionate about performing and collaborating with different musicians from around the globe. Currently you can find Callandra performing with some of the top jazz musicians around Chicago. She is also a vocalist with the Bluewater Kings Band performing around Chicago and in surrounding states in one of the best cover bands in the city. She completed her BMus in jazz voice and composition at WITS University in Johannesburg. In 2016, She was selected as the vocalist of the South African Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band being chosen as one of the top 8 young jazz musicians in the country. The band performed at the Grahamstown Youth Jazz Festival and the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival in Johannesburg under the leadership of Carlo Mombelli. Since then Callandra has maintained a thriving performing career connecting and collaborating with musicians in cities from Johannesburg to Texas and Chicago. 

 

Callandra also has a diverse range of voice over and studio session experience and works as a freelance composer. She is the commissioned composer for Bodymindzone: The biggest YouTube channel for relaxation music in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has also composed and arranged for live orchestra, string quartet, animation and film. Her independent film score for the award-winning documentary “Women in the Dark” was screened at the Africa in Motion film festival in Scotland. Callandra's voice is present on voice overs from educational platforms to radio recordings and she works as a voice over artist on the voices.com website. 

 

Callandra currently holds the position of jazz voice teacher at the renowned Chicago Academy for the Arts and is a voice and piano teacher at Flatts and Sharpe Music Company in Chicago. Callandra loves sharing her growing knowledge about healthy, liberating vocal technique and expressional freedom and creativity and has been a vocal coach at WITS University in Johannesburg as well as being a teaching fellow at UNT College of Music. She has over 9 years of vocal coaching and music educational experience and has a passion for sharing her infectious love for music, creativity and empowering strong foundational musicianship on the journey to discovering, exploring and believing in your own voice. 

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In her spare time, you can find Callandra cooking for her friends, spending time in coffee shops reading and writing and traveling as much as possible. She has a passion for spreading the incredible music of South Africa as well as sharing its diverse beautiful culture and she is working on finding ways to bring the global jazz community into closer connection and communication.