MILANA SARUKHANYAN

MY NAME IS MILANA AND I AM A BRADFORD-BASED SOPRANO, SESSION VOCALIST, IMPROVISER, PROJECT CURATOR, AND VOICE TEACHER.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Featured
STRANGE GATHERING IMPROV JAM NIGHT
Mar 4
STRANGE GATHERING IMPROV JAM NIGHT

It’s free improv jam sessions! 

Structure:

1. Bring yourself and your instrument

2. Find Milana and let her know that you want to improvise 

3. You are going to be selected randomly in random combinations of musicians for jamming 

4. Play for 5-10 min.

NORMALSTYLE presents
Mar 6
NORMALSTYLE presents

Taupe // free(math)avant(skronk)

Erosion Control // noise-rock-improv

Nika Ticciati Ensemble // impro-heavy-opera-ish-loose-hand-writing-music

RITUAL
Mar 16
RITUAL

Ritual is a hybrid theatre work where music, fashion, and dance intertwine, honouring the shared act of knowledge creation across cultures.

Inspired by the timeless passing of wisdom from one generation to the next, the production unfolds as a living process. Real-time sewing, handcrafting, and vocal improvisation emerge before the audience, shaped by multiple languages and extended techniques. The sound world is woven from ritualistic gestures, layered textures, and sustained, resonant drones, inviting listeners into a space of deep attention and transformation.

Languages: Hungarian, Ukrainian, Spanish, English 

Artists 

Music ensemble:

Ben Finlay - Cello, music director 

Ozzy Moysey - double bass, objects 

James Mainwaring - Saxophon 

Joel Stedman - clarinet 

Teruki Chan - percussion 

Nika Ticciati - keyboard 

Mick Bardon - cello 

Singers performers:

Valentina Diaz 

Milana Sarukhanyan 

Andrea Benahmed Djilali 

Dancers: 

Ori Zahdlic - choreographer 

Astros Davidsdottir 

Sasha Gunning

Easter: A Choral Journey
Mar 28
Easter: A Choral Journey

A journey through the Easter story illustrated by Handel, Stainer, Mozart, Palestrina, Lauridsen, Haydn and others

“BRITISH-UKRAINIAN CLASSICAL SINGER MILANA SARUKHANYAN, WHO PLAYED BERTHA, ADDED TO AN ALREADY SILKY LAYER OF SOUND.”

- TELEGRAPH & ARGUS

“…INTOXICATING OPERATIC SINGING OR A VOCAL FULL OF PAIN.”

- JAZZPORT.CV

“AN EXCELLENT CLASSICAL SOPRANO REVEALS HERSELF AS A TRULY AUTHENTIC TRADITIONAL SINGER, DELIVERING ASTONISHINGLY POWERFUL VOCALS…”

- REVIEWED BYJean-Michel Van Schouwburg

“HAS A CAPTIVATING STAGE PRESENCE AND HER ACTING THROUGH SONG IS OUTSTANDING; AS THE PIECE REACHED A CLIMAX IN 'DEATH' AT THE CLOSE OF THE WORK, YOU HAD THE FEELING THAT SHE HAD PERFECTLY EXPRESSED THE ESSENCE OF WHAT THE COMPOSER WAS LOOKING FOR…”

- YORKSHIRE TIMES

MY STORY

Milana Sarukhanyan is a Bradford-based Ukrainian opera artist, session vocalist, improviser, and vocal coach whose practice bridges opera, theatre, and experimental music. Her work is distinguished by a bel canto quality of sound, multi-linguistic storytelling, and an extensive palette of extended vocal techniques developed through years of improvisational performance.

Renowned for her precision, artistic sensitivity, and creative clarity, Milana delivers work of exceptional quality from the earliest stages of collaboration. Her ability to translate complex artistic ideas into nuanced vocal expression makes recording and production processes efficient, inspired, and seamless.

Milana has appeared on international stages including Royal Festival Hall, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Palau de la Música Catalana, Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria, Teatro del Giglio, and Glazunov Concert Hall. Alongside her operatic work, she creates original experimental theatrical sound performances, including The Artist is Present 2.0: Musical Response, PERISONIK, VERBO I VODA, and KINK.

As an improviser, she has performed at leading experimental venues such as Café OTO, Salon des Amateurs, Rataplan, Hyde Park Book Club, and Wharf Chambers.

An active collaborator and recording artist, Milana’s discography includes VERBO I VODA (with lap steel guitarist John Bisset), Sidrabini 1 (with European Music Collective), The Life of an Artist (with Danielius Daubaras), and Lack of Worldview as a Tribute to Everyday Life (with Tungu). Upcoming releases include a collaboration with Leeds Improvisation Orchestra and the album SILURES with drummer Louis Berthoud.

Her album VERBO I VODA — a collection of Ukrainian deconstructed folk songs created with John Bisset — was featured on BBC Radio 3 New Music Show and described as “beguiling.” The project received generous support from Bradford Producing Hub, enabling the development of its distinctive staging, bespoke props, and a collection of traditional Namysto-inspired accessories created as part of the project’s visual and performative identity.

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