Solvei McKenna

Solvei (Soulvay) is an actress and a jazz artist with a global following. She has released nine albums in the jazz/ New Age categories, she is a Los Angeles Music Awards recipient, and is endorsed by Amnesty International as an influencer for human rights through her music and through her song "Leonard Peltier". Solvei has starred alongside Wes Studi (Avatar, Last of the Mohicans, Geronimo) in the play "Wolf in Camp", and has performed on ABC TV, PBS, NPR featuring her musical performances, and she is featured in the eight part Norwegian documentary TV series "Ja, vi elsker Hollywood". Solvei began as a professional dancer and actress in Oslo at the age of 15. Solvei's career has given her the opportunity to work with respected artists, such as Grammy winner, Kurt Elling, The William Eaton Ensemble, Sir Elton John, the Scandinavian iconic group Dizzie Tunes, and seven time Grammy nominee Will Clipman. Solvei hails from Norway, growing up in a family of professional opera singers, and her childhood was mostly spent back stage in the Norwegian National Opera House. She started her professional career as a dancer and actress at age 15. By eighteen she had already performed in over a thousand stage shows in her native Scandinavia as a dancer and comedienne. Her early career expanded into TV shows and theater productions, touring with the Norwegian National Theater touring company, playing parts in the play Scarlet Pimpernell, and "The Wild Mermaid". A dance offer led her to residing in France for three years, where she worked on several occasions with Sir Elton John and other acclaimed artists, absorbing everything she could while doing so. Solvei's dance career got halted abruptly by a serious injury, and she was forced to rethink her career, and this led to a path into music, composing and singing. The LA Times and LA Weekly, have garnered her with critical acclaim for her live show productions. Solvei has received a Los Angeles Music Award nomination and a World Music Award. In 2007 Solvei collaborated closely with the American Indian political prisoner Leonard Peltier and his family. The work resulted in writing, recording and performing the song "Leonard Peltier". Solvei is deeply involved in American Indian causes, as well as animal rights, and the closing of all factory farms. As an avid yoga practitioner, Solvei also produces music for yoga and relaxation. In 2016 her album "Mosaique" was submitted and considered for a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannsprisen). Solvei's music is sold internationally and is frequently heard on American and international radio stations.