Tania de Jong
Tania Karen de Jong, AM,[1] is an Australian soprano, social entrepreneur, business woman, global motivational speaker and event producer. Tania is the Founder of Creative Innovation Global, Creative Universe, Creativity Australia, Dimension5, Music Theatre Australia, Pot-Pourri, The Song Room and co-founder of Mind Medicine Australia. Uniting leaders across the business, education, industry, community and creative sectors Tania encourages creative innovation whilst championing the interests of the marginalised and disadvantaged Australians through her various enterprises.
Tania de Jong AM | |
|---|---|
| Born | Arnhem, The Netherlands |
| Origin | Melbourne, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Soprano; social entrepreneur |
| Instruments | Voice (soprano) |
| Years active | 1995 – present |
| Labels | Pot Pourri |
| Website | www |
As a Soprano Tania has performed to millions of people across 40 countries including at Sydney Opera House, Seoul Arts Centre and Opera under the Stars.
As an event producer Tania has hosted 9 events focussed on "Creative Innovation" in Melbourne Australia. She is known for advocating for policy change and unity across the business, education, industry, community and creative sectors during times of anticipated social disruption and change known otherwise as Disruptive Innovation.
Tania's approach encourages creative innovation and inclusion whilst advocating for the interests of the marginalised and disadvantaged people through her projects.
Background, early life and education
De Jong was born in Arnhem, The Netherlands, to her Dutch father and Austrian mother; De Jong's mother was a Dutch national tennis champion, a Federation Cup player for Australia and a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon.[2] Her grandfather, Karl Duldig, a Polish refugee who escaped the Holocaust, was a Vienna-trained sculptor. Her grandmother, Slawa Duldig also trained as a sculptor in Vienna and invented the world's first modern folding umbrella.[2] De Jong's mother recently launched a book 'Driftwood' through Scholarly Books. It tells the global survival story of De Jong's grandparents and the invention of the original foldable umbrella – the exact one that is still manufactured today in Austria and around the world.
The family moved to Melbourne, Australia, when de Jong was one year-old.[3]
Karl and Slawa's former home in Melbourne's Malvern East now operates a museum named the 'Duldig Studio'.[4] The Duldig Studio is a DGR charitable organisation and is where the majority of the collection of art, history and invention now resides as well as in galleries around the world. The museum is open to the public and hosts regular exhibitions and events featuring some of the Duldig's family's extraordinary story of escape and survival.
Academic life
De Jong graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Law (Honours) and from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Graduate Diploma in Opera and Music Theatre and a Postgraduate Diploma in Music (Opera and Voice). She also attended college in the USA on a tennis scholarship.[5]
Artistic Endeavour
Aged 14, de Jong was advised by a friend not to undertake singing lessons. She audition for the chorus of her school's performance of Oklahoma at age 17 and was cast in the lead role.[6] She recalled in a 2009 interview:[7]
"I was the kid who said my favourite pop group was Beethoven".
— Tania de Jong, interviewed in The Age in 2009.
Two decades later De Jong became a well known Australian soprano. De Jong has a diverse career as a performing artist, soprano, global speaker, producer, curator, entrepreneur, and creative visionary. She is the co-founder of entertainment and event company Music Theatre Australia - MTA Entertainment and Events. She is also the co-founder and a performer in the musical group Pot-Pourri (founded in 1987) which has released seven albums, and she has founded several businesses and social enterprises.
De Jong has performed with the Victoria State Opera and has performed in over 40 countries. De Jong released her first solo album 'Heaven on Earth' in 2015 and 'Flying Free' in 2017 collaborating with some of Australia's leading musicians. She also released a meditation trance album with Chris Walker 'Dorje' in 2004.
Discography
- 1995: Rhythm of Life - Pot-Pourri
- 1997: Something Familiar!, Something Peculiar - Pot-Pourri
- 1999: This is the Moment - Pot-Pourri
- 2001: Friends for Life - Pot-Pourri
- 2003: Chanson d'Amour - Pot-Pourri
- 2004: Soundsations - Dorje and Diva (Tania de Jong & Chris Walker)
- 2006: Nella Fantasia - Pot-Pourri
- 2012: Silver - Pot-Pourri
- 2015: Heaven on Earth - Tania de Jong
- 2017: Flying Free - Tania de Jong
She has sung in many languages, including English, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Italian, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Hebrew.
Global Speaker
Tania speaks around the world on leadership, purpose, creativity, innovation, generosity, inclusion, social entrepreneurship, ethics and philanthropy. Tania helps prepare people, organisations and communities for a rapidly changing world and develop Human Intelligence 2.0 mindsets and skills to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. She also leads team workshops. She has also made predictions of the impact of future changes to the world by 2025.
De Jong explores creativity, neuroscience and social inclusion in her celebrated TEDx Melbourne Talk entitled 'how singing together changes the brain'.[8]
"Our voices have been silenced, there is a taboo of singing in public…However, we have all been given a voice to express ourselves".
- Tania de Jong TEDx Melbourne talk 18 December 2013
De Jong illustrates how and why creativity is the strategic tool of the 21st century. She explains why singing is a survival mechanism, how it makes our hearts beat together and can make us smarter, healthier, happier and more creative and help heal strokes and depression. She also shares the inspirational case study of Creativity Australia's life-changing With One Voice program.
Entrepreneurship and Creative Innovation
Tania has developed five businesses and three charities in her 30 years of enterprise. She continues to works across the public, private, creative and social sectors uniting change through demonstrating leadership in creative innovation. She founded Creativity Australia, Mind Medicine Australia, Creative Universe, MTA Entertainment & Events and The Song Room and works with disadvantaged communities through Creativity Australia's 'With One Voice' choir social inclusion programs.
Creative Innovation Global
Since 2010 Tania has been the Founder and Executive Producer of the acclaimed international Creative Innovation Global Conferences which foster future-shaping change conversations across Business, Industry, Education and Government. Tania has produced the Creative Innovation Asia Pacific forum on 8 occasions bringing together international and national leaders to focus on managing and preparing for a rapidly changing world.
Creative Innovation Global has received international and national awards including Corporate Event of the Year in the global Eventex Awards and the Australian Event Awards. Creative Universe and Creative Innovation Global were ranked among the top 20 event organizers and agencies from around the world as part of the newly released Eventex All-Stars Index.
- Ci2010: Creative innovation 2010 nurturing ideas, inspiring minds, creating futures
- Ci2011: The challenges and opportunities of a super-connected world
- Ci2012: Wicked problems, Great opportunities! Leadership and courage for volatile times
- Ci2013: Race to the future. E6 = Environment. Energy. Economy. Education. Entrepreneurship. Ethical Leadership
- Ci2015: From Disruption to sustainable growth. Vision, Strategy, Innovation, Growth
- Ci2016: The Exponential Shift. Making Transformation Happen
- Ci2017: Human Intelligence 2.0. - Thriving in the age of acceleration
- Ci2019: Human Intelligence 2.0. - A collective future? How will we manage the transition?
Philanthropic Activities
The Song Room
In 1999, de Jong founded The Song Room, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing access to music and arts programs in Australian schools and communities. Since 2001, The Song Room has reached over 500,000 disadvantaged children, enhancing their education, personal development and community involvement and engaging them in a passion for creativity and lifelong learning.
With One Voice Choirs
The One Voice Choirs bridges the gap between people experiencing disadvantage and those more fortunate through the neuro-scientific benefits of community singing. The charity builds supportive networks that help diverse people connect to improved wellbeing and brighter futures. Creativity Australia is offering a suite of With One Voice "how to" guide videos, resources and mentoring for individuals, groups and communities looking to start new, inclusive With One Voice choirs using their innovative social franchise model.
Mind Medicine Australia
Tania and her husband launched registered charity Mind Medicine Australia in February 2019. Mind Medicine Australia (www.mindmedicineaustralia.org) is a DGR-1 registered charity working to promote the development of regulatory approved and research-backed psychedelic medicines in Australia to assist with the treatment of a number of mental illnesses including depression, PTSD, end of life anxiety and addiction.
Achievement and awards
De Jong was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2008 for service to the arts as a performer and entrepreneur and through the establishment and development of music and arts enrichment programs for schools and communities.[10] She was named in The Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence awards in the Arts, Culture and Sport category in 2018.[11] She was also named in Richtopia's list of Top 100 Most Influential Australian Entrepreneurs.
Awards
- 1996: Churchill Fellowship
- 1998: "Outstanding Individual Contribution to Australian Culture"
- 2000: Inducted into the AGSE Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame at Swinburne University
- 2001: Telstra Business Women's Awards
- 2005: Accessibility Award in The Melbourne Awards
- 2006: Ernst and Young Australian Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- 2007: Member of the Order of Australia
- 2008: Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the Arts as a musical performer and entrepreneur.
- 2009: Brainlink Woman of Achievement 2009.
- 2012: Top Social Innovators
- 2013: Top Social Innovators Creativity Australia
- 2013–2016: Anthill Top Social Innovations 'Creativity Australia and the With One Voice program
- 2016 Melbourne Award for contribution to the community – Creativity Australia
- 2016: Impact 25 Awards for the social sector's most influential people and positive impact.
- 2017: Ethical Enterprise Award 2017
- 2018: Finalist Social Entrepreneur of the Year
- 2018: Number 33 of the Top Most Influential Australian Entrepreneurs
- 2019: Named in the 100 Most Influential Women in Australia
- 2019: Award For Meritorious Service to the Community by The Hon Linda Dessau AC at the Victorian Multicultural Awards For Excellence[12]
Impact and Legacy
Tania's living legacy is the impact she makes through a spirit of generosity, kindness and creativity adopting a human-centred approach to solving increasing social and economic problems in the world.[13] Her leadership through the Creative Innovation conferences and her various enterprises inspire collaboration and collective intelligence informed by creativity and inspiring leadership. Tania's impact as an artist and entrepreneur helps a diverse range of people find their unique creative voice and meaning to live a life of purpose.
She prepares people, communities and organisations for increasing change and is committed to building a healthier, happier and more inclusive future for all.
As Tania's says in her recent TEDx Talk:
"Together we can change the world, one voice at a time".
References
- "Search: de JONG, Tania Karen". It's an Honour. Australian Government. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- Evans, Kathy (15 March 2014). "Soprano on a mission". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- Veldman-Tentori, Renee (20 April 2012). "Meet Tania de Jong". Dutch Australian. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- "The Duldig Studio".
- Evans, Kathy (15 March 2014). "Soprano on a mission". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- Wilmoth, Peter (12 November 2013). "One Voice, Many Stories". The Weekly Review. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- Edwards, Lorna (9 March 2009). "With a song in her briefcase". The Age. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- How singing together changes the brain: Tania de Jong AM at TEDxMelbourne, retrieved 18 September 2019
- "Banker's magic mushroom experiment pays off". Australian Financial Review. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "Search: de JONG, Tania Karen". It's an Honour. Australian Government. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- Patten, Sally (17 October 2018). "Women of Influence 2018 winner fights for recognition of Indigenous Australians". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- "2019 Multicultural Awards for Excellence recipients". Victorian Multicultural Commission. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- Creative Innovation Leadership: Tania De Jong AM, retrieved 18 September 2019
