Biography
“…an enigmatic and gifted songwriter and performer. A young Barbara Streisand who writes gorgeous songs.”
— Fred Mollin, Producer
Described as “absolutely brilliant” by BBC Radio, Toronto-based Annie Bonsignore is a South African-born singer-songwriter and live performer with multiple awards and accolades to her name. A unique and world-class vocal talent, her blend of pop, folk, jazz, country, and classical influences delivers a spell-binding performance that instantly wins over whatever audience she's in front of.
She's released 3 studio albums to date, with over 20 new singles in production. She also is a highly experienced vocal coach, and has recently launched her new children's Youtube channel "Kids Songs by Annie". In 2019 she took a timely hiatus to become a mother of two, and with the subsequent onset of Covid, she settled into 3 years of intense writing and online streaming, becoming one of the fastest Twitch entertainers to reach affiliate status.
She was born to an incredibly musical family, her father a professional guitarist and mother a highly respected music teacher. Her sister Sarah Bonsignore is an active singer-songwriter in Nashville as well as a published composer of children's instructional songs.
Bonsignore’s many accolades include: Toronto Independent Music Award(Finalist, 2017), a Newmarket Jazz Festival Fan Choice Award (Winner, 2017), The Hogtown Hang Fan Choice Award (Winner, 2015), Q107’s Vocal Contest Winner, Coca-Cola Pop Stars (Finalist), as well as South African Idol (Finalist). She’s also been featured regularly on BBC Radio, CBC Radio including guest interviews on Fresh Air & Big City Small World, The Drew Marshall Show, Snap’d Magazine, BID Magazine, allnaturalmusic.com, and more. Since moving to Toronto in her 2001, she’s been a regular part of the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, Oakville Jazz Festival, Newmarket Jazz Festival, Royal Botanical Gardens Summer Concert Series, and the International Beaches Jazz Festival.
Annie has also been teaching singing lessons for over 20 years and continues to maintain a private studio. She’s a member of ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), Socan (The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada), NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International), and currently resides just outside Toronto Canada with husband Stu Harrison. Her sister, Sarah Bonsignore, is an active songwriter and performer in Nashville, and her mother Jenny Bonsignore is
NOEL AND ANNIE HAVE ENJOYED SEVERAL COLLABORATIONS SINCE 2020, INCLUDING "GIVE LOVE EVERYTHING", "LIE IN GRACE", "INDIGO".
NOEL COHEN - LYRICIST
Noel Cohen is a NYC based songwriter who's had his songs recorded by a wide variety of artists.
Pop singer Vitamin C recorded his song "Unhappy Anniversary", which he co-wrote with Sean Altman of Rockeppella fame ("Where in the world is Carmen San Diego"), on her platinum selling debut on Elektra records.
Noel also had the opportunity to work with the late, great R&B Diva Phyllis Hyman. She recorded a song they wrote together on her final CD.
ESNtion artist Danielle Bollinger recorded Noel's "When the broken hearted love again" and hit the Billboard charts both on the Club play list, peaking at #9, and the air play chart, at #18 and rising. Her soon to be released full length CD (Warner Bros.), will feature 3 more of Noel's songs.
Noel also produced a song for SONY artist Iris (in Russia) with noted producer Steve Skinner (Celine Dion, Bette Midler, R.Kelly), which you can hear called "Truly Gone".
"Brightest light in Reno" was featured on an episode on ABC family's series "Beautiful People".In addition, Noel has co-written and had songs recorded by a large group of indie artists, including Amber Rhodes,Lara Nahum, Connor O'Brien, Melanie Denard, Jenny Bruce, Ivy Markaity, Sean Altman and more.
"Crown of thorns" has won second place in the Unisong Songwriting Contest.
JOHN HEMINGWAY - LYRICIST
John Robert Hemingway is a fulltime songwriter living near Nashville, Tennessee who writes image-rich Country, Pop, and Americana songs. Prior to moving to Nashville, John served as a Chicago Coordinator for the Nashville Songwriters Association, International where he led and participated in monthly workshops for aspiring songwriters. He has written and co-written hundreds of songs with more than four dozen songwriters and performing artists from four different continents.
John grew up in a musical family with two brothers on a grain and livestock farm in eastern Iowa. His father played fiddle and accordion. His mother played the piano and clarinet, sang in choirs and was a high school marching band drum major. Both of John’s brothers became professional musicians. John learned to play piano and trumpet at an early age, and began playing in a six-piece country, western, and standards band as a senior in high school. He continued to perform and earn his way through college and grad school with weekend gigs, waiting tables, a graduate teaching assistantship, and various part time jobs. He wrote his first song while in the 8th grade.
John’s songwriting influences are too numerous to mention but include such greats as Steve Allen, Burt Bacharach, The Beatles, Mariah Carey, Johnny Cash, Chicago, David Alan Coe, Floyd Cramer, Hal David, Tom Douglas, Ronnie Dunn, Duke Ellington, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, Billie Joel, Tom Johnson, Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson, Barry Manilow, Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Jennifer Nettles, Jerry Reed, Kenny Rogers, Keith Richards, Don Schlitz, Steve Seskin, Ray Stevens, James Taylor, Phil Vassar, Brian Wilson and Craig Wiseman.
JOHN HEMINGWAY IS A RESPECTED NASHVILLE-BASED SONGWRITER WHO ANNIE HAS COLLABORATED SEVERAL TIMES WITH, INCLUDING “LET ME GO” OFF THE MOST RECENT ALBUM ‘DURBAN GIRL’.
Grammy-nominated, best-selling producer and composer Fred Mollin has been a huge part of Annie’s musical life in 2017 / 2018.
FRED MOLLIN - PRODUCER
Fred Mollin has been working in the top ranks of the music industry for over 4 decades, having produced hundreds of records, and worked with the likes of Billy Joel, BB King, Carole King, Dan Hill, and more. He maintains a busy international schedule of performing, music directing, producing, and composing, and currently divides his time between Los Angeles and Nashville.
Annie approached Fred Mollin in 2017 about the possibility of working with him on her upcoming album, and the two agreed to team up. The result is “Durban Girl”, a 10 track collection of Toronto and Nashville-produced tracks that brings together the best of Annie’s compositional style, and Fred’s mastery of the modern recording studio.
Website / Facebook / Twitter
SCOTT NEARY - GUITAR
Scott Neary is an award winning guitarist/composer/arranger. He is a graduate of the University of North Texas Master’s of Music program, where he was a member of the Grammy Nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, and can be heard on their recording Lab 2013. He was a faculty member of UDLA (Universidad de las Americas) in Quito, Ecuador, from 2013-2014, where he taught theory, arranging, ear training, ensembles, and guitar performance. Now living in Toronto, Scott maintains a busy schedule as a freelance guitarist/pianist/vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer, and music director. You can hear him on Ilios Steryannis’s The Bethany Project (2018), and Leslie Huyler’s Thank You (2017).
SCOTT IS A REGULAR COLLABORATOR OF ANNIE – BOTH IN LIVE SETTINGS AS WELL AS THE STUDIO. HE’S ALSO A MASTER GUITARIST, CLINICIAN, SESSION PLAYER, AND COMPOSER.
NATALIE WONG IS A LONG-TIME AND IMPORTANT COLLABORATOR FOR ANNIE, BOTH LIVE AND IN THE STUDIO
NATALIE WONG - VIOLIN
Natalie has been making music almost as long as she could speak. She started taking lessons at 3, and was playing violin by the age of 7. She had achieved the Royal Conservatory’s ARCT designation by 16, and went on to major in violin performance at U of T. She’s a regular performer with a multitude of orchestras, chamber ensembles, and jazz & pop groups. She’s also a core member of the Niagara Symphony Orchestra. She also leads her own group specializing in Spanish fusion, called “The Urban Gypsy Trio”.
Natalie’s involvement with Annie goes back several years, and now includes over 50 public performances, as well as major contributions to all three of Annie’s albums, Shades of Red, Be Careful What You Wish For, and Durban Girl.
The musical and personal friendship continues to shape Annie’s creative output – something she’s eternally grateful for!
ROSS MACINTYRE - BASS
Ross is one of Canada’s most requested and sought-after bass players, having notched well over a hundred studio recordings in his belt. In addition to dozens of international tours with Grammy and Juno-winning artists, Ross also maintains a busy schedule of performing in Toronto and throughout the world. He’s a graduate of the University of Toronto, and is considered a top master of the upright bass in Canada.
Ross’s collaboration with Annie stretches back to 2015, when he began performing and recording with her. He also takes rightful credit for introducing Annie to her partner, Stu Harrison, himself a mutual friend of both.
ROSS HAS BEEN A TRUSTED MUSICIAN ON DOZENS OF ANNIE’S SHOWS, AS WELL AS AN ALBUM CONTRIBUTOR
STU HARRISON - PIANO
Stu began piano at the age of 3, and quickly began performing, gigging, and composing by his early teens. He achieved his ARCT in Classical Performance by 16, and later attended the University of Toronto in the Jazz Performance program, graduating in 2003.
He has been a regular fixture of the Toronto music scene since, having performed well over 2000 times throughout Canada and the US. He can be found at jazz festivals, clubs, private events, and the recording studio. Part musician, part entrepreneur, he is also heavily involved with Merriam Music, where he manages its sales and marketing departments and leads its business development initiatives.
Stu has assisted Annie in the production of her latest album “DURBAN GIRL”, along with assisting in production of all aspects of Annie’s promotional materials and online presence. He is also featured on 3 tracks from “DURBAN GIRL”.