Andy Truscott speaks with IVA. Known professionally as IVA, Emily Samson Tepe is no stranger to working hard, digging deep and crossing boundaries. She was trained as a classical soprano at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, but she has truly found her voice in writing and singing her own songs.

Born Emily Samson Tepe, IVA trained at Princeton University, the Juilliard School, and the Manhattan School of Music before moving to Stockholm, Sweden, on a Fulbright scholarship to study the music of her ancestors. She was poised for a career as a classical singer, winning rave reviews for her concerts abroad, until a chance meeting changed her direction: at the gym she got to chatting with the casting director of Late Night with Conan O’Brien, who invited her to sing on the show. Max Weinberg took notice and IVA returned many times as a singer and actress. She realized her voice suited more modern settings for music.

IVA has spent the past years writing songs with Nashville-based artists Kim Richey, Adam Ollendorff, Kyle Ryan, Jeremy Lister, and Charlie Berry. She has been performing these songs at the piano and on her newly learned guitar for her live performances. This past year she recorded her next album, “Nobody’s Woman” with producers Ross Bellenoit and Jaron Olevsky as well as with her band and will release the record to radio in the Fall of 2022 thanks to the streaming success of the “Run”. She is also currently composing an opera, called “Inside Out”, addressing her experience with domestic abuse.

IVA has a thriving private studio, allowing singers, musicians, and performers to learn from multiple vocal techniques to find their authentic voice (ivavoicestudio.com). IVA is based in Brooklyn and Delaware, where she leads her Philadelphia band.  To learn more visit www.ivavoice.com.