Dara Schindelka (she/her) is a Saskatchewan fem folk artist with a touch of the north and the pull of the prairies. Dara is a classically trained pianist, singer and educator that not only performs but teaches music at the University of Regina Conservatory. Her knowledge and love of music is evident in her compositions and arrangements of both instrumental and vocal works.
Her debut EP, Thou Art Loosed, was a celebration of female strength and gained her awards and followers throughout 2020-2021. She won honorable mention at the Love Wins Festival in New York as well as the March 2020 song of the month for her title track with this album.
As 2022 started, Dara was granted a SOCAN artist career development grant to complete work on her album, Saturn Returns, which was voted the #6 album with the Saskatchewan Music Awards in 2022. She partnered with Boreal Heartland in northern Saskatchewan to create a unique tea based on the music of the title track and toured across Canada with her intimate songs and stories with the help of a Creative Saskatchewan grant, as well as the generous support of the Cherry Tree Music Fund. She was nominated for keyboard player of the year by the Saskatchewan Country Music Association as well as awards for video of the year with the Saskatchewan Film Awards and the Women’s Freedom Song International Contest.
Dara supports music festivals and live streams that bring awareness and help to women’s issues and has worked with Stay Human Productions, Rock Against Racism, Piwapin Women’s Shelter, Prince Albert Multi Cultural Council, and FemFolk UK and most recently with the Saskatchewan Council for International Co-operation.
Dara was chosen as an artist to showcase at the Ontario Presents Showcase September 2022 in Orillia, Ontario and did shows across Canada along the way. She returns to Ontario this 2024 winter to perform her latest album as well as at numerous festivals and venues across western Canada. Her latest grant, with SaskArts, was to research traditional folk songs that tell the stories of women. From this research the album She Imagined was born and is a showcase of the past and present issues that face marginalized voices everywhere with a positive message of power and freedom.
