# Melody Diachun

Melody Diachun (born December 30, 1968) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and recording artist. She won the Jazz Artist of the Year award at the 2023 Western Canadian Music Awards.

## Biography

Diachun was born in Montréal, Québec and raised in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Singing from an early age accompanied by her father Bill Diachun, a part-time singer and piano player, she began piano lessons at age 6 and played French horn and electric bass through junior and senior high school. At age 15 she took her first professional singing gig. At age 17 Diachun moved back to Montréal to attend McGill University where she was the first vocalist admitted to the school's Jazz Performance Program. Diachun earned her Bachelor of Music degree "with distinction" in Jazz Voice in 1994. After university, Diachun moved to New York City to study briefly with jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan under a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.
In 1997, Diachun moved to Western Canada and began a long-term engagement at the Banff Springs Hotel where she met her future husband, guitarist, bassist, and mixing engineer Doug Stephenson. From 2000 to 2012 Diachun worked as a freelance vocalist in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2012, Diachun began teaching at the Contemporary Music & Technology Program at Selkirk College in Nelson, British Columbia. She took on the role of School Chair of the School of the Arts at Selkirk College in August 2022.

## Awards and honours

| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award | Result | Notes |
| 2023 | Melody Diachun | Jazz Artist of The Year | Western Canadian Music Awards | Won | |
| 2019 | Melody Diachun | Artist of the Year | Kootenay Music Awards | Nominated | |
| 2019 | "Get Back to the Groove" | Best R&B Song | Kootenay Music Awards | Nominated | Songwriters: Melody Diachun, Doug Stephenson |
| 2019 | "High Definition Love" | Best Pop Song | Kootenay Music Awards | Nominated | Songwriters: Melody Diachun/Doug Stephenson |
| 2018 | Melody Diachun | Artist of the Year | Kootenay Music Awards | Nominated | |
| 2018 | "That's What Delete Is For" | Best Blues Song | Kootenay Music Awards | Nominated | Songwriter: Melody Diachun |
| 2009 | Melody Diachun | Female Vocalist of the Year | Canadian National Jazz Awards | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Metaphora, Altered Laws | Outstanding Jazz Recording of The Year | Western Canadian Music Awards | Won | feat. Melody Diachun |
| 2008 | Metaphora, Altered Laws | Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year | JUNO Awards | Nominated | feat. Melody Diachun |

## Discography
### As leader

* Lullaby of the Leaves (self-release, 2002)
* Dreams & Places (self-released, 2006)
* EQ (Cellar Live, 2008)
* Get Back to the Groove (Third Beach, 2018)
* Sumner's Tales: The Music of Sting (Third Beach, 2022)

### As guest

* Kris feat. Melody Diachun, Johanna Sillanpa, and Roger Mooking a.k.a. Roger Audio Truth Be Told (2006)
* Altered Laws featuring the Babayaga String Quartet and Melody Diachun Metaphora (Artist Jazz Records, 2007)
* Gabriel Mark Hasselbach with Jeff Lorber, Victor Bailey, Warren Hill (musician), Melody Diachun, Alan "Lupe" Smithee and Rock Hendricks Cool Down (Wind Tunnel, 2008)
* Dave Ronald So Alive (self-released, 2017)
* Tom Keenlyside Quartet A Night at the Espresso (Cellar Live, 2022)