Shara Worden

Shara Nova
Shara Nova performing with My Brightest Diamond at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee in 2006.
Background information
Born	(1974-04-22) April 22, 1974 (age 42)
Genres	indie rock, experimental
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, producer, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, ukulele, kalimba
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Asthmatic Kitty
Associated acts	My Brightest Diamond Sufjan Stevens Awry The Decemberists Clogs Jedi Mind Tricks
Website	mybrightestdiamond.com

Shara Nova (previously Worden) is the lead singer and songwriter for My Brightest Diamond. As a composer she is most recognized for her choral compositions and the baroque chamber opera "You Us We All". New music composers Sarah Kirkland Snider, David Lang, Steve Mackey and Bryce Dessner have composed pieces for Nova's voice. She has recorded as a guest vocalist with David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Jedi Mind Tricks, The Blind Boys of Alabama and Stateless as well as extensive collaborations with visual artists Matthew Ritchie and Matthew Barney. She was formerly the frontwoman of AwRY. On March 3, 2016 Shara legally changed her last name from Worden to Nova.

Nova was born in El Dorado, Arkansas. Her father was an accordion player and choir director and her mother was an organist for their Pentecostal church. Nova's uncle Donald Ryan, a classical and jazz pianist and arranger, taught her piano lessons as a child. Nova's family moved to many different states when she was a child, including significant time in Sapulpa, Oklahoma and Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Nova graduated from the University of North Texas with a BA in vocal performance. After university, she lived in Moscow, Russia, for a year where she studied Russian and wrote songs, producing a self-released, limited edition EP, Session I. She moved to New York City where she continued to study opera with Josephine Mongiardo. In 2009 Nova moved to Detroit, Michigan.