Biography

Tania de Jong AM

Tania de Jong AM is Founder of Creative Universe, Creativity Australia, The Song Room, Pot-Pourri and Music Theatre Australia entertainment and event production company. A graduate of the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Law with Honours and the Victorian College of the Arts, Tania is considered one of Australia's most talented sopranos. She has performed with the Victoria State Opera, as a soloist with a number of orchestras and has performed in over 40 countries and released 7 CDs. She also attended college in the USA on a tennis scholarship and is the granddaughter of Slawa Duldig who invented the first foldable umbrella in 1929 in Vienna.

In 2006 Tania received the Ernst and Young Australian Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award as Founder of The Song Room. The Song Room has provided access to creative learning for over 250,000 disadvantaged Australian children.

Tania's other awards include the "Outstanding Individual Contribution to Australian Culture", Churchill Fellowship, Brainlink Woman of Achievement 2009 and the Accessibility Award in The Melbourne Awards. She was a finalist in the Telstra Business Women's Awards and was inducted into the AGSE Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame at Swinburne University.

She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2008 for service to the arts as a performer and entrepreneur and through the establishment and development of music and arts enrichment programs for schools and communities.

She has recently founded Creative Universe to inspire people to find their voice and to bring greater wellbeing, engagement and innovation into organisations through creative thinking and leadership programs. She gives keynote speeches around the world as well as developing and presenting unique leadership programs for organisations including BHP, Telstra, ANZ, Royal Children's Hospital and various universities. She works with a number of disadvantaged migrants and communities to build social capital through the acclaimed Creativity Australia “With One Voice” choir social inclusion programs.

Tania is working on a number of creative projects including Pot-Pourri's 25th Anniversary CD and tour SILVER, The Pianist and The Diva and ECHO a new music theatre work with Stefan Cassomenos. She is Founder and Executive Producer of Creative Innovation 2010 and 2011.

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Awards

Awarded Ernst & Young Australian Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 Click here to read article in Entrepreneur of the Year Magazine 2006.
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch presenting award to Tania de Jong	Tania de Jong & Michael Gudinski
Inducted into the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame 2007 Click here to read more on the AGSE site.
Hall of Fame Awardees	Tania de Jong with her award
Honoured with the Accessibility Award in The Melbourne Awards 2005 Click here to read more on the City of Melbourne site.
Awarded Outstanding Individual Contribution to Australian Culture 1998

Memberships