Kijana

Griot / Digital Diva  /  Singer / Author

 

Need Diversity at your event?

Check out the different genres of music Kijana offers...



Classical


























Vaudeville                                         Patriotic















LoveSongs                                       Showtunes

A unique international presenter whose programs are eclectic and entertaining.





Kijana’s Free AudioBook:

The Special Something





Vocal Samples

1 minute Love Song Medley

Santa Baby




 

Kijana Wiseman, M.Ed.

Griot / Digital Diva  / Singer / Playwright


Winner: APCA Best Diversity Program of the Year 2001
Winner: APCA Performing Artist of the Year 2002
Winner: APCA Best Diversity Program of the Year 2002

Finalist:  APCA Performing Artist of the Year, 2003-2005

Kijana Wiseman, M.Ed. is a versatile performer of theatrical and communicative arts. An award-winning lyric coloratura soprano with a 3.5 octave range, Kijana has been performing since she was four years old--professionally since the age of nine. She has won the City of Houston Talent Competition and been named the national APCA 2002 Best College Performing Artist of the Year.  Her interactive one-woman show, The Griot, has been named the Best College Diversity Program for 2001 and 2002.   


Kijana began her theatrical career as a child actress at Houston's Theatre Inc. and Alley Theatre where she held many lead roles in musicals and plays. She received her BFA in Theatre from the University of Houston and her Masters, specializing in African Theatre, as a result of joint studies at Texas Southern University and the University of Liberia, West Africa.  Kijana lived in Liberia,  for 6 years, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer, working and performing with the National Liberian Cultural Troupe, then as a performer, model and TV host of  “Under the Palm Tree with Kijana” (for 3 years) on ELBC-TV.  She sang with Mariam Makeba, Hugh Masakela and, upon returning to America, for several years with the Houston Symphony Chorus, The WABC Workshop Chorus, The Oratorio Society’s Masterworks Chorus and as a Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster Artist.


Kijana’s finely tuned voice makes most audiences think she is a lip syncing with a CD when they first hear her.  She has a working songlist comprised of hundreds of jazz / pop / vaudeville / showtunes and international songs with tracks or live accompaniment and has appeared in over a dozen countries on the American, African and European continents.  She has performed as “The Griot” at over 300 venues in America and Europe. Her Demos, SongLIst, Biography, promotional files, performance history, newspaper reviews and articles, photo gallery,  and more info is available at the Kijana.com homepage or by calling  713-521-0900 (international Skype.com phone#:  kijanawiseman).   Kijana owns The Wiseman Company and MoShows.com and is happily married to Aundra Sebastian Fusilier.

Kijana’s Extended Services and Demo Homepage

“It is a pleasure having Kijana perform at my annual client appreciation dinner....I plan to utilize her services every year. She is a great performer, entertaining and talented. She is also a true professional to work with. I highly recommend her.”

-Courtney Johnson Rose - GRI, MCD...
George E. Johnson Development Inc....www.courtneyjohnsonrose.com

More Videos:

Kijana as The Griot in Atlanta! 
See excerpts here...

THIS VIDEO:

THE KWANZAA GRIOT


Kijana performs her award-winning “singing lecture” as The Kwanzaa Griot in several  different venues. ...Click here to see this original Griot  Show at
http://youtube.com/moshows

THIS VIDEO:

Kijana is shown in concert with award-winning pianist Janie Frazier... performing originals by them both....Click here to view this demo at
http://youtube.com/moshows


“HeartSongs”
Beautiful, romantic melodies

from both sides of love.


This program is perfect for receptions, banquets, countryclubs and special events...


Kijana uses her 3.5 octaves to sing romantic showtunes and melodious originals--and more: Streisand, Norah Jones, Alicia Keyes, Whitney Houston, Natalie/Nat King Cole, Billy Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, etc, peppered with the music of Vaudeville, Cats, The Sound of Music, Finian's Rainbow, Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Porgy & Bess, etc. Available w/ tracks or live musicians. Gemini Love Songs SongList.

“THE GRIOT”

Adaptable Audience Adventures!

APCA Best Diversity Program for 2001 & 2002


Kijana, as The Griot, takes your audience on a time trip back to the dawn of existence while portraying many different types of women in history: an African maiden, slave, gospel choir director, preacher, toddler, jazz, vaudeville rock and even opera singer-- celebrating our common ancestrial musical heritage.


THEME VARIATIONS:

The Kwanzaa Griot,

The Children's Griot,

The Women's Griot

& Griot Love Songs

 

Workshops: 

“So, What RU Doin’ Bout the Rest of Yr Life?”  

Kijana uses dramatic interp, discussion, role-playing, Q&A and customized worksheets to imbue a sense of self-determination  ...encouraging participants to take control of their lives. This workshop is customized to suit the needs of participants in various stages of life: elementary, teens, college, adults & seniors.


Click here for a downloadable  copy of the participant’s Worksheet.

   

“Rebate a Date” 


A candid workshop on the realities of dating survival. Proven techniques to help students avoid date rape, awkward goodbyes, HIV-AIDS, "Homer" and the "Hoochies."     Includes extensive audience participation with interaction, dramatic improv, Q & A and open discussion.  Perfect for high school /college orientations.

Shows:  Offerings are available with tracks and live musicians and as a part of Kijana’s  speciality programs:   “The Griot”, “Gemini Love Songs” plus Christian Spirituals and special music for Weddings, Funerals, Banquets, Parties, Receptions, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, MLK Day Freedom Songs and a smattering of songs in select foreign languages ... just ask for your favorites.  Kijana reads music, is a quick study...and her 3.5 octave range can probably accommodate you!  Check out her must current Songlist!

Here Kijana performs as Evita with CCPVA students at the Grand Opening of the new Houston Texans YMCA.

Kijana performs a medley of the National Anthem and “America the Beautiful” at the Houston Procurement Breakfast at Houston Community College.

7 minutes of excerpts of diverse songs from Kijana’s  1 hour outdoor “Tunes at Noon” Concert at the Houston Downtown Library Plaza

Kijana performs Andre Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu, Juneteenth weekend, 2019, at the TSU Museum at a special presentation of “Lights! Camera! Action! ...in the Tré”
a tribute to the legends of Houston’s Third Ward.