Aura Urziceanu, also known as Aura Rully or Aura Borealis, was born in Bucharest in 1946 to a family of musicians. When she was five years old, she began studying violin with her father and singing at sixteen. After being awarded second prize at Mamaia’s National Festival, she went on a long, successful tour of Canada and the USA where she performed with Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. She returned to the old continent in 1971, where she represented Romania at International Festival of Knokke in Belgium. With the Romanian team, she won the “European Cup” and, with the European team the long-awaited “World Cup”, in strong competition with the USA team. She also won the Press Prize for best Festival interpreter. This was an unprecedented achievement in the 13-year history of this competition. She made her debut at the New York (Newport) Festival in 1972, along with Duke Ellington. She has toured the USSR, France and Germany, Italy, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria. Brazil, Portugal, Portugal, Japan, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Quincy Jones, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis have still been with her. Aura continues to perform and is equally comfortable with folklore and classical music.
