Night and day

By Tamar Satov

Victoria Sanjana is taking the stage at CICA’s Financial Reporting and Accounting Conference in Toronto this month, but don’t expect to see the CA behind a lectern. A professional jazz vocalist and pianist, Sanjana is set to perform at the event’s networking reception.

It’s just the latest fusion of music and accounting for Sanjana, 45, who in January became the director of finance and administration at Canada’s only not-for-profit 24/7 jazz radio station, JAZZ.FM91. It’s a merger she’s been negotiating since high school, when she won both the accounting and music awards in her final year. After completing degrees in music and business at York University, she pursued a career as a CA starting out at Price Waterhouse and eventually moving into various roles in industry. At the same time, she taught jazz piano and theory, and took on gigs at local clubs and events — including a memorable Christmas party for CTV in 2006 where she played in front of 2,500 guests on a white grand piano.

Meanwhile, Sanjana’s daytime colleagues knew nothing of her evening act. “I kept it quiet,” she says. “I was pretending to be the straitlaced accountant.” That’s not an issue at the station, where a typical day might include a visit from crooner Harry Connick Jr. or after-hour concerts such as the annual Jazz Lives fundraiser. More importantly, no one raises an eyebrow when she rushes home at 4:30 on Fridays to change, load up her keyboard and head to a weekly appearance at Toronto’s Wildfire restaurant. “It’s not as glamorous as you might think,” she insists. “If I were Diana Krall, I’d have someone to carry my keyboard.”