Meet Jonathan Auna – SIBC’s man of many voices

Jonathan Auna is so good at voice production, he once created the voice of a character that people was real.

“It was the voice of a market vendor for a commercial,” he said during an interview at SIBC studios.

“People around town started searching for him, they thought he was from a certain area. Even some of the people I work with didn’t know it was me.”

“It was quite funny.”

Mr Auna, who has been with SIBC with almost three years is the radio station’s commercial producer. In other words, he is the man who creates the voices for SIBC’s radio commercials.

He creates about three a week – but that increases up to to three a day during special events – for broadcast on the radio.

“I write the scripts,” he said. “Sometimes a client will want something specific or have a particular idea and I have to flesh it out … but sometimes it’s a blank page and I can get really creative.

“I’ve always enjoyed theater, and it’s like of a form of that. I also try to use humour, which is really important in the Solomon Islands. But overall I love doing it – except in the busy times it can get a bit stressful!”

Mr Auna is also a well-known musician, and performed a stirring rendition of the Solomon Islands national anthem at the recent RAMSI farewell celebration.

He said being a musician helped him manipulate his vocals to create different voices and project his voice in different ways.

“It helps a lot,” he said. “You can get a bit flexible with your vocals and control tone – it’s a different type of singing I guess!”

If you’re interested in getting Mr Auna to create an advertisement for you, get in contact with the SIBC team at 20051 or sales@sibc.com.sb