Corin Curschellas

Corin Curschellas (; born 2 July 1956) is a Swiss singer-songwriter, vocalist (jazz, folk music, world music, chanson), free improvisation, actress (theatre, film, musical), voice actress in (radio drama and audio books) as well as voice instructress.
Biography.
Curschellas was born in 1956 in Chur (Graubünden, Switzerland where she grew up. She attended the local state school in Chur, Kantonsschule Chur, and completed her studies in 1977 with a Primary Teacher's Certificate.
From 1977 to 1983 she studied theatre and theatre pedagogy at the Zurich University of the Arts as well as three semesters of Music Sciences at the University of Zurich.
From 1983 until 1989 Curschellas lived in Berlin, followed by two years in Basel. A grant she received enabled her to move to Paris in 1991, where she ended up living until 2000, with a two-year break she spent in New York City from 1995 to 1997. Between 2000 and 2005 she alternated between Paris and Zürich.
The song "Senza patria", "Homeless" in English, stems from this rather eventful period in her life.
Since 2005 the artist has lived in Zürich and in the Surselvan Rueun about 30 kilometers outside of Chur. In Rueun she lives together with her life partner, the sculptor Linard Nicolay, in the house that belonged to her grandparents and where she used to spend her childhood holidays.
Corin Curschellas' actual mother tongue is the Swiss German dialect. Although from her father she learnt to speak near-perfect Surselvan, she does not herself write any Graubünden Romansh songs. However, she does sing the lyrics and songs of Romansh writers in full Romansh Idiom, including Graubünden Rumansh.
Speaking of her increased connection to her Romansh roots and her return to Rueun, Corin Curschellas says:
Work.
Song.
Corin Curschellas music covers different Music genres: Jazz, Folk, Chanson, World Music, Folk Song, Musical improvisation. She refers to herself ironically as a "sound medium"(Tonträgerin).
Corin Curschellas mostly sings in the Romansh Language, Swiss German and English, though also in Standard German, French or Italian, and even in Gibberish.
From 1977 to 1983 Corin Curschellas worked together with Walter Lietha, where they produced albums like "Die Fahrenda" (The Travellers) or "Liebi Schwiizer guet Nacht" (Goodnight, dear Swiss).
From 1993 to 1997, Corin Curschellas was lead singer for the "Vienna Art Orchestra". She toured with this Orchestra once again in 2009.
Thereafter Corin Curschellas worked on productions with Peter Scherer, a noted musician, producer and composer for film and dance, Noël Akchoté, David Byrne, Andreas Vollenweider, Max Lässer ("Überlandorchester"), Fritz Hauser, Heiri Känzig, Christian Marclay, Hélène Labarrière and Yves Robert. With Steve Argüelles, Christophe Minck and Benoît Delbecq she was for certain periods a full member of their Jazz and Improvisation band "The Recyclers".
She brought out eight albums containing her own songs and realized numerous personal musical projects. A selection of these follows in chronological order.
Instrumental Music.
Corin Curschellas is a Multi-instrumentalist: She plays Piano, Keyboards, Indian Harmonium, Dulcimers and Zithers, Percussion and Ukulele besides the Accordion.
Musical Ethnography.
A good part of Corin Curschellas’ musical work has an ethnographic aspect. She collects excerpts of Romansh cultural heritage – in the case of "Origins (trad)" she used the archive "Alfons Maissen" from the 1930s. She makes these texts known through her albums and concerts and the songbook "La Grischa" that she is working on. The book "La Grischa" contains, besides the lyrics and harmonies to the songs in the albums "La Grischa" and Origins (trad.)", much ethnographical musical information by Iso Albin.
 This ethnographical engagement has caused her to become known as the "Grande Dame of contemporary and traditional Romansh Song"
. At the same time Corin Curschellas distances herself from Pop-style Alpine Folklore.
The concert project “Suisse Miniature” forms part of the same theme. The project was born out of one of the “Convivenza-Events” of Lia Rumantscha in the year 2010. By 2013, a collection of songs in the three original languages of Graubünden, Walser German, Italian and Romansh had come about. The name of the project refers to the Open Air Theatre "Suisse Miniature" in Melide, Ticino on the one hand and on the other the fact that the Canton Graubünden represents both culturally and linguistically a kind of Switzerland in miniature.
With "La Pura" in 1992 her first concern with ethnographic issues lies quite far back in the past. However, Corin Curschellas sees in it a biographical connection.
 (English: the older I become, the greater the affinity for the traditional songs.)
Solo Programs.
Corin Curschellas started to do solo performances in 2005:
From the program "Mono" comes Corin Curschellas’ musical rendition of the Canzun de Sontga Margriata (English: Song of Saint Margaret), one of the oldest Romansh texts in existence. The song tells how St. Margaret, who has dressed up as an alpine dairyman, works on the Alp, but by accident her disguise is unexpectedly revealed. Corin Curschellas interprets the song in the context of nature conservation and sustainability.
Composition.
Corin Curschellas produced her first substantial composition in 1979/1980 while she was still studying. It was a theatrical composition for the play "Woman" by Edward Bond at the National Theatre in Zürich – Schauspielhaus Zürich, directed by George Gruntz.
In 2003 Corin Curschellas composed the music for the TV drama, "Marilyn" by Stina Werenfels together with Christian Rösli
In 2014 she worked on the cultural-political project "Uccelin – eine Singvogel Suite" (Uccelin – a Songbird Suite). Die Suite pays Hommage to and supports the art project «Uccellin» (English "Little Bird") of the Chur artist Hans Danuser. The content deals with children's Counting-out games and the political theme is the influence of politics on art.
Besides this, Corin Curschellas composes songs for Michael von der Heide (for example the award-winning "Jeudi amour", 1998), and previously for Vera Kaa und Dodo Hug.
Theatre.
Corin Curschellas has acted, amongst others, in the following productions:
In 2006 und 2007 Corin Curschellas played the part of "Frau Rossi" in the Musical "Die schwarzen Brüder" (The Black Brothers) 2008 she acted in the Musical "Elternabend" (Parent's Evening) at the Theater am Hechtplatz.
Radio Plays.
In 2008 Corin Curschellas played in the series Jimmy Flitz by Roland Zoss, where she spoke the part of "Tigerfliege" (Tigerfly) and sang. In 2009 she performed as speaker and singer in Fritz Hauser's radio play "Am Rande des Horizonts" (On the Edge of the Horizon). In 2012 she played in the radio play "Ustrinkata" of Arno Camenisch SRF 1 in a role as speaker.
Film.
In 2007 Corin Curschellas acted in the Film "Marmorera".
Education.
During her days in Berlin, Corin Curschellas taught at the Musikschule Kreuzberg. She has, from time to time, worked as guest lecturer at the Zurich University of the Arts and at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Discography.
Corin Curschellas has produced eight personal albums since:
Collaboration.
Corin Curschellas worked on productions together with the following artists: