Susanne Abbuehl
Biography Susanne Abbuehl
Susanne Abbuehl
Swiss/Dutch singer and composer was born in Berne, Switzerland, on July 30, 1970. Drawn to music and language early on, composing songs and writing words in her own language, she started studying the harpsichord at age seven. At age seventeen, she moved to Los Angeles where she graduated from high school and started taking lessons in classical singing. She was a member of a high school jazz group that toured the U.S. and Canada. Back in Europe, she took up professional education in jazz and classical voice at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where she studied with the late Jeanne Lee. She earned a Masters Degree, graduating cum laude.
Abbuehl also studied North Indian classical vocal music with Dr. Indurama Srivastava in Amsterdam and later became a student of famed master singer Dr. Prabha Atre in Bombay, to whom she regularly returns.
She studied composition and analysis with Dutch composer Diderik Wagenaar.
Her recordings for ECM, „April“ (2001), and “Compass” (2006) received wide critical acclaim internationally. „April“ won an EDISON Music Award (Dutch Grammy) in 2002.
2013 will see the release of „The Gift“, her third recording for ECM. It features compositions by Susanne Abbuehl for poems by Sara Teasdale, Emily Brontë and Emily Dickinson. Produced by Manfred Eicher, the line-up includes Dutch pianist Wolfert Brederode, Swiss flugelhornist Matthieu Michel and Finnish drummer Olavi Louhivuori.
With her own group, Susanne Abbuehl has toured extensively and was invited to perform at major festivals in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
She performed and recorded with musicians from various musical backgrounds, including the Jeanne Lee Music & Dance Ensemble, Christof May, Stephan Oliva, Michel Portal, Mats Eilertsen and Paolo Pandolfo.
Susanne Abbuehl has been commissioned to compose for various settings, including work for radio, theatre, and sound environments.
As the only non-American singer, she was chosen by the Downbeat Critics Poll 2002 in the category “Best Female Vocalist/Talent Deserving Wider Recognition”. In the same poll, one year later, she held the 6th position in the category “Rising Star Female Vocalist”, and her album “April” was featured among the best in the category “Beyond Album”.
Susanne Abbuehl is Professor at the music universities in Lucerne and Lausanne, Switzerland. She has also lectured in France, Italy, England and Holland.
