Born in 1984, Maria Spiessberger attended a high school specializing in humanities and fine arts and was an active member of a community theater group. Her dedication to jazz and her interest in the voice as an instrument and its less commonly used possibilities is what brought her to the study of vocal jazz. She started to take regular vocal lessons at age of 14 as an extraordinary student with Nika Zach at the former called Bruckner Conservatory Linz.
After finishing high school she moved to Vienna and studied at the Schubert Conservatory with Harriet Müller-Thyl before she went to the University for Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz, where she is now studying with Dena DeRose and is going to graduate in June 2008 with the Bachelor of Music.
Maria Spiessberger’s repertoire ranges from pieces of the Great American Song Book and bebop to original compositions and modern jazz. One particular concentration of hers is arranging for ensembles, creating settings to support the character of the pieces. Her focus is writing for horns and voice: “I like to use the voice as an equal instrument in a horn section, adding a new color to the music.†says Maria Spiessberger.
Her interest in the connection of literature and music showed in earlier years through her concentration on vocalese, the art of writing lyrics to an improvised instrumental solo. The lyricist translates a non-verbal “story†into language, staying as close as possible to the original rhythm, melody and sound of the soloist. Her occupation with vocalese led her gradually to the Beat Generation, the literary counterpart to bebop, both of which inspired her to write her own lyrics and to set text to music. “I am conscious about where the tradition comes from and under which circumstances it developed. Different art movements always influenced each other and to get to know more about these indirect connections helps me to move forward with my own music.â€
She has attended workshops and/or studied with many great singers and instrumentalists such as Fritz Pauer, Ed Partyka, Renato Chicco, Theo Bleckmann, Jon Hendricks, Kurt Elling, Jay Clayton, Laurie Antonioli, Sheila Jordan, Mark Murphy, Ingrid Jensen, Jerry Bergonzi, Dena DeRose, Annette Giesriegel, Ines Reiger et al
Since fall 2006 she has been organizing a weekly vocal session at the “Miles Jazz Club†in Graz.
Maria Spiessberger is leader of the “Maria-Christina Quintet†for which she writes and arranges her own music. She also sings in various groups with different instrumentations and styles, ranging from a bass/vocal duo, piano trio and marimba ensemble to a bass quartet, ten-piece ensemble, free vocal ensemble, “Zedef†and the KUG big band.
She was a semi-finalist at the Montreux Voice Competition 2007 and at the Brussels Voice Competiton 2007.
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