About The Artists

Katie Noonan

Over the past 20 years, five-time ARIA award-winning artist Katie Noonan has proven herself one of Australia’s most hardworking, versatile and prolific artists.

Named one of the greatest Australian singers of all time by the Herald Sun, Katie has produced 25 studio albums over her career with seven x platinum record sales under her belt and 27 ARIA award nominations that span diverse genres. Katie has performed for royalty, national and international leaders, and blazed a trail for young women artists.

Music, for Katie, is a lifelong lesson, a generous act of giving, and a means to change the world.

Karin Schaupp

Karin Schaupp is one of the most outstanding guitarists on the international scene, her playing hailed by the German press as “so perfect, so complete, that it seems like a miracle”. As one of Australia’s most broadcast instrumentalists, she is sought after internationally as a recitalist, soloist and festival guest, making countless television and radio appearances. Her unique stage presence and magical, passionate playing have inspired many composers to write works especially for her.

Karin is currently Head of Classical Guitar at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University

About The Project 

Karin and Katie met through their music teacher mothers – Katie’s mum Maggie and Karin’s mum Isolde, at the Stoliarsky School of Music in the mid 80’s in Brisbane. Although neither of them remember meeting (!), they then admired each other’s musical journeys from afar as they both became professional musicians. In December 2004, Richard Tognetti partnered them together for his Huntington Festival and they immediately loved the experience and decided to start collaborating. Katie says, “playing with Karin is such an exquisite pleasure, but what has been even more special is that we have become close friends and it’s been wonderful to share the experience of being professional working mums together. When we first played together, I was pregnant with my son Dexter (now 18) and our Songs of the Southern Skies album was made with her son Raphael in utero and then again as a newborn! We then toured with Karin’s wonderful mum Isolde and she and I would often take turns holding little Raph while we rehearsed and did our soundchecks! I recall many funny road trips with Isolde driving a little like she was back on the German autobahn and Karin trying to breastfeed while her daughter Alexa and I chatted away!”

In November 2013 Karin lost her mother and in the same week, Katie’s husband Zac lost one of his dear friends and mentor David Ades. Soon after Katie wrote the song ‘Gratitiude’ as a reflection on these two amazing people and in particular, the wonderful legacy they left for their students.

Karin says, “Katie’s voice and incredible musicianship moved me from the moment I first heard her perform but you never know how a collaboration will work until you try it. Our musical connection was immediately very special. Recording this latest album, I was moved to tears more than once by the synergy of our music making and by Katie’s pure voice and beautiful expressivity. We are very similar in many important ways and that is also why we are such good friends- we “get” each other. We share a somewhat obsessive strive for perfection and an inextinguishable love and gratitude for what we do. We both make music from our hearts.”

Katie says, “For this album, we are looking forward to celebrating our extraordinary Aussie female songwriters and storytellers in new interpretations arranged exclusively for Karin and I. We will also feature special guest vocalists and musicians Zoe Hauptmann on double bass and Jess Green on guitar.”