>>> Amelia Cuni
is a singer and composer/performer. She has trained her voice and musical skills in India, according to the tradition of DHRUPAD singing.
Her present work includes contemporary and experimental music collaborations with several artists of international repute.
She is engaged in the transmission of the knowledge she has acquired from her gurus and teaches at the Vicenza Conservatorium in Italy. She is based in Berlin.
Through her home page, Amelia shares her thoughts and presents her various projects and collaborations.

>>> Amelia Cuni about herself

(from: 'Ear & Eye: Encounters with World Music' Schott Verlag, Mainz 2002)

...Today, we are still dealing with shameful prejudices and simplifications, but we do have the possibility to relate to Indian performing arts with a new awareness. My personal history as an Italian girl who chose to become a professional singer of Indian music belongs to this changed panorama.
For reasons I find difficult to explain (but impeccably interpreted by my Indian friends by means of the reincarnation theory), I decided as an 18 year old music lover to go to India and learn dhrupad singing and kathak dance `at the feet of the gurus ´.

Reflecting on my artistic choices, I now see them as having been inspired by a continuum of music history and ideals. By attempting to bring these diverse cultural influences together in a dialectical and creative way, I am living out this particular destiny of mine as passionately as I possibly can.
My personal journey might be misunderstood as a product of a general tendency of our time which can lead to superficiality and exploitation. More than 20 years ago, I decided to dive fully into Indian music but I never wished to take on an Indian name, if this can clarify my attitude. I must also admit that in my unusual role as an outsider, I have often stretched and challenged my teachers' concept of traditional training by following an unorthodox path. I am grateful for their understanding and far seeing support. In this way I have been able to retain my European roots while allowing myself a `full immersion´ for more than a decade.

Although I did not become a proponent of a specific gharana (style, school of music), I do feel responsible for the knowledge which has so generously been given to me. In this respect, I could say that I see myself as a kind of `messenger´ or `translator´ between worlds.Nowadays, my artistic quest is stimulated by numerous encounters and collaborations in various directions: from Early to New Music, across Minimalism and Electronica, but I still seem to keep strongly connected to my dhrupad soul which remains my primary medium of expression. Although I have gone my own way, I feel I belong to a vast stream which binds me to generations of ustads and pandits . Indian music is steeped in an ancient tradition and at the same time it is open to renewal and non-conformity. Today, it may also be shared, researched and enjoyed outside its geographical boundaries. It is a lively and inspiring example of a culture we cannot ignore.