Irene Kurka studied voice at the Musikhochschule Munich with Reri Grist, at the Meadows School of the Arts (SMU) in Dallas with Barbara Hill Moore and at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver with Nancy Hermiston.
The multifaceted soprano received many awards and scholarships. She sings recitals, opera and oratorio throughout Germany, Europe and the United States. Within the realm of contemporary music, she is in great demand; many composers (Eggert, Corbett, Weeks, Muntendorf, Frey, Kampe, Seither, Brass, Beuger, Pisaro, etc.) wrote and dedicated new creative output for her to perform as well as record. She has premiered over 210 pieces.
Since 2009, Irene Kurka has focused intensively on the repertory for unaccompanied voice (Hildegard von Bingen, Nono, Berio, Cage, Bauckholt, Brass, Beuger, Stäbler, etc.). In 2012 she released a CD with music by Hildegard von Bingen and John Cage, as a co-production with Bayerischer Rundfunk and Wandelweiser Records. This was followed by another CD co-production with Bayerischer Rundfunk and Wandelweiser Records, considering the topic of prayer and containing music by Brass, Beuger, Boon, Weeks, Corbett and Houben. After the acclaimed debut of her solo programme Prayer at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in the UK, Irene Kurka has been invited to perform at hcmf//@l’auditori in Barcelona. Graham McKenzie, the director for both festivals in Huddersfield and Barcelona, was so impressed by the programme that he decided to bring it to the Catalonian metropolis in October 2014.
Irene Kurka sings with the ensembles E-MEX, notabu, Musikfabrik, Wandelweiser, modern art ensemble, Pegnitzschäfer-Klangkonzepte, Schlagquartett Köln, chronophonie, Kölner Vokalsolisten, La Tenerezza, socell 21 and Soprakkordeon.
She has performed, among others, at the following venues and festivals: Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Kölner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gare du Nord Basel, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, L’Auditori Barcelona, Theater Dortmund, Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hungarian Radio Budapest, Poznan Musical Spring, Moments Musicaux Aarau, Hydra Festival Boston, Acht Brücken Festival Köln, Festival Muziek Biennale Niederrhein, Theater Osnabrück, aDevantgarde Festival München, Opening! Festival Trier, Kunst-Station Sankt Peter Köln, Ensemblia Mönchengladbach, Randspiele Berlin-Zepernick, Greifswalder Bachwoche, Oberstdorfer Musiksommer, Fränkischer Sommer, Neuburger Kammeroper, Bayreuther Barock.
www.irenekurka.de
