Biography
Wiltrud was born in Ravensburg, Germany and had devoted her life to her classical training. The winner of the coveted Karl Erb Stiftung music scholarship, she had studied classical singing and piano at the Freiburg and the Frankfurt Music School. She had performed as a solo soprano in oratorios, song recitals and operas with high-profile ensembles and orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra.
Despite her passion and deep respect for the classical canon, she ultimately decided she needed the freedom to both express herself and connect on a heart-to-heart level with an audience – something that was not always possible within the exacting and time-honored conventions of classical music.
In 2002, like many great German artists before her, Wiltrud made the journey from Berlin to New York City, the crossroads of the world. On a small Times Squares stage, she began a journey that would ultimately bridge her operatic background with the global pulse and rhythms of New York City. Her background was a passport of sorts into a circle of international producers and musicians. She began to write her own music while performing and recording with a wide range of world-class talent like Freddie Scott (“Hey Girl”, NYC Soul Legend), Donald Guillaume (drummer for the Fugees and Wyclef Jean), and Chieli Minucci (Special EFX).
What followed was an intense period of creativity that found Wiltrud bouncing back and forth across the Atlantic. Singing in at least 9 different languages, Wiltrud developed her “Global Acoustic Project” that captivates audiences with a refreshing blend of classical traditions and jazzy/world music beats, in New York City at The Gershwin Hotel as well as at the Bodensee Festival in Germany: “A warm and rich voice with the highest quality of sound and seducing timbre...nobody could escape the hypnotic power!” (Bodensee Festival Press). “Wiltrud Weber’s fresh, spontaneous and captivating stage presence connects with the audience on every level!” (Neke Carson, Curator of the Gershwin Hotel, NYC)
In 2007 producer and multi-instrumentalist Jephté Guillaume of Tet Kale Records hears Wiltrud Weber sing at one of her performances in New York City. He is deeply touched and immediately realizes the potential of this unexpected fusion of musical cultures. The two started a very inspiring collaboration.
Their first single “Blue and Deep”, featuring Wiltrud Weber’s powerful and haunting soprano voice in the setting of Jephté Guillaume’s International House and Dance track, immediately found heavy rotation at the 2008 Winter Music Conference: “A Soprano in the House” (Indamixworldwide.com), set fire to international dance floors, was featured on BBC Radio, London and CBS Radio, Canada and mentioned as the record “to be remembered as one of the stand-out songs of 2008 and beyond.” After Wiltrud’s soaring vocals and Guillaume’s wild, Afro-Haitian instrumentation and production received critical and popular acclaim, there was no question the pair would record a full album.
Their second visionary vinyl single “Deja Vu” in 2010 was praised “...a powerful, fine-tuned tour-de-force of timeless musical complexity and beauty that reveals the full studio talent of Guillaume and the beautifully haunting vocal ranges of Weber’s unique gift and leaves the dance community in blissful awe.” (Dope Jams, NY)
The long-awaited album “Blue and Deep” will be finally released in September 2011!
