Thea Soti

Soti was raised in a Hungarian family in Serbia, where she received classical musical training since her age six. As a classical pianist, she participated successfully in several international competitions. Later she engaged herself with jazz and popular musical styles in Budapest and Berlin.^[1][2] She studied jazz vocals and composition at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, University of Lucerne and Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.^[3] Her main focus is working with the human voice as an instrument and combining structures of free improvisation with open compositions, either for solo, small or large ensembles.^[4]

In 2010, she founded her world-music project "Nanaya"^[5] with Daniel S. Scholz (Oud), Johannes Keller (Double-Bass) and Jonas Pirzer (Drums), where she sings mostly in Hungarian.^[6] She has toured in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Hungary,^[7] Serbia, Czech Republic and Slovakia with different bands, among others with "Manivolanti",^[8] "Viktor Bürkland Trio"^[9] and "Thea Soti Quartet".,^[10][11]

She is part of the jazz trio "RYMM" with Salim Javaid (Saxophone) and Anthony Greminger (Drums).

She is a founding member of the Sung Sound composer´s collective, which initiates cooperation between young and up-coming vocalist-composers and European big bands.^[12] She is also known as a composer working with large ensembles (Modern Art Orchestra, DDSSBB, Subway Jazz Orchestra, Fette Hupe, Cherry Tree Orchestra, Tonhallen Orchestra, etc.).^[13]

In 2014, Soti won the 2nd prize of the international big band composing competition JazzComp Graz.^[14]

with Stijn Demuynck, Leonhard Huhn, Raphael Malfliet

• Pouancé (2016)

with NaNaya

• far.home.east (2016, quadratisch rekords)

with Mascha Corman & Salim Javaid

• Monsters For Breakfast (2016, Creative Sources Recordings)

with Die Daniel Sebastian Scholz Big Band

• DDSSBB (2015, quadratisch rekords)

with Adam Gallina, Tivadar Nemesi, Paul Schwingenschlögl

• Hang Caravan (2012, Morgenland)