Karin Schaupp

Karin Schaupp (born 1972) is a German-born Australian classical guitarist and actress. She was born in Hofheim am Taunus, Germany, to a musical family. Her mother and principal teacher, Isolde Schaupp, was a teacher of guitar at the Conservatorium of Wiesbaden. Her father was an amateur pianist, and her aunt and grandmother were opera singers. She was given a half-size guitar by her grandmother when she was aged three. She started her guitar studies with her mother when she was five, and performed in public at age six. Her family migrated from Germany to Australia when she was aged eight, and they have been based in Brisbane, Queensland, where Isolde Schaupp continues to teach. While in her teens, Karin Schaupp won prizes at competitions at Lagonegro, Italy and Madrid, Spain. At the Madrid competition she won the special competition prize for the Best Interpretation of Spanish Music. She completed bachelor's and master's degrees in music at the University of Queensland. She performed Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra when she was aged 18. She is a member of Saffire, also known as the Australian Guitar Quartet, along with Slava Grigoryan, Gareth Koch, and Anthony Field (replaced by Leonard Grigoryan). She has also performed and recorded with the recorder player Genevieve Lacey. Her many recordings include the world premiere recordings of Ross Edwards's Concerto for Guitar and Strings (2004), Nikita Koshkin's Hispanic Suite (1973; published 1997); and Philip Bračanin's Four Diversions (she also premiered Bračanin's Guitar Concerto in 1992 with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra). She has also recorded Cradle Songs, inspired by the birth of her daughter Alexa. She has toured extensively in many countries. She was an honorary guest at the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Chinese Radio. Schaupp also trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). In 2007, David Williamson wrote the one-woman play Lotte's Gift for her; it is based on her own life and that of her mother and grandmother (the Lotte of the title). The performance includes both acting and playing the guitar and is regularly toured by Schaupp.