"She is beyond amazing! It was the most therapeutic thing I'd ever done in my life so far. She is so cool and wonderful. Thank you for the experience. Would love to do that again. Very beautiful, too. The best!"

chiaracortezblog
- Sep 6, 2020
- 0 min read

Why Circlesinging?

Chiara's Ongoing Music Journey

Born in Rome, Italy, from Filipino parents and educated in international schools, Chiara Cortez has been immersed in multicultural and international environments throughout her life. This is also expressed in her musicality and her musical interests. Her musical journey started with ten years of violin studies, but Chiara was soon attracted by singing, songwriting, and vocal arrangements. Her experience as vocalist and arranger in the world music a cappella group Talisman (where the repertoire mainly consisted of traditional South African songs) during her studies at Stanford University in California, shaped and informed her musical tastes and sparked her interest in extemporaneous composition and circlesinging. In Italy, she became part of the all-female ensemble The Sessions Voices, with whom she performed in various radio and TV programs and with whom she recorded two albums, “Songs of Freedom” (2011) and “Tender You Back” (2017). As a songwriter, she has collaborated with various artists and written and sung for major soundtracks: Beata Ignoranza (Massimiliano Bruno, 2017), The Place (Paolo Genovese, 2017), Il Premio (Alessandro Gassman, 2017), the TV series Immaturi (2018), Non ci Resta che il Crimine (Massimiliano Bruno, 2019), Domani è un Altro Giorno (Simone Spada, 2019), I Migliori Giorni (Massimiliano Bruno e Edoardo Leo, 2023). Over the last few years, she has dedicated herself to the study of improvisation and circlesinging, having had the privilege of taking courses and workshops and studying with many master teachers in the field. Among the trainings she has completed are: Rhiannon's annual masterclass on vocal improvisation “All The Way In” (2017), Música Do Círculo’s annual training for leaders in São Paulo, Brazil (2022-2023) and she has attended Bobby McFerrin's Circlesongs School (2016, 2018, 2022). She is a founding "seed-spreading", "gardening" member of "The Well" - the global vocal improvisation network, that was founded by Rhiannon and named by Bobby McFerrin, and the Italian group "Collettivo CantinCerchio". She facilitates regular circlesinging gatherings and teaches courses and workshops on vocal improvisation practices. She was an the faculty of the first two editions of the French festival Le Cercle Enchanté (2021, 2022). She is part of the Vocal River Murmurations project that premiered in Montreal, Canada, in October 2023, under the artistic direction of Rhiannon and Margie Gillis. She has been studying and practicing Nonviolent Communication since 2017, training with and assisting various trainers, mainly with Yoram Mosenzon's Connecting2Life school and community, and is constantly looking for ways to combine Empathy with collective music improvisation practices. Chiara is co-founder of the "Circlesinging Roma" initiative (co-founded in January 2015 on the seeds of inspiration planted by Laura Montanari and Rhiannon), the first open circlesinging community in the Italian capital, active since 2015, which she continues to manage together with co-founding partner Daphne Nisi and colleague Cristina D'Arcangelo.