Andrea Fultz

Andrea grew up within two cultures, being raised by an American father and a German mother.  She spent most of her life in Germany and Austria while visiting the USA as often as possible.  At the age of 5 she started singing in church choirs and was a member of several choirs throughout her junior/high school years.  Since 1996 she has been seriously studying voice, working with several teachers in Munich and the US.  This has included studies at the "Jazzproject" and the "Jazzschool", both in Munich.

She started singing on the street and soon was gigging in professional settings in duo/trio/combo/big band formations in different styles from pop/soul to blues/jazz.  She has sung at numerous jazz festivals and jazz clubs, including the prestigious "die Unterfahrt" in Munich.  For 4 years she was a member of a professional a capella quartet based in Munich (The Funny Valentines), which regularly performed a variety of arrangements displaying a wide range of stylistic influences.

While already gigging several times a week, she was completing a Masters degree in Speech Sciences, Special Education (Speech Therapy) and Psychology from the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich, writing her Master's thesis on the intrinsic similarities between speaking and singing.  After her graduation she moved to Graz, Austria to study voice at the University of Music and Performing Arts.  While studying jazz in the Austrian Alps she made the decision to move to the country where jazz was born.

Andrea moved to the Bay Area in early 2003 and is now gigging with duos and larger combos.  Her repertoire contains a mix of songs from jazz and soul, and also includes some of her favorite German songs, sung in the original language.  In addition, she has recently begun developing her own material.  Andrea is always striving to learn more about music and is currently studying with Dave Stroud (Speech Level singing technique), Madeline Eastman (style), Frank Martin (rhythm), and Lorin Benedict (improvisation).

Her philosophy regarding singing: "Singing is a way of communicating who you are." She strongly encourages her students to get up on the bandstand, and actively promotes their involvement in the quarterly vocal Showcase at Blue Bear because "that's what it's all about."  The main focus of her classes is to achieve a fully integrated combination of technique, style and performance skills.