Constanza Pellicci

Which musician has influenced you the most? 
There are many musicians that have influenced me, but the one that I first think of is Yma Sumac, a Peruvian mythical singer that develops a free combination of styles and singing esthetics. Listening to her vocal range is always a great inspiration to me.  

What can you teach me about your instruments different than any other teacher?
Expanding the possibilities of the voice in range and expressive possibilities, going deeper in the connection between body movements and voice while singing, exploring the unknown voices that everybody has.  

How did you learn to sing?
When I was 5 years old I listened to a choir for the first time in my life and I immediately  knew that I wanted to go to sing with those children, so I insisted to my mother that she should take me to that school too. But for go to the singing school I had to give a music exam, so I spent the summer practicing and drawing a treble clef everywhere, even in the walls of the house. My parents were really surprised because nobody in the family had a relationship with music before and I was really convinced about my desire to learn music at the Singing Children of Cordoba School. 

How do you go about writing a song or composing a piece yourself?
I don't write songs because I mainly work as a free improviser. Anyway I usually take improvisation as a compositional practice, where the listening is the main part of the process of composing with the space, the other musicians and the situation. I call this practice "comprovisation", which is a way of improvising committed with the desire to compose and build a new and unknown musical sense in a specific situation.  

On what equipment do you play today?
I really enjoy playing acoustic if the conditions and circumstances are favorable for this. If not I always choose a live condenser microphone (Shure beta 85) because it is a very sensible microphone that allows me to have distance from the mic giving a great dynamic range and a quality of natural voice. Sometimes, only if I play with electronic musicians I use reverb, delay pedals to get a better mix with general sound.  

What personal trait has helped you when you practice the most?
The curiosity of researching and exploring new expressive possibilities for the human voice and the joy and pleasure that I experience through vocal and listening practices.  

What does your instrument have that others don't?
The voice is the most natural and principal way of human expression and it is also the most mysterious one for its direct connection with emotions. I consider that exploring these paths is one of the deeper and interesting researches that an artist can accomplish.  

What you pay special attention to when you teach?
I pay particular attention to the uniqueness of the students' voice and their previous practice, focusing on giving value to the skills they have already achieved in order to move forward in the training from a solid and confident base. I look forward to listening deeply to the students' desires and difficulties in order to find personalized strategies for working together in this direction.

How do you build up your music lessons? 
I structure the singing lesson in three moments. First we will worm up the body and the voice by doing breathing and body awareness exercises from somatic techniques for singing. This includes exploring and discovering new and unusual resonance spaces in different parts of the body, expanding the vocal range through deep relaxation and exercises to develop new timbers and qualities in the voice. We will then work with the repertoire chosen for the class, using extended vocal techniques as well as traditional vocal techniques to overcome the limitations and difficulties that the student may present. We will also incorporate elements of dance and theatre training to develop a personal interpretation of the repertoire. We will experiment with the possibilities that gesture brings to the voice, we will train the ability to improvise and explore the transition from spoken word to singing and many new possibilities between the human voice and body expression. At the end we will take a moment for conversation to recognize and name the new experiences we have shared and to understand the desire for the next class and for this training process.  

What was until now your greatest experience as a musician?
Recently I had the opportunity to play a concert with Phill Minton, a great vocal improviser that I have admired very much for many years. He started the night playing with his duo partner and then it was our turn to play with Ignacio Roulet in our saxophone and voice duo. When we finished we did an unforgettable quartet session. When the night was ending, after the concerts ha finished and only a small group of people were around, I listen that Phil was singing something, I was curious to keep on listening to him and I get closer, He was singing a jazz standard “I can't give you anything but love” of Gershwin, this call my attention because it was the first jazz song that I have learned as a teenager.  

What was the largest stage that you've performed on?
Colón Theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Amazonas Theater in Manaus, Brasil.  

Which musician would you like to play with?
I would like to play with Sofia Jernberg, because is one of the vocal improvisers that seems more interesting in the free improvisation scene for me, at the moment.  

Which record would you bring to a desert island?
I will take “The Pavilion Of dreams” of Harold Budd because is one of the records I prefer to listen more lately, when I listen to it I feel at home.  

On which stage do you prefer to perform?
Lately I have started to have the desire to play in big scenarios, like theaters or concert halls because I like very much to feel that I have space to project my voice and my presence, and also I feel more free to improvise when I don't recognize the people in front of me.  

After music, what is important in your life?
Dancing and movement