Clélia Colonna is a singer performer and a composer based in Portugal. She makes songs, ink drawings, performances and is interested in forms, story-telling, specific sound qualities, naivity and every-day beauty.

Born in Paris She studied Applied Arts in ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres, Art & Digital Media in Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and followed various training programs in performance and singing. Her quest for forgotten sounds and harmonies led her from Corsican curvy roads (leading to singers in isolated villages) to Poland, Ukraine, Russia and Sicily. Through out the years and in the spirit of companionship, she learned traditional Corsican, Sicilian and Ukrainian polyphonic singing. Since 2006, she works as a performer and researcher in the field of voice. She worked with Georg Blaschke, Inferno/Ewa Bankowska, Peter Jakober, Raúl Maia, Ben J. Riepe, Charlotta Ruth. Alexander Gottfarb.

She’s giving voice training in various venues, mostly related to dance and performance; the international festival ImPulsTanz, tanzquartier Wien, Im_flieger i.a. in Austria, Balleteatro / SE, CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva and HeadPhone Academia da Musica in Portugal and has been vocally coaching the dancers of Alexander Gottfarb for the project Encounters #2; the Cie Ben J. Riepe in the frame of the project UUUUU(topia) and the cie Philippe Genty on the creation of Land’s End.

In 2013, she founded the collective COWBIRDS with Rotraud Kern, Irene Coticchio, and Caroline Decker. Cowbirds collaborates, among others, with composer Peter Jakober, choreographers Ben J. Riepe, Raul Maia, Paul Wenninger, and Elisabeth Bakambamba Tambwe, as well as artists Rikrit Tarivanija and Florian Troebinger. They have presented works at Fondation Beyeler (CH), NRW-Forum Düsseldorf (DE), ImPulsTanz, TQW, and Porgy and Bess (AT). In 2018, they released the album Polyphonic Tracks at Volkstheater / Rotes Bar, and in 2025, they present their latest work, Textures of Tears, at Zacherlfabrik (AT)..

She is also part of the vocal collective COBRACORAL with Clélia Colonna and Ece Canli, performing at CCB/Lisbon, Jardins Efémeros Festival 2022, and Tremor Festival 2023. Their album COBRACORAL was released in 2021.

Living in Portugal since 2017, she enrolled in the Master’s program in Composition at ESMAE, under the supervision of Daniel Moreira and Ana Freijo. She regularly collaborates with Raúl Maia as part of THE EXTRA LIMB (MUMA Festival, Faial; Extemporânea — Performing Arts Festival, organized by balleteatro) and works with Costanza Givone/Fogo Lento on the productions Micelio, Astra8 (FIMP, Porto), and Micorrizas (ArtemRede).

to read:

2018. Interview with Michael Franz Woels // We like kitchens most (in english)

2018. Interview with Michael Franz Woels // Mica Austria (in german)

2018. Review from Denis Cardinaux “cowbirds le chant traditionnel par effraction” (en français)

PT

Clélia Colonna é cantora, atriz e compositora com sede no Porto.

Nascida em Paris, estudou Artes Aplicadas na ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres, Arte e Meios Digitais na Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne e frequentou vários programas de formação em performance e canto. A sua busca por sons e harmonias esquecidos levou-a das estradas sinuosas da Córsega (que conduzem a cantores em aldeias isoladas) à Polónia, Ucrânia, Rússia e Sicília. Ao longo dos anos e num espírito de companheirismo, aprendeu canto polifónico tradicional da Córsega, Sicília e Ucrânia. Desde 2006, trabalha como intérprete e investigadora na área da voz. Trabalhou com Georg Blaschke, Inferno/Ewa Bankowska, Peter Jakober, Raúl Maia, Ben J. Riepe, Charlotta Ruth e Alexander Gottfarb.

Em 2013, ela funda o coletivo COWBIRDS com Rotraud Kern, Irene Coticchio e Caroline Decker. O Cowbirds colabora, entre outros, com o compositor Peter Jakober, os coreógrafos Ben J. Riepe, Raul Maia, Paul Wenninger, Elisabeth Bakambamba Tambwe, os artistas Rikrit Tarivanija e Florian Troebinger. Apresentam trabalhos na Fondation Beyeler (Suíça), NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf (Alemanha), ImPulsTanz, TQW, Porgy and Bess (Áustria). Em 2018, lançam o álbum Polyphonic Tracks no Volkstheater / Rotes Bar e, em 2025, apresentam o seu mais recente trabalho, Textures of Tears, na Zacherlfabrik (Áustria).

Faz parte do coletivo vocal COBRACORAL com Clélia Colonna e Ece Canli, tendo atuado no CCB/Lisboa, Jardins Efémeros Festival 2022 e Tremor Festival 2023. O seu álbum COBRACORAL foi lançado em 2021.

Em Portugal desde 2017, entrou no Mestrado em Composição na ESMAE, sob a orientação de Daniel Moreira e Ana Freijo. Colabora regularmente com Raul Maia no âmbito do THE EXTRA LIMB (festival MUMA, Faial, Extemporânea — Festival de Artes Performativas, organizado pelo balleteatro) e trabalha com Costanza Givone/Fogo Lento nas produções “Micelio”, “Astra8” e “Micorrizas”.