Annie Kay

Born in Santa Rosa, California, USA as the youngest child of four, Annie Kay was raised in Manila, Philippines and in Vienna, Austria where she currently resides. She grew up to the sounds of her Austrian family singing harmony to old folk songs, her mother’s and later her brothers’ and her own less sophisticated piano playing, her school choir’s repertoire, and lots of radio music. When she was a teenager, her family moved to Vienna. With just a smattering of piano and guitar education, her interest always revolved around singing. Shortly after settling in Vienna she auditioned and was accepted for a part in her local church’s musical group.

As an adult, Annie got together with 4 other musicians and formed the band patchwork.fm. At practically the same time she also joined the newly established Jazz Chor Wien under director and founder Stefan Foidl and was soon singing solo Jazz, Blues and Gospel parts in all the choir’s programs. She also got a part in Jazz Chor Wien’s soloist ensemble, which later became a separate entity, performing as a 5-member vocal ensemble named re:spirit. After many years of affiliation with all 3 of these groups Annie eventually moved on to working exclusively with patchwork.fm.

Annie Kay participated in the Berklee Summer School in Los Angeles. In Austria she gathered musical inspiration from jazz seminars instructed by such Austrian vocal artists as Conny Giese, Inge Pischinger and Inès Reiger. She later sought out shooting star Sandra Pires who kindly recommended a voice teacher, as a result of which she became the student of Dr. James E. Moore and later of Monika Ballwein. Annie Kay attended the Vienna Konservatorium (Waltraud Köttler) and the Encore Program at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, Los Angeles (Carl Schroeder, Carol Rogers, Coreen Sheehan-Hiketa, Dena Murray, Doug Wood, Michael Campbell, Robin Randall). She continues to attend vocal workshops, including under the tutelage of Monika Ballwein and Cathrine Sadolin.

Kay has sung in various music productions, including children’s audio productions such as Die Knickerbocker Bande, Bronti der Supersaurier (Thomas Brezina), a feature film (Die Supernasen), and TV films (Schubert Trilogie: Mit meinen heißen Tränen and Nippon Animation: Die singende Familie Trapp – a cartoon adaptation). She has co-written and published an original song title with Stefan Foidl for the CD Debut in Time (God Lives). Her voice features in music jingles and as the friendly answerphone voice welcoming customers for various Austrian companies. As a language professional, Annie Kay also corrects the English song lyrics of fellow musicians, translates CD booklets, and teaches English pronunciation and accent reduction.

After her first baby break, Annie Kay returned to the stage with her first album “More Than Meets The Eye”. Now her second extended break from music due to her second child’s birth comes to an end. Expect to hear more of her in times coming.

Apart from her musical life, Annie Kay holds a degree in translation and conference interpretation and co-owns a translation and interpretation agency. She speaks German, English, French, and Spanish.