Anna-Maria Hefele from Grafing near Munich holds a master of arts (MA) from Mozarteum Salzburg. She is a multiinstrumentalist, singer and overtone singer; performing worldwide as soloist with different ensembles, choirs and orchestras. She is also frequently integrated in contemporary ballet, circus and dance theatre productions.
In order to expand the musical repertoire involving overtone singing, Anna-Maria collaborates with contemporary composers who are writing for this particular vocal technique where it seems like one person is singing two notes at the same time by filtering and amplifying the natural harmonics in the human voice. This technique of singing polyphonic overtones is also known as “Throat singing,” and Hefele has been practicing it since 2005. There are several styles of overtone singing found around the world. Canadian Inuit and several forms displayed in Mongolia and surrounding regions are the most recognised. Hefele’s style is culturally practiced in the Siberian region of Tuva. This whistling vocal version is called sygyt.
The Huffington Post has commented on her “amazing ability” and her singing being “utterly bizarre”.] On 10 October 2014, she was number two on The Guardian’s Viral Video Chart, with one online video titled Polyphonic Overtone Singing, which features Hefele as she demonstrates and explains overtones. As of June 2021, this video has received more than 21 million hits. „A voice as from another world“, „the lady with the two voices“, „polyphonic vocalist does the impossible“ – these and other headlines have spread across the world.
Annette Dachs “Dasch-Salon” is a sounding miracle bag. The biggest miracle that jumped out of this bag at the Alte Oper Frankfurt has been Anna-Maria Hefele. Her overtone singing seems to sound from another world: from that of the Middle Ages, when Hefele recited a composition of the Hildegard von Bingen, from the heart of the Dark Continent, when she yodeled African. Even hostess Dasch, whose voice beguiles the opera audience in the great houses of this world, listened to the song of the overtone artist with an astonishingly open mouth. “Ethereally distant voices” the hostess promised the listeners, the voice Hefele was the most essential of all. Anyone can sing overtones, have seriously explained the overtones to the audience and have this an attempt. But only when a master like Hefele makes the vocal cords vibrate, the song looks above ground to the other side.” …
