Karin Schaupp was born in Hofheim am Taunus, Germany, in 1972.[1][2] Her mother, Isolde Schaupp, was a teacher of guitar at the conservatorium of Wiesbaden. Her father, a doctor, was an amateur pianist, and her aunt and grandmother were opera singers.[1] Karin was given a half-size guitar by her grandmother when she was aged three. She started her guitar studies with her mother when she was five, and performed in public at age six.[3] Her family, including both sets of grandparents, migrated from Germany to Australia when she was aged eight,[4] and they have been based in Brisbane, Queensland, where Isolde Schaupp continues to teach at the University of Queensland and the University of Southern Queensland. Karen was dux of Clayfield College[5] and she completed her tertiary education with bachelor's and master's degrees in music at the University of Queensland. Schaupp also trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).[6]
Schaupp's solo debut album, Soliloquy, released in 1997, was praised by UK Classical Guitar Magazine as "a pace-setting performance in all respects".[1]
In 2003 Schaupp was awarded the Music Council of Australia Freedman Fellowship in recognition of her achievements.[1]
In 2007, David Williamson wrote the one-woman play Lotte's Gift for her; it is based on her own life and that of her mother and grandmother (the Lotte of the title). The performance includes both acting and playing the guitar and is regularly toured by Schaupp.[3] Schaupp says she was initially nervous about airing the family history. "I took quite a bit of convincing, but David made me realise if we were going to tell the story, we had to tell the whole story. There are many layers: a love story, a war story, a musical story." Williamson said that despite Lotte's thwarted ambition, her story was a happy one. "One of the terrific things is that Karin's grandmother's need to perform has finally come out." Schaupp starred in some 150 performances of Lotte's Gift, including a four-week season at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2009.[5]
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Schaupp has won 1 award from 5 nominations.[11]
The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.[13]
