We are two musicians, Mathilde Bigler and Anita Schaufelberger. And together we are O Atiati.

 

We got to know each other during our music studies in Lucerne. During our shared coffee breaks we used to talk about everything that makes the world go round. We always knew that one day, we would work in a bigger project together and this is how we came to the decision to realize this music project on the main island of Cabo Verde. The initial idea of "just" playing some music with the local children has grown into a much bigger and long lasting project; our goal is to build a cultural centre with a music school.

 

Mathilde Bigler trained in various artistic structures. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bassoon at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève and a Master of Contemporary Arts at Hochschule Luzern - Musik. As a freelance bassoonist and composer, Mathilde varies her inspirations and projects by playing in classical and contemporary orchestras, jazz formations, free improvisation and performance. She loves the encounter with different artistic forms and works with actors, dancers, visual artists, ... Her curiosity and the necessities of life lead her from one small job to the next, exploring watchmaking, sales, hotel business, education and agriculture, among others, keeping a foot in the concrete and in everyday life. After two stays in Cape Verde working in a boutique hotel, she is now embarking on this human adventure with passion and respect. 

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Anita Schaufelberger works and lives with her family in Lucerne. She studied music across the disciplines at the Hochschule Luzern - Musik and successfully graduated with a Master's degree in music education. In the process, she not only learned virtuoso keyboard playing, but also examined the piano from all angles, tapped odd rhythms on the sound box and sang idiosyncratic noises into the sound space. Anita regularly performs in permanent as well as in changing formations in projects, concerts and musical theatre. Next to teaching the piano, she has also written a children's book "Der Flausch und seine Flügelfamilie" and is spending her extra time learning to play the Accordion. "I am drawn to  this project in Cabo Verde to be able to work at the origin of music. To make the most simplest things into something wonderful."