Nonesuch Records is happy to announce the signing of singer/songwriter Christina Courtin, a young New York City–based musician with a classical pedigree in violin and a devoted following in New York built over the last several years playing in clubs all over town. Her label debut was recorded this year in New York and Los Angeles with a stellar cast of musicians and will be released in early 2009.
 
As the New York Times' Allan Kozinn pointed out in a recent Arts & Leisure story, Courtin is representative of a new generation of musicians that "doesn’t feel compelled to specialize and works easily in classical, rock and much in between." She grew up in Buffalo, New York, and has been singing and playing violin since age three. Although a self-described non-prodigy, she graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School.

"It isn’t hard to decode the allure of this burgeoning local artist," writes Time Out New York's Jay Ruttenberg. "Her songs are at once old-fashioned, classic pop … and garnished with strange instrumental trimmings. Onstage, she lunges into her music with a spasmodic fearlessness that most vocalists reserve for the shower."

Courtin’s songs, and her collaborators, reflect her training and versatility; in recent years she has worked with such artists as Dawn Upshaw, Ryan Adams, Yo-Yo Ma, Don Byron, Kanye West, Osvaldo Golijov, Mark O’Connor, Teddy Thompson, Brooklyn Rider, and Michael Ward-Bergman. She also performs as a member of The Knights, a group of young musicians who are expanding the definition of the orchestra.
 
"I first heard about Christina two years ago," says Nonesuch Senior Vice President David Bither, "and when I saw her perform at Joe’s Pub, I had no idea what to expect. It was one of those wonderful moments when, almost immediately, it dawned on me that I was hearing a voice that didn’t sound like anyone else. I’m thrilled that we’re working together and I look forward to the rest of the world getting the chance to hear her music next year."