KAREN KOHLER, whom the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. calls an "ambassador of German culture," was born in Frankfurt and raised in New York. Equally at home in a jazzy George Gershwin ballad as she is a sinister Bertolt Brecht lyric, she has featured them on her albums, Das Kabarett, Jam and Spice: The Songs of Kurt Weill, and The Moons of Venus: Romancing Marlene Dietrich. Known for her broad vocal range, and distinctive gesture and theatricality, Karen has performed to sold-out houses across the city, region and abroad, singing in English, German, French, Spanish, and Yiddish. Her tribute to Noel Coward, A Marvelous Party, with KT Sullivan is the 2006 MAC (Metropolitan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) winner for Best Revue. "Kohler doesn't just sing radiantly and strongly, she tells stories…These are not mere covers, but new interpretations that lead one to forget the original." (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Through her company, Fin Alley Arts Management, she produces and directs shows, and lectures on the history of cabaret and cabaret performance. In 2003, she formed the Kabarett Kollektif to help preserve the European cabaret tradition and to further the art form as a whole. This New York-based ensemble of singers and actors is the winner of the 2006 New York Nightlife Award for Unique Cabaret Performance. www.karenkohler.com