"Jeita" by Michaela Rea Catranis, emerged...as something like a musical allegory of the cave, an earthly meditation as a sonorous, moving narration of a single, lonely voice. The immense "TONALi" festival in the Elbphilharmonie ended with such a courageous appeal to the inner world." Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich, Edition Faust-Kultur
"I write about our humanness, our connection to each other and the world around us, both natural and digital worlds. It could be like Laughter or a Prayer, or maybe a Shadow, muscles and sinew rippling, a Kiss. The movements of Love, trembling, electric, or a Scream, life tearing through the flesh of a Mother, a tiny heart beating, new against her chest, both of them still dripping from her wound, washed in blood. The Body, charged up with Soul, spirit-stuff and the ecstasy of the moment. Being. It is all this, a Polyphony of human experience, so brief, sensuous, writhing, soft, dirty, naked, full of rage, of joy, of tenderness. It's a courageous smile and then some silence too. It is how I talk to you, with moonbeams in my eyes; a conversation between lovers." ~ M
With a strong background in classical piano, Michaela Catranis' eclectic tastes have led her to explore experimental music, electronic, jazz and beyond, crafting a highly versatile sonic language. Her multi-media performances have received international acclaim, sound worlds that spin out in a colorful exchange of disciplines, criss-crossing music, art, technology and dance. This process of collective art-making lies at the heart of Michaela’s work, which she feels echoes our shared humanity, a thirst for togetherness born from her experiences growing up in a family of eleven. She derives inspiration from her classical training, playing with the family band, SPACE CATS, as well as non-classical sonorities that she’s collected from her travels and walks in the forest.
In 2018, she won the TONALi18 Composition Prize. The following year, she was awarded the Contemporary Arts Alliance-Berlin Scholarship, commissioned by Ensemble Modern as part of the Composer's Seminar/Cresc. Biennale for Contemprary Music and selected as composer laureate of the Académie Voix Nouvelles - Royaumont. Her works have been performed internationally in concert halls such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Berliner Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall and the KKL Lucerne. She has written for the Mivos Quartet, Zafraan Ensemble, RIOT, Ensemble Modern, KNM, among others, and works closely with soprano, Johanna Vargas, and Berlin-based Duo Amabile. Michaela holds degrees in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory and composition from the Hanns Eisler School of Music.