Bio
Michelle Agnes Magalhaes is a Brazilian-French composer and researcher whose work spans instrumental, chamber, and symphonic music, as well as opera, electronic, installation, and interactive forms. Known for her playful, immersive, and interactive musicality, she emphasizes the relational aspects of composition, viewing interaction with the living environment and other beings as a catalyst for deep listening experiences. At the heart of the poetic symbolism in her scores and musical notations lies a profound musical experience that serves as a gateway to a universal cognitive space.
She began composing at the age of 14 under the mentorship of Hans Joachim Koellreutter and later earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in composition from UNICAMP, studying with Livio Tragtenberg, Almeida Prado, and José Eduardo Mannis. Her Ph.D. at the University of São Paulo focused on the late style of Luigi Nono, with advanced studies alongside Salvatore Sciarrino and Chaya Czernowin.
Her impactful works, such as Mobile, which innovates with the prepared piano, and Constella(c)tions, which uses motion sensors to create dynamic interactions between musicians and audiences, have earned international recognition. From 2013 to 2017, she conducted research at IRCAM in Paris, collaborating with the Interaction Sound Music Movement team.
As a former Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellow at Harvard University, she spent a year engaging with the scientific community and developed the chamber music cycle Herbarium.
An accomplished pianist and improviser, she has performed with artists such as Thomas Rohrer and Panda Gianfratti, and has released two albums with Celio Barros. Her works have been commissioned and performed by leading ensembles and orchestras worldwide.
Awarded the UNESCO-Aschberg Fellowship for Young Artists and recognized for her artistic contributions, Michelle Agnes has received grants, residencies, and commissions from prestigious institutions such as UNESCO, IRCAM, FAPESP, the Venice Biennale, the Camargo Foundation, EMPAC, Villa Sträuli, the Royaumont Abbey, Diaphoniques, the European Commission, CAPES, Siemens, and the Ministries of Culture of Brazil, France, and Norway.
She has collaborated with ensembles, orchestras, and artists across South and North America and Europe, including l'Itinéraire, Soundinitiative, 2e2M, Lovemusic, Talea Ensemble, Accroche Note, Ensemble Multilatéral, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Abstraït, Percorso Ensemble, Quarteto Prometeo, Promenade Sauvage, Der/Gelbe/Klang, Choeur en Scène, Vertixe Sonora, TaG Neue Musik, Linea, Duo Xamp, PHACE, Zafraan, the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra, the São Paulo Municipal Orchestra, the Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, Inhotim Orchestra..
Sonic reminiscences
Music, for me, is the art of dreamed embodied abstractions—a laboratory forged between listening, motor experience, nature, and the symbolic—an ongoing flow of interactions between the subtle and the material world. Composition exists for me as something that would always be there—a phenomenon connected to omnipresent and 'natural' systems, an immersion in the sound of life.
My pieces embody principles of interconnectedness, integrating polyphonies, and a diverse array of musical practices. Often, my compositions make reference to a transdisciplinary imaginary.This audible world draws inspiration from many sources, provoking a process in which openness to listening becomes a form of knowledge, verging on uncharted territories.
High-res photos/bio
↓