About
Bio
(500 words)
Danniel RIBEIRO is a Brazilian composer from Bahia. His compositional practice is driven by research and creative exploration, focusing on exploratory instrumental writing and improvised performances supported by emerging technologies and informed by investigations into culture and identity. He examines musical gesture, instrumentality, and materiality to expand the expressive possibilities of complex timbral constructs and instrumental/sound phenomena in his compositions. His work integrates theoretical inquiry with practical experimentation, often involving the development of tailored instrumental preparations, modifications, notational systems, practical sculptural objects, amplification/transduced electronic apparatus, and performance techniques specific to each piece.
​Danniel’s musical roots in composition are tied to the Group of Composers of Bahia (Brazil), having studied with Paulo Costa Lima, Agnaldo Ribeiro, and Wellington Gomes, who carried forward the group's tradition of cultural resistance and experimentation. He is a four-time recipient of the National Prize for Classical Composition from the National Foundation of the Arts of Brazil (FUNARTE) in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2023. Additionally, he has received research grants in Brazil, Canada, and the US, supporting his contributions to composition and theory. Danniel’s goal is to critically engage with social and cultural dimensions of contemporary concert music through research, analysis, performance, and creation, exploring the interplay between idiosyncratic artistic invention and broader cultural dynamics, historical resonance, and the shifting boundaries of music and sound.
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Photo by Klangspuren Schwaz, 2023
Regarding his performance practice, Danniel focuses primarily on the electric guitar and its expressive range, investigating the instrument’s evolving stylistic devices. His performances span live spontaneous compositions, recorded and transformed performances, collaborative projects, and the exploration of augmented instrumental capabilities.
Danniel has participated in prestigious festivals and residencies, including Klangspuren Schwaz (Austria), Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Canada), Domaine Forget (Canada), Barcelona Modern (Spain), Darmstadt Summer Course (GER), Festival Musica (France), New Music on the Point (USA), DePaul Summer Residency for New Music (USA), ilSUONO (Italy), among others. His works have been performed at notable venues and festivals such as Festival Empreintes (France), Festival de Morelia (Mexico), Sala São Paulo (Brazil), and the Biennial for Brazilian Contemporary Music.
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Danniel has collaborated with leading international ensembles, including L’Instant Donné, Yarn/Wire, Schallfeld, JACK Quartet, Barcelona Modern, RAGE Thormbones, collective lovemusic, Dal Niente, Vertixe Sonora, Suono Giallo, Eco, Paramirabo, and Abstrai. He has also benefited from private lessons and advanced studies with Chaya Czernowin, Franck Bedrossian, Clara Iannotta, Philippe Hurel, Malin Bång, Toshio Hosokawa, Felipe Lara, Daniel D'Adamo, Januibe Tejera, Mark Andre, Brian Ferneyhough, and Du Yun.
Danniel earned his master’s degree in composition (M.Mus.) at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University (Montreal, Canada) in 2018, studying under Philippe Leroux and furthering his knowledge in music theory with Christopher Neidhöfer and Robert Hasegawa. As a laureate of the 2023/24 George Ladd Prix de Paris, he pursued independent studies in France and recently completed the postgraduate specialization in instrumental and mixed composition at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg (France). Currently, Danniel is a Ph.D. candidate in music composition at UC Berkeley (California, USA), studying with Edmund Campion, Ken Ueno, Myra Melford, and Carmine-Emanuele Cella.
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Statement
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In my ongoing exploration as a composer and researcher, I am deeply engaged in a multifaceted examination of musical gesture, instrumentality, cultural identity, and the possibilities of musical expression of complex sounds. These inquiries are fundamentally intertwined with the collaborators—the bodies and minds that animate the music onstage.
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Central to my artistic inquiry is the notion that the exploration of embodiment serves as a catalyst for generating unique event-artifacts. This conviction propels me to investigate the interrelationship between embodied gestures, form-bearing materials, and the physicalities inherent to New Music instrumental performance. This exploration leads me into a creative realm where temporality merges with the gestural potential of context-specific instrumental techniques and instrument preparation strategies. As a methodological framework, I delve into the intersection of instrumentalists' skills and their potential for transferability, exploring what may be perceived as expanded modes of instrumental play. However, this exploration is accompanied by a critical examination of the conventions of New Music and its interaction with subjective experiences.
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I am dedicated to fostering dialogues that draw from Afro-diasporic references and the concept of 'creolization,' which serve as conceptual wellsprings for my compositions. This exploration represents a utopic-syncretic motivation, driving my quest to discover interstates between the sonic realization of notated music and its representation. By integrating technology as both tool and medium, I delve into context-specific circumstances of sound production, negotiating spaces where subjectivity and agency intertwine amidst the vastness of sonic worldbuilding.
Additionally, my journey is guided by an inquiry into a pedagogical dimension, as I engage in debates concerning the role of composers in communicating their own practice, acting within collaborative contexts, as a communicator of paradigms of music-making, and how their space in music could intersect with broader societal dialogues.
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ELSEWHERE:​​
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CNMAT Profile (UC Berkeley)
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Copyright 2024 © Danniel Ribeiro