JUDITH HAMANN

cellist / improvisor

Judith Hamann is a cellist and performer/composer from Birraranga (Melbourne), Australia. She has “long been recognised as one of Australia’s foremost contemporary-music cellists” (RealTime Arts). Judith’s performance practice stretches across various genres encompassing elements of improvised, contemporary classical, experimental and popular music. Currently, her work is focused on ‘Materialities of Realisation’ (a discourse-based project with Charles Curtis), an examination of expressions and manifestations of ‘shaking’ in her solo performance practice, and a collection of new works for cello and humming.

Judith has studied contemporary classical repertoire with renowned cellists including Charles Curtis and Séverine Ballon, as well as developing a strong practice in improvisation and sonic arts through collaborative projects both in Australia and internationally. She has worked with artists and ensembles including Australian Art Orchestra, Oren Ambarchi, Dennis Cooper, ELISION ensemble, Jürg Frey, Sarah Hennies, Graham Lambkin, Alvin Lucier, Roscoe Mitchell, Toshimaru Nakamura, The Necks, Áine O’Dwyer, Wadada Leo Smith, Ilan Volkov, Tashi Wada, Manfred Werder, La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, and John Zorn. Judith is a member of Golden Fur, Hammers Lake, The Argonaut String Quartet, and has duo projects with Rosalind Hall, Anthea Caddy and Lori Goldston.

She has performed widely with festivals including Tectonics (Glasgow, Adelaide, Tel Aviv, Athens), UnSound (NYC), Musikprotokoll (Graz), Sonic Acts (Amsterdam),Maerzmusik (Berlin), The Los Angeles Philharmonic Fluxus Festival (LA), Tokyo Experimental Festival (Tokyo), SiDance Festival (Seoul), ZhDK Alvin Lucier 85th Birthday Festival (Zurich), No Idea Festival (Austin), Earshot Jazz Festival (Seattle), Ojai Festival (Ojai), The Now Now (Sydney), Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music (Bendigo), Dark Mofo (Hobart), Adelaide International Arts Festival (Adelaide), Supersense (Melbourne) and Liquid Architecture (AU). Other performance highlights include improvised or repertoire presentations at Cafe Oto (London), Dia Art Foundation (NYC), Steim Institute (Amsterdam), Logos Foundation (Ghent), LaSalle University (Singapore), SuperDeluxe (Tokyo), O’ Gallery (Milan) and Tempo Reale (Florence).

Judith is a champion of new and rarely performed music, immersive approaches to sound, and engages with a range of interdisciplinary and experimental projects including collaborative work with visual artists Keith Deverell and Sabina Maselli, and film makers Joshua Bonnetta and Benedetta De Alessi. She has also presented installation work in Melbourne, San Diego, the Noosa Hinterlands and at the Venice Biennale of Architecture. Judith has been an artist in residence at Tokyo Wondersite Aoyama, The Recollets (Paris), Q-02 (Brussels), Kunstmeile Krems Betriebs GmbH (Krems), Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris) and Syros Sounding Paths Residency (Syros). She is also a regular member of the APRA award winning regional music program (2016 tour) and Narli Ensemble through TURA New Music Australia, working in community in the Kimberley region of Australia.

Judith has performed or composed music released on labels including Saltern, Pogus, Another Timbre, Caduc and Marginal Frequency.

Judith holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from UC San Diego, majoring in contemporary cello performance.