Sonic Performance: Counterpoint

This performance grapples with the legacy of counterpoint, a foundational pillar of Western music rigorously studied for centuries, yet often questioned for its relevance today. The program features a new vocal work that re-imagines the 16th-century motet, a form historically dedicated to Christian worship.

In a conceptual act mirroring Dima Srouji’s exhibition A Cosmogram of Holy Views, Hemyari's compositions reintroduce a linguistic and cultural connection to the geographical origins of the sacred form itself. It is an exploration of discipline, history, and the possibility of return.

Nava Hemyari studied electroacoustic composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Wolfgang Suppan and Karlheinz Essl. During her studies, she experimented with experimental compositional forms, particularly in crafting evolving limited fragments over time. Her works have been performed in venues such as Musikverein Vienna, Viennese Konzerthaus, ORF RadioKulturhaus, Minoritenkirche Krems and by ensembles such as PHACE, Black Page Orchestra, Ensemble Platypus, Company of Music. She has been featured in Wien Modern numerous times and was the composer in residence of Festival Imago Dei in 2023. She received the yearly scholarship of the city of Vienna in 2022 and the yearly State Grant from the Federal Chancellery of Austria in 2023.