Hristina Susak (born 1996) has been composing since she was eight. At the age of seven she started playing the violin and soon after that the piano.
In 2013, at the age of 17, Hristina Susak commenced her studies in composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 2019, she successfully obtained her master’s degree in Music Theory under the guidance of Prof. Gesine Schröder, followed by her graduation with a second master’s degree in Composition in 2022 under the mentorship of Prof. Iris ter Schiphorst at the same university. Since October 2022, she has been pursuing postgraduate studies in Composition (Meisterklasse) under the tutelage of Prof. Mark Andre in Dresden.
Her accomplishments have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Prize of the City of Vienna in the Music Section, the Austrian State Scholarship for Composers, and a Scholarship from the Stiftung des deutschen Volkes. Starting from October 2023, Hristina Susak teaches Music Theory at the Berlin University of Arts.
Since 2013, Hristina Susak’s compositions have been actively performed by significant ensembles and orchestras across Europe. Notable performances include those by the renowned Ensemble Intercontemporain at the Philharmonie de Paris, MDR and NDR Radio Symphony Orchestras, Bruckner Orchester Linz, and Arditti Quartet at the Wien Modern Festival. Her works have also been showcased by the Tonkünstler Orchestra at the Grafenegg Festival, Orquesta de Valencia at Palau de la Musica Valencia, and Kioi Hall in Tokyo. Further, Hristina’s compositions have been featured at the Paris Fashion Week Feb’24, by Phace Ensemble and Vokalsolisten Stuttgart at the Viennese Konzerthaus, HSO Orchestra at Semperoper Dresden, Duisburger Philharmonics, and ascolta ensemble at the ECLAT-Festival Stuttgart. She also participated in the Takefu International Music Festival 2023 in Japan, where she served as a faculty member for the composition masterclass. Noteworthy performances include those by Sepia Ensemble at the festival Poznańska Wiosna Muzyczna in Poznan, as well as her role in composing and performing her own music for the theatrical piece ‘Watschenmann’ by Berenice Hebenstreit at the Volkstheater Wien. Some of her notable works have been published, such as the piece “Transformations for 4 Bassoons and Contrabassoon” by Firma Doblinger as part of the HolzBlechSchlag project in 2019. Additionally, her song “LIE” served as the featured soundtrack in the movie “Gipsy Queen” by Hüseyin Tabak in 2019.
Since 2015, Hristina Susak has embraced the role of a conceptual performance artist, seamlessly integrating various facets of her interests and abilities, including composition, mathematics, philosophy, dance, painting, and stage performance. Her multidisciplinary approach allows her to create unique and compelling works that transcend traditional boundaries. In 2019, Hristina had the honor of being selected as one of 12 artists by Marina Abramovic to participate in her masterclass at MSUB/MOCAB Belgrade. During this masterclass, she crafted a captivating video-performance titled “Dies Irae.”
Hristina Susak is not only an accomplished composer and performer but also an active music theorist and researcher. Since October 2023, she has been imparting her knowledge as a music theory lecturer at the University of Arts Berlin. Since 2016, Hristina has been an avid participant in numerous conferences and congresses across Europe, showcasing her scientific and analytical works. One notable presentation, “Mathematical Proportions and its Impact on Music in Sofia Gubajdulina’s Offertorium,” was featured at the congress “Recherche du CIERA, Sorbonne-Université et de la Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig 2017–2019” at Sorbonne-Université in Paris (2018). Her expertise in music theory was also highlighted in the presentation “Shostakovich’s Orchestration: His Symphonies 1-5 as a Mirror of a Cataclysmic Land,” which was featured at the Third Congress of the Society for Theory of Music (OTM) at the Moscow State Conservatory P.I Tschaikovsky (2017). Additionally, she delivered the presentation “A New Perspective and Multiple Ways to Analyze Edgar Varèse’s Ionisation” at the Austrian Society of Music in 2018. These contributions underscore her dedication to advancing the field of music theory through rigorous research and insightful analysis.