I'm honored to have been born in your head

Composer and cellist, these two activities feed into each other’s musical research. Séverine Ballon has premiered solos and concertos by Rebecca Saunders, Chaya Czernowin and Mauro Lanza. Winner of the Luc Ferrari competition in 2019, she composed the literary show“Je suis honorée d’être née dans ta tête” (2021) on texts by Babouillec. She has composed two original scores for feature films by director João Pedro Rodrigues: L’Ornithologue (2016) and Où est cette rue? (2022) co-directed with João Rui Guerra da Mata. Her solo album Solitude was released on the Aeon/Outhere label, and her first as a composer, Inconnaissance, on the All That Dust label.

A performer and composer, he devotes most of his time to contemporary music, whether written, improvised or jazz-oriented. He is a founding member ofUmlaut, a creative music collective and label created in 2009, as well as of the Parisian experimental orchestra ONCEIM, since its creation in 2011. He has performed on a number of European stages, as well as on the radio, appearing on France Musique and German national radio stations (WDR, SWR). Particularly interested in sound research, his music is a meticulous and fragile exploration of the possibilities of his instrument: a universe where surprises are strong, where detail is important.

His musical activity is divided between interpreting contemporary music and free improvisation. He was a founding member of the Quatuor Hêlios percussion ensemble from 1986 to 2012. In 2006, with cellist Martine Altenburger, he founded the ensemble]h[iatus, a contemporary music ensemble whose members are both performers and improvisers. He is artistic advisor to the Ryoanji Association and the Le Bruit de la Musique festival. As an improviser, he has been involved in a number of regular formations and occasional encounters. In 2014, he published Improviser librement – Abé – cédaire d’une expérience (Mômeludies).

After graduating from the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieure d’Art Dramatique (CNSAD) in Paris in 2013, she worked with Marie-Christine Soma and Daniel Jeanneteau in the play Trafic. At the CNSAD, she met Christophe Maltot, for whom she acted in Les Corbeaux volent sur le dos (2013) and On ne badine pas avec l’amour (2014). Her one-woman show focusing on improvisation and the art of clowning, Le Projet Georges premiered in 2015. She has performed for Joséphine Serre (Data, Mossoul), Benjamin Porée, Éric Massé, Jessica Dalle, Lena Paugham (Andromaque) and others. She is a member of the Pampa Festival, and her cinema credits include films by Fabrice Gobert and Emmanuel Mouret, as well as short films.