Mia Zabelka is an internationally acclaimed violinist, composer, and sound artist. Classically trained from an early age, she has expanded the traditional boundaries of the violin as a solo and ensemble instrument through her pioneering work in free improvisation, experimental music, and sound art.

Zabelka is considered to be a leading figure in the global scene of electroacoustic music, known for her innovative and boundary-pushing approach to sound, incorporating elements of noise, drone and improvisation into her compositions. Her performances involve the use of extended techniques on the violin, electronic effects, and a range of other unconventional methods to create unique and immersive sonic experiences.

Central to her practice is an interest in interdisciplinary research, particularly at the interface of music and science. She describes her unique artistic vision as “Multiversal Music” - a form of sonic exploration that goes beyond traditional melodies, harmonies, and rhythms. Her aim is to explore the translation of chemical and structural processes into sounds and makes them perceptible in the audio field. "Multiversal Music" seeks to make automatic and mechanical activities audible. It is noise, movement, automation, fragmentation, symbiosis, dissonance, and resonance—an endless journey of discovery.

Mia Zabelka has developed her unique musical language through a process she calls “Sonic Body Impulses”, in which she explores the acoustic interaction between physical movement, sound machines and the surrounding environment, with a particular focus on the “sonic gesture”. Zabelka’s sound art investigates this dynamic interface, revealing how communication between humans and autonomous machines can unfold. The coexistence of humans and machines in hybrid environments is thus sonically reflected in her work.

In addition to her performance and compositional work, Mia Zabelka is an active curator and cultural catalyst. In 2009, she founded Klanghaus Untergreith, a center
for sound art and interdisciplinary creativity in southern Styria, Austria. The center organizes the Klangzeit Festival three times annually, serving as a vital platform for contemporary experimental practices. That same year, she became the artistic director of PhonoFemme Vienna, an international festival dedicated to experimental music and sound art by women.

Zabelka holds prominent positions in Austria’s contemporary music institutions. Since 2015, she has served as President of the Society for Sound Art, Free Improvisation and Experimental Music Austria (SFIEMA). She has been Vice President of the Austrian Composers Association (ACOM) since 2019, joined the Board of the Austrian Music Council (ÖMR) in 2023, and was appointed Deputy Chair and Advisory Board Member of the SKE Fund (E-Music) in 2025.

Mia Zabelka has collaborated with a wide range of internationally renowned artists across diverse musical disciplines, including Ensemble Zeitkratzer, John Zorn, Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran, Elliott Sharp, Maggie Nicols, John Russell, Fred Frith, Johannes Frisch, and Pavel Fajt. She performs extensively across Europe, USA, and Asia, and has appeared at prestigious festivals such as Wien Modern, Ars Electronica Linz, Steirischer Herbst Graz, Wiener Festwochen, Salzburger Festspiele, Elevate Festival Graz, Donaufestival Krems, Incubate Festival Tilburg, FLUSSI Festival Rome, CTM Festival Berlin, Blow Out Festival Oslo, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Rewire Festival The Hague, New Music America Festival, FIMAV Victoriaville, and Meakusma Festival Eupen.

Her extensive discography, featuring numerous critically acclaimed CD and vinyl releases, has been widely recognized by the international press. Recipient of highly regarded prizes (3-time winner of the Prix Ars Electronica, WDR composition Prize, Luigi Russolo Prize) and awards, she was a guest of the DAAD’s (German Academic Exchange Service’s) international artists’ program in Berlin and the Fulbright Commission in New York. Her composition ‘For Pauline Oliveros’ commissioned by musikprotokoll / Steirischer Herbst and the Austrian Cultural Forum New York as part of the ‘Homages’ project, was honored with THE AKADEMIA Music Award 2018. In 2021, Zabelka was awarded the Austrian Art Prize in Music by the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport. That same year, she was named an Honorary ALUMNI Member of the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK).

Detailed biography