Sara Caneva


composer • conductor • sound artist • researcher

contact


© Sara Caneva 2025. All rights reserved.

projects


coming soon!

conducting


My conductor's profile tookI specialised in modern and contemporary repertoires interpretation.

CONTEMPORARY & MODERN REPERTOIRE SELECTIONH. Birtwistle
Silbury air
J. Cage
Concerto for Piano and 13 instruments (1958)
E. Carter
Asko Concerto
L. Dallapiccola
Piccola musica notturna
F. Donatoni
Lumen
C. Ives
The unanswered question
M. Lindberg
Jubilees
O. Knussen
Ophelia dances
G. Ligeti
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
B. Maderna
Serenata per un satellite
F. Romitelli
Nell’alto dei giorni immobili
R. Saunders
Quartet
Into the blue
S. Sciarrino
Archeologia del Telefono
K. Stockhausen
Punkte
E. Varèse
Octandre
I. Xenakis
Eridanos


SYMPHONIC REPERTOIRE SELECTIONB. Bartòk
Concerto for Orchestra
The Wooden Prince
L. van Beethoven
Symphonies nn. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8
Ouvertures: Egmont, Coriolan, Fidelio, Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus
J. Brahms
Symphonies nn. 1, 2, 3 & 4
Tragic Ouverture
Variations on a theme by Haydn
M. Bruch
Violin Concerto Op. 26
A. Bruckner
Symphony n. 4
C. Debussy
La Mer
Trois Nocturnes
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Livre de Baudelaire (orch. Adams)
A. Dvorak
Symphony n. 9 “New World”
G. Fauré
Pavane
Requiem
G. Mahler
Symphonies n. 4 & 5
F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Fingal's Cave
Symphony n. 3 & 4
Violin Concerto Op. 64
W. A. Mozart
Symphonies nn. 36, 39, 40 & 41
Concertone for 2 Violins K 190
Ouvertures: Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail
F. Poulenc
Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
S. Prokofiev
Simphony n. 1
M. Ravel
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ma mère l’Oye
Pavane pour une infante défunte
O. Respighi
Fontane di Roma
Trittico Botticelliano
G. Rossini
Ouvertures: Il barbiere di Siviglia, L’Italiana in Algeri, Tancredi
F. Schubert
Symphonies nn. 5, 7 (Unfinished) & 8 (Great)
Rosamunde, Fürstin von Cypern D. 797
D. Schostakovich
Symphonies nn. 5 & 10
R. Strauss
Metamorphosen in memoriam
A. Schönberg
Verklärte Nacht Op. 4
Kammersymphonie Op. 9
I. Stravinsky
Petrouchka
Divertimento from Le Baisier de la Fee
Dumbarton Oaks
Firebird Suite, 1919
Histoire du soldat
Sacre du Printemps
Octet for Wind Instruments
Symphonies for Wind Instruments
P. Tchaikovsky
Symphonies nn. 4, 5 & 6
Romeo and Juliet Ouverture-Fantasie
Violin Concerto
R. Wagner
Siegfried Idyll
A. Webern
Passacaglia Op. 1


OPERA REPERTOIRE SELECTIONG. Donizetti
L’elisir d’amore
Don Pasquale
P. Mascagni
Cavalleria Rusticana
W. A. Mozart
Le nozze di Figaro
F. Poulenc
La voix humaine
G. Puccini
Tosca
Gianni Schicchi
M. Ravel
L’Enfant et les Sortilèges
G. Verdi
La Traviata
Un ballo in maschera


Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 09/04/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


teaching


I have developed a rich and varied range of activities in higher education teaching since 2021, mainly at the University of Birmingham Music Department, where I have been a teaching fellow. My experience includes lecturing, mentoring, assessing, leading and designing numerous modules, which were aimed at different levels of the UG/PG curriculum in the areas of instrumental, vocal, and electroacoustic composition, orchestration, conducting, tonal harmony and counterpoint.
Alongside structured teaching, I led and supervised workshops for student composers at undergraduate and postgraduate research levels across institutions such as the University of Cambridge, the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and the University of Birmingham.
I strive to share my multifarious knowledge in teaching and learning environments. I often integrate composition strategies and rehearsing techniques from my conducting background into my teaching approach, to shape original and engaging learning experiences.
My commitment to pedagogical and professional development is further demonstrated by the Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) recognition, awarded in 2024.

I have launched an online teaching studio for limited individual tutorials conducted via video call. The rates are £50/€60 per hour.
If you are interested, please reach out through the contact form at the bottom of the home page.


Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 09/04/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


residencies


RESIGHT (2023)
for string quartet and electronics
Commission CrossCurrents Festival and BEAST
• w.p. 8.3.2024 @ Birmingham, Elgar Concert Hall
Ligeti Quartet
CHRONOPHAGE (2023)
for ensemble
[fl./bass fl.-vln.-vcl.-db.-el.]
Commission Ensemble Écoute, ‘Kagel 18.IX.2008.’
• w.p. 17-18/6/2023 @ Poush, Paris
Ensemble Écoute
Edizioni SZ Sugar
THOSE WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO YELL - WON'T (2021)
for partly hidden ensemble and tape
[fl./bass fl.-vln.-vcl.-db.-el.]
• w.p. 18.12.2021 @ Genova, Palazzo Tursi
Eutopia Ensemble
Edizioni SZ Sugar
NIGHT IS NIGHT, NO MATTER HOW LONG (2019)
for six performers of ecological instruments in full darkness
Commission Mdi Ensemble
• w.p. 15.11.2019 in Milan, Palazzina Liberty
Mdi Ensemble
Edizioni SZ Sugar
HAFEN VARIATION (2018)
[bass fl.- bass cl.-2vln.-vla.-vcl.]
• w.p. 19.1.2019 in Brescia, Teatro Sancarlino
Dèdalo Ensemble
Edizioni SZ Sugar
SIMPATIA E RAUCEDINE (2018)
[fl.-bass cl.-perc.-vln.-vla.-vcl.]
• w.p. 2.11.2018 in Reggio Emilia, Teatro Cavallerizza
Mdi Ensemble
BECOME A FAN (2016)
[fl./bass fl.-bass cl.-pf.-vln.-vcl.-2ventilators]
Commission MACM
• w.p. 12,15.9.2016, Moscow Phiharmonic Chamber Hall
Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble
RIMA CONGRUENS (2015)
[marb.-pf.-hps.]
• w.p. 30.6.2015 @ Milan, Villa Simonetta, Notti Trasfigurate


Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 09/04/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.

research


RESIGHT (2023)
for string quartet and electronics
Commission CrossCurrents Festival and BEAST
• w.p. 8.3.2024 @ Birmingham, Elgar Concert Hall
Ligeti Quartet
CHRONOPHAGE (2023)
for ensemble
[fl./bass fl.-vln.-vcl.-db.-el.]
Commission Ensemble Écoute, ‘Kagel 18.IX.2008.’
• w.p. 17-18/6/2023 @ Poush, Paris
Ensemble Écoute
Edizioni SZ Sugar
THOSE WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO YELL - WON'T (2021)
for partly hidden ensemble and tape
[fl./bass fl.-vln.-vcl.-db.-el.]
• w.p. 18.12.2021 @ Genova, Palazzo Tursi
Eutopia Ensemble
Edizioni SZ Sugar
NIGHT IS NIGHT, NO MATTER HOW LONG (2019)
for six performers of ecological instruments in full darkness
Commission Mdi Ensemble
• w.p. 15.11.2019 in Milan, Palazzina Liberty
Mdi Ensemble
Edizioni SZ Sugar
HAFEN VARIATION (2018)
[bass fl.- bass cl.-2vln.-vla.-vcl.]
• w.p. 19.1.2019 in Brescia, Teatro Sancarlino
Dèdalo Ensemble
Edizioni SZ Sugar
SIMPATIA E RAUCEDINE (2018)
[fl.-bass cl.-perc.-vln.-vla.-vcl.]
• w.p. 2.11.2018 in Reggio Emilia, Teatro Cavallerizza
Mdi Ensemble
BECOME A FAN (2016)
[fl./bass fl.-bass cl.-pf.-vln.-vcl.-2ventilators]
Commission MACM
• w.p. 12,15.9.2016, Moscow Phiharmonic Chamber Hall
Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble
RIMA CONGRUENS (2015)
[marb.-pf.-hps.]
• w.p. 30.6.2015 @ Milan, Villa Simonetta, Notti Trasfigurate


Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 9/4/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.

outreach & engagement


CoMA West Midlands

Soundwalks & treasure hunts


Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 09/04/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


compositions


chamber music


Title & YearInstrumentationDurationMediaMaterialWorld Premiere
Resight (2023)2vln.-vla-vcl.-el.12'listenscore + 4ch audio8/3/2024 @ Birmingham, Elgar Concert Hall, Ligeti Quartet, streamed on BBC Radio3 New Music Show
Eusocial buzz, bees & Brahms (2023)cl.-vcl.-pno.5'available soon!score4/5/2025 @ Brescia, Dèdalo Ensemble season, Ensemble Forma Libera
Crumpled Questions (2022)fl.-cl.-vln.-vcl.-perc.-pno.5'watchscore23/2/2023 @ Birmingham, Elgar Concert Hall, University of Birmingham New Music Ensemble
Those who have the right to yell - won't (2021)fl./bass fl.-vln.-vcl.-db.-el.12'watchscore + stereo track18/12/2021 @ Genova, Palazzo Tursi, Le strade del suono: "The smell of the protest", Eutopia Ensemble
Night is night, no matter how long (2019)six performers of biodegradable instruments in darkness30'listenscore + audio guide15/11/2019 @ Milan, Auditorium Lattuada, Mdi Ensemble
Hafen Variation (2018)bass fl.-bass cl.-2vln.-vla.-vcl.7' 30''listenscore19/1/2019 @ Brescia, Teatro Sancarlino, Dèdalo Ensemble
Simpatia e raucedine (2018)fl.-bass cl.-perc.-vln.-vla.-vcl.5'-score2/11/2018 @ Reggio Emilia, Teatro Cavallerizza, Mdi Ensemble
Become a fan (2016)fl./bass fl.-bass cl.-pno.-vln.-vcl.-2ventilators10'watchscore12,15/9/2016 @ Moscow Phiharmonic Chamber Hall, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble
Rima Congruens (2015)mar.-pno.-hps.6'listenscore30/6/2015 @ Milan, Villa Simonetta, Festival Notti Trasfigurate

Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 09/04/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


orchestra & ensemble


Title & YearInstrumentationDurationMediaMaterialWorld Premiere
Chronophage (2023)msop.-pno.4h-vln.-vla.-vcl.-db.2' 30''watchscore17-18/6/2023 @ Paris, Poush artist residence, Ensemble Écoute Commission
Fondale mobile (2022)chamber orchestra version10'listenscore30.4.2022 @ Padova, Auditorium Pollini, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, cond. Sara Caneva
Their wings have eyes (2021)picc.-cl.-bs.-hn.-trbn.-hp.-perc.-vln.-vla.-vc.-db.6'-score16/5/2021 @ Birmingham, CBSO Centre, BCMG
Fondale mobile (2019)large symphonic orchestra6' 30''listenscore7-8/6/2019 @ Venice, Teatro Malibran, Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia Commission, cond. Jonathan Webb
Idoli et Incubi (2019)picc.-Eb cl.-sopr. sax.-pno.-vln.-vcl.-db.-cond.-el.17' 30''listenscore4/10/2019 in Bludenz, Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik, Schallfeld Ensemble Commission
re.cover over.come[.info] (2017)bass fl.-bass cl.-el. org.-pno.-perc.-2vln.-vcl.-ampl. cond.7' 30''watchscore15/11/2017 @ Salzburg Mozarteum, Crossroads Festival, NAMES Ensemble
Dish to Disk, to Dash (2016)fl./picc.-cl.-alto sax.-pno.-perc.-vln.-vcl.-db.8'listenscore24/2/2016 @ Milan, Auditorium Lattuada, Schallfeld Ensemble

Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 09/04/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


electroacoustic & installations


Title & YearDurationMediaWorld Premiere
Eclipse (2024)20' ∞interactive immersive sound installation in darkness [20.2 ch + UWB technology for indoor position tracking]29-31/7/2024 @ Birmingham, BEASTdome, developed in partnership with Milad Mardakheh
Influences (2023)6' 16''fixed media [4ch]4/2/2023 @ University of Birmingham, BEASTdome
Inner enginges on a private trail (2021)12'fixed media [3rd order ambisonic, binaural]24/04/2021 @ Birmingham, BEAST FEaST
Ear ride I (2019)site-specific sound path for Villa dei Pini, Bogliasco Study Center [7 mono tracks + purpose-built biodegradable instruments]10, 13/3/2019 @ Villa dei Pini, Bogliasco Study Center
Ear ride II (2019)site-specific sound installation for the WWF Oasi San Felice, Marina di Grosseto [3 mono tracks + purpose-built biodegradable/recycled instruments]14/9/2019 @ WWF Oasi San Felice, Marina di Grosseto

Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 9/4/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


solo & duo


Title & YearInstrumentationDurationMediaMaterialWorld Premiere
Reforesting solo (2024)violin6'available soon!score16/8/2024 @ ArCombin Commission, vln. Clarissa Bevilacqua
Cruda nenia (2020)tenor & piano3' 30''watchscore19/12/2020 @ Rome, Festival Nuova Consonanza, ten. Mark Milhofer, pno. Marco Scolastra
Onomatopea dello scippo (2018)drum set9'watchscore22/5/2018 @ Vilnius, Druskomanija Festival, perc. Serge Vuille
Mìmesis del abrazo (2017)visual serenade for piano, video and smartphone15'watchscore22/10/2017 @ Madrid, Residencia de Estudiantes, pno. Ricardo Descalzo
Infant, potentially (2017)solo acting accordionist7'watchscore19/2/2017 @ Graz, Impuls Festival, acc. Ghenadie Rotari
@tratti (2015)for trumpet and piano5'-score-
Primo Die Vivus (2013)two Impromptus for solo piano5' 30'' (I.) 3' 30'' (II.)listenscore21/9/2014 @ Tübinger Kammermusikfreunde, pf. Giovanni Santini

Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 9/4/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


theatre & vocal


Title & YearInstrumentationDurationMediaMaterialWorld Premiere
Radice Posizione Distanza (2023)sopr.-bass.-orch.-el.30'available soon!score27.3.2024 @ Gorizia, Kulturni Center Lojze Bratuz, Commission Piccolo Opera Festival/ECOC, GO! Borderless Orchestra, Giulia Diomede, Massimiliano Migliorin, cond. Sara Caneva
Chiamata dalla realtà delle cose (2020)melologo after Tosca for actress and piano15'watchscore13.7.2020 @ 66° Festival Pucciniano Commission, act. Stefania Sandrelli, pno. Orazio Sciortino
Ask water... whispers answer (2018)sopr.-msop.-cten.-ten.-bar.-bass.8'listenscore28.7.2018 @ Lugano, Museo Vela, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
PET (2018)miniature for mezzosoprano and two dancers5'watchgraphic score28.7.2018 in Lugano, Museo Vela, msop. Truike van der Poel
On-Off (2017)sopr.-msopr.-bar.-m. act.-children's choir-orch.-el.50'watchscore + stereo track (libretto by Stefano Simone Pintor)11-12.10.2017 @ Rome, Teatro Nazionale, Commission Fabbrica Y.A.P. Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Valentina Varriale, Erika Beretti, Timofei Baranov, cond. Sara Caneva
La grasta furata (2013)---score (libretto by Ezio Sinigaglia)-
Il rubinetto (2012)cl.-pno.-perc.-vcl.-sopr.-bar.-f. act.-m. act.6'available soon!score31.7.2012 @ Siena, Teatro dei Rozzi, Farben Ensemble, sop. Alda Caiello, bar. Marco Bussi, broadcast on SKY Classica TV

Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 9/4/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


bio


composer • conductor • sound artist • researcher • PhD • FHEAPodium experience crossed her composing mind and led to a unique curiosity for all sorts of gesture-sound connections and interpretations, blending immediacy and depth in any music.Sara Caneva was nominated for the Classical:NEXT! 2020 Innovation Award and selected for the first edition of LaMaestra Conducting Competition at the Philharmonie de Paris. From 2016 to 2017, she won the Fabbrica Y.A.P. fellowship at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, where she composed and conducted a new opera diptych.
Caneva's music has been commissioned and programmed by institutions such as Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Fondazione I Teatri Reggio Emilia, Romaeuropa Festival, Salzburg Mozarteum, Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik, Moscow Philharmonic, MusiikkItalo Camerata, BEAST Festival, and broadcast on the Italian (RAI Radio3), Austrian (ORF Ö1) and French (France Musique) national radios. Since 2018 her large-scale acoustic pieces have been published by SZ Sugar (former Edizioni Suvini Zerboni).
Sara was granted composer-in-residence at several International institutions, such as Bogliasco Foundation (US/IT), Kone Saari Foundation (FI), Residencia de Estudiantes (ES), Styria Artist In Residence (AU), Schleswig Holstein Künstlerhaus Otte1 (DE), developing mixed-media compositions, land-art installations and cross-disciplinary projects. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at the University of Birmingham.Her research focuses on how visual cues - or lack thereof - influence music, compositional practice, and audience engagement towards inclusive forms of theatre and performance in darkness. In her researcher capacity, she was invited to present her music and give lectures in academic contexts such as the Music Since 1900 Conference, the Orpheus Institute, the University of Greenwich and the University of Birmingham.As a new music specialist, she conducted several world premieres across Europe, including works by Zuraj, Balch, Xiao, Pierini, Panni, Kallionpää and Caneva herself. Among recent commitments, she conducted the Ensemble Modern for the Cresc. Biennale ICCS, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto. In addition, she collaborated with the Orchestra Regionale Toscana, the Danubia Orchestra Óbuda at the Budapest Music Center, the Savaria Symphony Orchestra, the IEMA Ensemble within the Festival Klangspuren in Schwaz, and the Ensemble '900 from Accademia di Santa Cecilia.
In 2019, she brought on stage the multimedia opera "Trilogy in two" by Andrea Liberovici in a tournée with the American singer-performer Helga Davis and the Schallfeld Ensemble; the show was repeatedly broadcast on the Italian national TV (RAI 5). In 2018, she was a semifinalist in the G. Facchinetti Conducting Competition; in the same year, she conducted the final round in the Michele Novaro Composition Competition, live broadcast on Rai Radio3 I Concerti del Quirinale.


Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 9/4/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.


FELLOWSHIPS & RESIDENCIES
Saari Residence - Kone Foundation
DUNE artistic residency, WWF Oasi San Felice
StAIR, Land Steiermark
Bogliasco Foundation Music Fellowship
Schleswig ­Holstein Künstlerhaus Eckernförde
Residencia de Estudiantes Madrid
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma Y.A.P. 2016-2017
AWARDS & HONORS
2020, nominee for the Classical:NEXT! Innovation Award
2020, shortlisted for LaMaestra Conducting Competition Philharmonie de Paris
2016-17, Fabbrica Y.A.P. Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
2016, G.A.I. & MiBAC "movin’up" funding competition

COMMISSIONS & FESTIVALS
Teatro La Fenice di Venezia
Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
I Teatri di Reggio Emilia
Romaeuropa Festival
Druskomanija Festivalis
Crossroads Festival Salzburg
Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik
Eutopia Ensemble
Schallfeld Ensemble
Mdi Ensemble
Dèdalo Ensemble
CONDUCTING ACTIVITY
Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt cresc. Biennale
Birminghan Contemporary Music Group
Ensemble ‘900 Accademia di Santa Cecilia
Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto
Orchestra Regionale Toscana
Danubia Obuda Orchestra
Savaria Symphony Orchestra
Youth Orchestra Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
Schallfeld Ensemble
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
2017, M.Mus. in Orchestral Conducting, Conservatorio G. Verdi Milano
2016, PG Diploma in Composition, Civica Scuola di Musica Milano
2015-16, Erasmus in Conducting, Stuttgarter Musikhochschule
2013, M.Mus. in Composition, Conservatorio S. Cecilia Roma
2012, Diploma in Piano, Conservatorio S. Cecilia Roma
2011, Diploma in Composition, Conservatorio S. Pietro a Majella Napoli


upcoming events


1-3/5/2025

Eclipse sound installation
@ BEAST FEAST 2025, University of Birmingham, Bramall Music Building

4/5/2025

Eusocial buzz, bees & Brahmsw.p.
@ Brescia, Dèdalo Ensemble concert season
Ensemble Forma Libera

13/6/2025

Conducting @ Casa del Quartetto
Schönberg, Verklärte Nacht Op. 4; Perotti, Selva meccanica sopra OLF
@ I Teatri Reggio Emilia

14/6/2025

Those who have the right to yell - won't
@ m2c Festival, Conservatorio di Milano


Disclaimer: The artist manages and owns all information and audiovisual material on this website, last updated on 9/4/2025. Using any content without referencing is not allowed.