JOANA GUERRA

CELLO, VOICE, IMPROVISATION, COMPOSITION

Joana Guerra (Lisbon, 1983) is a cellist, composer and improviser whose restlessness and passion for experimentation have led her to collaborate with numerous musicians, as well as with dance, performance and theater projects, weaving a unique and ever-expanding universe. She has worked in diverse contexts, both solo and collectively, moving freely between artistic disciplines. Joana incorporates a wide range of influences, including noise, improvisation, folk, jazz, experimental music, traditional and minimalist sounds, unifying these references into a distinctive approach.

Her musical studies began at the neighborhood school, where, interestingly, she also took karate lessons. Later, she pursued her education at the Lisbon Conservatory of Music while simultaneously earning a degree in Modern Languages and Literatures from Universidade Nova de Lisboa. During this time, she juggled her studies with a series of part-time jobs.

As a musician, she explored musical landscapes that reflected her desire for acoustic experimentation and the development of extended techniques for the cello. This path led her to become part of Lisbon’s free improvisation movement.

She has released four solo albums, with the most recent, Chão Vermelho (Miasmah Records, 2020), receiving critical acclaim. Her performances have taken her to various venues and festivals in Portugal and beyond, including Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

She is also involved in several projects within the spectrum of exploratory and improvised music, such as Lantana, The Alvaret Ensemble, Joana Guerra & Gil Dionísio and the Cornelius Cardew-inspired ensemble Tratado de Cardew.

Additionally, she collaborates with various artists, including Joëlle Léandre, Maria do Mar, Mikhail Karikis, Surma, Spectrum Awareness, Carlos Godinho, Gume, Victor Herrero, Lula Pena, Yaw Tembe, Asimov, Angelica Salvi, Tiago Sousa, João Ferro Martins, Pop Dell’Arte, João Pais Filipe, Paulo Vicente, Beat the Odds, Raquel Lima, Trigger, Ricardo Jacinto, Pedro Melo Alves, Mia Distonia, Orquestra do Ruído, Cícero and Bernardo Álvares.

As a composer and performer, she has been involved in projects across different artistic fields. In dance, she has collaborated with choreographers Clara Andermatt, Madalena Victorino, and Marina Nabais; in theater, with the João Garcia Miguel Company and Hotel Europa; in film and documentary, she composed the soundtrack for Os Campos em Volta, by João Botelho, presented at the IndieLisboa Festival in 2015, as well as for Peceras, by Asur Fuente.

This rich artistic experience continuously shapes her evolution as a musician and composer, a journey she shares with audiences through her live performances.