Composer
Each note and each musical figure are the components of a global sonic image, unified and physical, that reveals the tragic story of sounds.
Now
When the moon of mourning is set
Concerto for augmented vibraphone and large orchestra. World premiere May 2026, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Michele Gamba, Minh-Tâm Nguyen — Rai NuovaMusica, Turin, and Teatro alla Scala, Milan (35th Milano Musica Festival). Co-commissioned by IRCAM and Milano Musica.
I am in blood — Kairos
Monographic album (70') to be released by Kairos in late 2026: works for large ensemble, including the title piece premiered at IRCAM's Espace de projection by L'Itinéraire, and the solo viola piece From scratch.
2027
A new piano concerto for the University of California, Berkeley (February); a new work for the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart (May).
Listen
Reflets de l'ombre large orchestra and live electronics, 2013
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Jukka-Pekka Saraste — Salle Pleyel, Paris. Commissioned by IRCAM and Radio France.
I am in blood fifteen instruments, augmented instruments, live electronics and 3D spatialisation, 2023
L'Itinéraire, Léo Margue — Espace de projection, IRCAM, Paris. Co-commissioned by IRCAM–Centre Pompidou and L'Itinéraire.
Stades d'ombre, stades de lumière large ensemble, 2018
Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, Daniel Kawka — Teatro Elfo Puccini, Milan.
Inside-out four percussionists with augmented percussions, 2017 — from Les espaces physiques
Les Percussions de Strasbourg — Le Centquatre, Paris, with IRCAM.
About
Carmine-Emanuele Cella is a composer. His music is about writing the sound itself: each note and each musical figure are the components of a global sonic image, unified and physical, that reveals the tragic story of sounds. His works have been commissioned and premiered by IRCAM, Radio France (Reflets de l'ombre, Salle Pleyel, Jukka-Pekka Saraste), the Centre Pompidou (Già s'ottenebra il giorno), Milano Musica and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI (When the moon of mourning is set, Teatro alla Scala, Michele Gamba), L'Itinéraire (I am in blood, IRCAM), Les Percussions de Strasbourg (the cycle Les espaces physiques), the Kyiv National Opera (Pane, sale, sabbia), the Teatro La Fenice and the Casa de Velázquez. His scores are published by Casa Ricordi and Edizioni Suvini Zerboni; a monographic CD, I am in blood, is to be released by Kairos in late 2026. A student of Azio Corghi, he has been composer in residence at IRCAM, the Casa de Velázquez and the American Academy in Rome, and has received the Petrassi prize and the Traiettorie prize. He is Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he co-directs CNMAT. His work on orchestration and timbre, which draws on a second doctorate in applied mathematics, has produced the computer-assisted orchestration system Orchidea.