Aki Traar
Composer and Music Producer
Aki Traar was born in Vienna, and is currently living there after growing up in England, Canada and Italy. He has composed music and worked on stage productions at Burgtheater Vienna, Salzburger Festspiele, Young Theatre Shanghai, Volkstheater Vienna, Vestibül Vienna, Schauspielhaus Graz, Festspiele Ludwigshafen, Bregenzer Festspiele, Schauspielhaus Hamburg, and more. The play “Ich, Ikarus” for which Aki Laurenz Traar composed the music, was awarded the Stella*22 award in the category ‘Exceptional Drama for Children’.
His Music Productions have been released on the labels Ashida Park and Heiße Luft Records. His work on Performances and Installations includes compositions for Kunsthalle Stuttgart, Klimabiennale Vienna and Impulstanzfestival Vienna. In 2022 the Austrian Province Kärnten/Carinthia/Koroška awarded him a joint 6-Month Residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France. This was followed by Carinthias yearly stipend for Music in 2023. Aki Traar performs live and has played at events and festivals for contemporary electronic music across Europe such as lessthanthree Basel, Museion Bozen, Unsafe+Sounds Vienna, Megaworld Flucc Vienna, etc.
After studying Electroacoustic Composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and Musicology at the University of Vienna, he is currently completing an MA in Composition at Anton-Bruckner University in Linz.
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2025 The Doctor, Drama Ljubljana (Slovenia), Directed by Martin Kušej
2025 The Tempest, Landestheater Niederösterreich, Directed by Anne Mulleners
2025 My Friend Harvey, Stadttheater Klagenfurt (Austria), Directed by Mira Stadler
2024 Much Ado About Nothing, Stadttheater Oberhausen (Germany), Directed by Anne Mulleners
2024 39 Steps, Volkstheater Wien (Austria), Directed by Mira Stadler
2023 Queen Lear, Stadttheater Ingolstadt (Germany), Directed by Anne Mulleners
2022 The Doctor, Schauspielhaus Graz (Austria), Directed by Anne Mulleners
2022 No Exit, Burgtheater Wien (Austria), Directed by Martin Kušej, Played at Young-Theatre Shanghai, Festspiele Bregenz, Festspiele Ludwigshafen, Schauspielhaus Hamburg
2022 Maria Stuart, Burgtheater Wien, Salzburger Festpiele (Austria) Directed by Martin Kušej
2021 Ich, Ikarus, Vestibül Wien (Austria), Directed by Mechthild Harnischmacher
2020 Life is a Dream, Burgtheater Wien (Austria), Directed by Martin Kušej (Musical Assistant)
2019 The Battle of Herrmann, Burgtheater Wien (Austria) Directed by Martin Kušej (Musical Assistant)
Performances and Installations
2024 Gletscher, Klimabiennale Wien (Austria) Directed by Klemens Hegen
2023 Landschaft Lesen, Galerie Zarja (Austria) curated by Zdravko Haderlap and Herwig Turk
2023 Gletscher, Kunsthalle Stuttgart (Germany) Directed by Klemens Hegen
2023 Never Enough To Say Sorry, Impulstanz Wien (Austria) Directed by Klemens Hegen
2021 The Look of Sound, Kunstbureau Klagenfurt (Austria) with Jochen Traar
2019 Bride&Groom, Stadtgalerie Klagenfurt (Austria) with Jochen Traar
Soundtracks for Films
2025 Code of conflict, Digital, directed by Lena Kalleitner
2024 Lazy-Eye Directors Reel, Los Angeles (USA) Directed by Carston Donald
2023 Aya’s Dream, Short-Film, [Awarded Best Film on African Cultural Issues Filmprize at the Lake International Pan-African Filmfestival].
2020 Wiener Stimmung #11, Vienna (Austria), Burgtheater Wien, Directed by Mechthild Harnischmacher
Music Releases
2024 Perpetuum Mobile, Album, Ashida Park
2023 Helix Bruise, EP, Self-Released
2023 The Look of Sound, Music for a Residency, Self-Released
2022 SMV2, EP, Self-Released
References and Interviews:
Interview for Struma+Iodine, with Simon Popp
https://strumandiodine.com/article/interview-mit-aki-traar-die-theaterproduktion-ohne-theater/
“Sicherlich bestimmt er [Der Kellner: No Exit] auch den Einsatz der sensiblen Musik (von Aki Traar). Sie baut unwiderstehlich Spannung auf.“
Norbert Mayer – Die Presse.
Written Work:
The Music of Györgi Ligeti in Stanley Kubricks 2001
Politics, Music and Propaganda in the Cantigas de Santa Maria