Philipp C. Mayer (DE)

is a composer, sound artist and improviser. After preliminary studies at the Dr.Hoch’schen Konservatorium in Frankfurt with Claus Kühnl, Mayer studied composition with Isabel Mundry at the HMTM Munich, Stefano Gervasoni at the CNSM de Paris and with Martin Schüttler and Joanna Bailie at the HMDK Stuttgart.
As a theater musician, he works in a team with director Rieke Süßkow, set designer Mirjam Stängl and costume designer Sabrina Bosshard. In 2023, the team staged Werner Schwab’s ÜBERGEWICHT, UNWICHTIG: UNFORM at the Staatstheater Nürnberg and was invited to the 2024 Theatertreffen in Berlin. His second work in Nuremberg followed in 2024 with EINES LANGEN TAGES REISE IN DIE NACHT – INSTRUMENTALVERSION.

In his diverse artistic practice, Mayer writes music for concerts (acoustic instruments with and without electronics), works with video and text and in the field of (music) theater. His music has been performed by ensembles/musicians such as the Quasar Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble N, Quartetto Maurice, Trio Abstrakt, and Duo2KW and has been heard at festivals such as the Munich Opera Festival, the Munich Biennale, the Alte Schmiede Vienna and the Mozartfest Würzburg. In 2022, his orchestral piece “Dear Haunting” was premiered by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra at the Suntory Hall Tokyo and in 2024 his first full-length opera “Das Reich der Freiheit” at the Staatstheater Kassel.

In addition to his work on concert music and in the theater context, Mayer creates sound installations (e.g. Museum Ulm) and performs as a musician in various constellations. He has an artistic collaboration with the visual artist Oliver Arendt and is one musical half of the duo Shape of Mustard, with whom he creates multimedia installations and plays live electronic improvisations. For many years, Mayer has been a scholar of the German National Academic Foundation.
Philipp currently lives in Cologne.