"I aM FASCINATED BY HER DEVELOPMENT AND ESSENTIAL DESIRE TO SUBSTANTIALLY EXPLORE AND CEASELESSLY EXPAND HER ACTIVITY AS A MUSICIAN, HARP INTERPRETER, IMPROVISER AND INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTIST. HER KEEN SENSE OF LISTENING - TO OTHER MUSICIANS, TO SPACE, TO SILENCE - AS WELL AS HER UNIQUE AND IDIOSYNCRATIC APPROACH ARE WHAT SET HER APART."
CHARLOTTE HUG
Marina Mello is a Brazilian harpist based in Zurich with a wide range of experience as a musician. She has developed a unique and very expressive style through the harp and its infinite possibilities. In this sense, she presents her artistic journey, mainly researching new sound textures through paradoxes between emptiness and noisy textures, and harmonic and random-spontaneous vertical sounds. Focusing on non-traditional ways of playing - with extended technique, prepared instrument and with effect pedals (hybrid, acoustic and electric harps), Marina believes that as a woman and a harpist there are many stereotypes and expectations that can and should be disrupted.
In 2022, she graduated with honors with a Master's degree at ZHdK (Zurich University of arts) under the guidance of Professor Sarah O'Brien (classical harp), Lucas Niggli (improvisation practices), Ariana Savall (renascence music) and Charlotte Hug (transdisciplinary practices).
In spring 2024 Marina collaborated with Theater Neumarkt in Zurich - she composed and performed the music for the production Dunkler Frühling directed by Yana Eva-Thönes and Tine Milz. In the summer of 2024 Marina toured in Brazil, Colombia and Peru with Constanza Pellicci (ag), Thelmo Cristovão (br), Linda Vogel (ch), Marcel Gschwend (ch) and Mara Micciche (ch). The IOIC Fitzcarrado Tour was produced by IOIC (institue of incoherent cinematography) and supported by Pro-Helvia South America.
Marina has playing in various constellations in Switzerland, Germany and South America. At the end of 2019, together with Diego Kohn (ag), Gemma Galeano (es) and Ferran Gorrea (es), she founded the Slide Ensemble (two saxophones, viola and harp), dedicated to new and improvised music. In 2022, they performed co-created pieces on a tour in Switzerland. This project was supported by Fondation Suisa, City of Zurich, Pro Helvetia, Swiss Performers Foundation SIS, etc. In the fall of 2022, the Slide Ensemble won the first prize at the 11th Music Competition of the 22nd Annual Congress of the Society for Music Theory in Salzburg (AT).
Besides her solo and ensemble projects, Marina recently founded a trio in Berlin with Vinicius Cajado (bass) and Mauricio Takara (drums) and did a premiere tour last spring 2024 in Switzerland and Germany. In Zurich, she founded the duo with Alex Riva (records), the Inverse Cascade, the duo with drums by Hannes Wittwer and often played with international musicias such as Camille Emmaille (fr), John Edward (en), Violeta Garcia (ar), Flo Stoffner (ch) and others. In Brasilia, her hometown, she founded the Duo MA with the theater butoh dancer Tiago Ianuck.
During her classic studies in São Paulo (BR), she had the opportunity to play in orchestras such as the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) and the Rio de Janeiro Symphony Orchestra, and to tour Europe and the United States.
Meanwhile, Marina participated in the recording of the album of the Brazilian alternative rock band O Terno and the first solo album of Tim Bernardes Recomeçar. This one was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2018 and was ranked second among the best albums of 2017 by Rolling Stone magazine.
While living in São Paulo, she also worked for two years in the social project Instituto Bacarelli in São Paulo, teaching children from the Heliopólis community. It was particularly necessary to take into account the social reality and the emotional state of the students in order to propose pedagogical activities that would promote the learning process in a meaningful and enjoyable way. Already in Switzerland, at the music school of Alato and the music school of Männedorf, she currently teaches Celtic and concert harp at all age levels.