ULHER, Birgit

Birgit Ulher has been living in Hamburg as a freelance musician, sound artist, and composer since 1982. Born in 1961 in Nuremberg, she initially studied painting and fine arts, which continues to exert a significant influence on her music. Ulher has developed a range of extended playing techniques for the trumpet, allowing her to craft a unique musical language centered around sound. She works with the trumpet, radio, metal foil and everyday objects, to produce electronically resonant sounds using purely acoustic means. Her particular interests lie in microtonal aspects, sound fragmentation, and the spatial dimension of sound. Beyond material exploration, she is deeply intrigued by the relationship between silence and sound.

Since 2006, she has been working with radio sounds fed to speakers, employing them as trumpet mutes. The trumpet simultaneously serves as both transmitter and receiver. Her solo work encompasses compositions with pre-recorded elements, such as “Traces” and “splitting 21” (a collaboration with Michael Maierhof), as well as compositions for sound installations, like “Reveille”, created for the sound and light installation ‘Wake Up’ by Allora & Calzadilla, and concert installations like “Public Transport” and “Robo Tins.”