Catherine Kontz (b. 1976) is a Luxembourgish composer currently based in London. She studied Composition at Goldsmiths College, University of London under Roger Redgate and, as part of her PhD, produced and directed her mime-opera MiE for a set of six sold-out performances in 2006. She has since worked extensively within the world of contemporary opera as well as writing for performers such as United Instruments of LUCILIN, Monica Germino, Cathy Krier, Rhodri Davies, Tomoko Kiba, Véronique Nosbaum, Sebastian Lexer and BJ Cole amongst others. She has also recently written the music for Yann Tonnar’s new film Atelier Luxembourg for which she was nominated for ‘best artistic contribution’ by Lëtzebuerger Filmpraïs.

Catherine has been commissioned for new works by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Rainy Days Festival (Philharmonie Luxembourg), European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO), Shorter House Editions, Magnitude Music Ensemble/Spitalfields Festival, EUTERPE/Cid-Femmes, Rational Rec, Chetham’s School of Music, Noisewatchers Unlimited, Centre National de L’Audiovisuel (Luxembourg),OpDerSchmelz and Banque centrale du Luxembourg. She was delighted to have been given the opportunity by Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg to compose and direct her first full-length opera Neige for them in December 2013 to great acclaim.

When she is not composing, Catherine can be seen co-fronting avant-pop band French For Cartridge. Lucky to have studied the piano with Michèle Ries (Luxembourg) and John Tilbury (London) as well as the cello with Ivan Andrews (London), Catherine also regularly performs within the contemporary music and free improvisation scene and sometimes with her experimental music duo une cartouche. She likes bright colours, bold clashes, a bit of dissonance and looks to catch a few beautiful moments on her way.