photo - Martin Bambušek

Martin Klusák (b. 1987) is an Czech composer, sound designer, and intermedia artist, graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in sound design and composition, with a portfolio of internationally premiered and performed works. His work ranges from composition and sound design for film, television and radio, to original music and intermedia projects that often cross the boundaries of music and sound arts and touch upon other artistic disciplines.

Among his most notable concert collaborations are those with the Prague Berg Orchestra, which has already performed six of his compositions (In Paradisum 2013, L'Étoile de Mer 2015, Praevernal 2016, Eclipse 2018, In B 2020, Kwaidan 2021). In 2024 he collaborated with Klangforum Wien, cond. by Enno Poppe, within the Prague Spring festival. During his creative career he has also collaborated with other major ensembles, institutions and festivals (Prague Philharmonic Choir, The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, Janáček May festival, The International Shakuhachi Festival Prague, Hudba v souvislostech, Archaion Kallos festival, Ensemble Terrible, Czech Radio, Czech Television, and others).

His current work explores the intersection of music and film. He has created several original music-experimental films (Preavernal 2017, Svídna 2020, Rebirth 2022) and is preparing new original audiovisual projects. He is also one of the founders of the Topos Kolektiv group, which since 2014 explores the boundaries of music, theatre, visual arts and architecture in an experimental way through site-specific performances with premieres in the Czech Republic and abroad. In 2017, he founded the group PET(m)use, an experimental collective of musicians and architects, with whom he developed and presented a two-year music-theatre project until 2019.

His artistic projects have been presented abroad (UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Japan, USA) and films and media projects with his music have been premiered or shown at domestic and international competitions and festivals such as Prix Europa, Prix Italia, Quinzaine des Réalisateurs Cannes, Karlovy Vary IFF, Ji.hlava IDFF, Festival international du film d'animation Annecy, and many others. As a composer, he collaborated on the short film Happy End (2015, directed by Jan Saska), which was shortlisted for an Oscar nomination in 2016.

He has also received numerous awards, including finalist in the 2016 Phonurgia Nova Awards in Paris, Honorable Mention at the Experimental Forum LA 2017 and Deep Focus Film Festival NY 2021, Grand Prizes in the 2012 Prague Philharmonic Choir Competition and the 2014 Janáček May Festival Competition, and the People's Choice Award in the 2013 BERG Orchestra Competition, Best Czech Electroacoustic Composition Award in the Musica Nova 2011 and 2014 competitions, the OSA Award for Most Successful Young Composer 2014, and others.

Between 2019-2021 he was the music dramaturge at the Czech Radio music production Centre, where he continues as a part-time music producer since 2021. Since 2022, he has also lectures courses at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in Film Music, MAX/MSP Music Programming, History of Acoustic Arts, and Fundamentals of AV Technology.