Emer Kinsella is a composer and artistic director of Artistmotion who launched Soundproof with only a quartet; two violins, a cello, akkordeon, and lighting designer. Her aim was to bring classical music to an urban audience. Instead of the traditional stoic concert halls, Emer transformed the inspiring rustic building and courtyard into a living, breathing space of music and magic, where the musicians are free to move from floor to floor, from indoors to outdoors.
Original works are performed, and the movements are free-flowing, inviting likeminded audiences to experience music in new ways. The music was specifically composed with this location in mind, with a plain air approach.
The space pulsates with life-from the graffiti on the walls to the greenery surrounding the four stories of the structure. Emer’s youthful vision of creating concerts in an urban setting is just one example of the extreme talent residing within her. From the age of two and a half, when she first held a classical violin she knew that composing and creating beyond boundaries was in her blood. The BMus she earned at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, served as the credentials she needed to propel her musical ambitions forward.
Soundproof’s sold-out performances prove Kinsella’s artistry and skill. The Soundproof III performance makes connections between music and architecture, and who better to explore that relationship than Kinsella, who thrives on experimentation, unorthodoxy, and originality. The fervor she brings to projects is hard to ignore, and her successes have one wondering what her future projects will bring. She has a way of bringing her visions to fruition, and excels at connecting music to audiences that don’t ordinarily have access to it.
Located at Schonbrunnerstrasse III in Vienna, Austria, Soundproof is a venue for the senses, where the audience becomes the music instead of a passive listener. Art and culture ooze here, and yearn to be connected to the urban audience it was designed for. Color, light, and sound merge with architecture and humanity.
Emer shows equal command of urban and traditional setting. Her desire with Artistmotion is to fuse music with other forms of art, such as dance, film, and drama in the German and English language.