Courage Barda
composer · countertenor · media artist
about Courage
photo by Noam Niv
Courage Barda (b. 2003) is a composer, media artist, and countertenor who composes and performs concert and interactive multimedia works which combine music with text, movement, theater, and digital technologies. They use a variety of experimental techniques in their work, captivating audiences through their expanded vocal lexicon, psychedelic video art, and minimalist prose. Their reconciliation with dance after a disabling neurological event is a key aspect of their work as an artist. Restricted by their physical impairment, they have developed a robust yet clear choreographic language that is defined by aleatoric and adaptive movement techniques. Their work is commissioned and performed by individuals and ensembles throughout the U.S., most notably Choral Arts Initiative, Hub New Music, International Brazilian Opera Company, The Capital Hearings, and NOTUS, Indiana University’s contemporary vocal ensemble.
In addition to their own compositions, Barda performs an eclectic repertoire as a countertenor specializing in the performance of both early music and new music, having performed in solo and chamber settings the music of J.S. Bach, Heinrich Schütz, José Marin, Guillaume de Machaut, G.F. Handel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and John Dowland, as well as the music of Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, Julián Carillo, and Unsuk Chin.
They are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in composition and historical performance (voice) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying composition with Han Lash and voice with Judith Malafronte. They formerly studied composition with Don Freund and voice with Steven Rickards.
"As a multimedia artist, I explore the connections and boundaries between sound, text, movement, and digital media, taking joy in finding creative ways to combine these elements. I believe that these elements are interdependent forces capable of symbiosis in which they influence and elevate one another.
My creative output is sculpted by a dialectic of personal experiences. This became especially true in 2020 when I gained a physical disability, which led me to challenge the way I think and rename myself Courage––an ontological intervention that serves as a reminder of the honest and vulnerable person I aspire to be. With this transformation came an equal artistic one, in which I grew more comfortable with confronting personal themes, both intense and whimsical, through my work.
My earliest experiences with composition began as a member of the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, where I was encouraged by several directors to explore my own creative voice. It was around this time that I was introduced to the idea of being a composer-performer, inspired largely by Meredith Monk and Diamanda Galás. I began composing music for myself to perform, soon learning how vital this personal, physical connection with my art is for my creative expression. Composing music for myself to perform allows me a deeper level of freedom that I can’t find anywhere else.
Some of my more recent artistic adventures include a piece for guitar and fixed media electronics, a short piece for children’s choir and piano, a large-scale work for countertenor, synthesizer, fixed audiovisual media electronics, and dance, and a song cycle for tenor piano. I have been leaning into creating artistic responses to technology, human sexuality, memory and trauma, and grief."