Biography
Germaine Sijstermans is a composer, installation artist, and musician. Her site-specific installations and compositions leave room for the beauty of chance, and the richness of sensory perception, both for performers and for visitors. Through sound, silence, light, space, and embodiment, she creates (sound) environments in which each person present can follow their own unique path of experience. Distilled to their essence, each composition and installation is an interplay of lines, textures, in-between spaces, surfaces, color, light, and gravity.
Sijstermans composes open scores that invite interaction between sounds, melodies, performers, and their surroundings. Abstract sonic materials unfold in organic ways, with a central role for timbre and sound textures, occurring in a non-linear experience and perception of time. Each performance is unique, thanks to the musicians' freedom in interpretation of the open scores.
Sijstermans' installations are temporary, transparent environments. Through the careful placement of simple materials, such as cotton thread, rice paper, oil, stones, and pigments, they coexist with a space without concealing anything. The immaterial elements of light and scent also form a part of the installations.
selected compositions
for the Mario Merz Prize nomination
Gabiroba
Composed for the site-specific multimedia installation Gabiroba for the summer 2025 exhibition of the museum Textiles Zentrum Haslach (AT). Recorded in the installation in July 2025 with Marielle Groven (violin), Marcus Kaiser (cello), Seamus Cater (concertina), and Germaine Sijstermans (clarinet). The composition ran in the installation as a four channel track over speakers in the positions where the musicians played. Aside from the installation opening hours, there were two live concerts.
Pilosella
Composed for the occasion of solo clarinet concerts in New York in May 2024. Since then also performed in Amsterdam, Athens, Maastricht, and Austria. Performance by Germaine Sijstermans (clarinet) in this video from 00:14 to 13:38.
Elexen
Composed as part of the site-specific installation Elexen at Heim.art, Neufelden (AT). Since then also performed in Amsterdam, The Hague, New York, Heerlen (NL), Trier (DE), and Mechelen (BE). Live concert performance by Marcus Kaiser (cello) and Germaine Sijstermans (bass clarinet) in this track from 00:00 to 17:50.
Linden
Composed for Berlin-based ensemble Möbelgruppe in 2020. Since then also performed in Amsterdam, New York, Heerlen (NL), Düsseldorf and released on the album Circles, Reeds and Memories (trio version).
This video, made for the Cultura Nova festival, filmed in an installation made for the occasion, contains three quartet versions with live light plan. Performance by Rishin Singh (trombone), Eric Wong (e-guitar), Marcus Kaiser (cello), Germaine Sijstermans (clarinet), and Koen Nutters (lights).
POM
Piano solo piece that has been performed in New York, Heim.art (AT), Eindhoven (NL) and Tokyo. Performance by Teodora Stepančić in the Piano+ concert series in New York in this video from 31:05 to 37:35.
Further links and materials
Please feel free to download my catalogue 2017-2020, which contains the scores for twelve compositions and photos of installations in those years.
Please feel free to download my double album Betula via Bandcamp, using one of the following single use codes. Do not hesitate to reach out to me to request more codes.
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redeem HERE
For interviews that touch on my artistic practice,
please view the following video and link.
The video below shows an impression of my latest site-specific installation with composition, Yareta, in collaboration with ensemble Modelo62 and art space Quartair The Hague. The composition ran in the installation as a four channel track over speakers in the positions where the musicians played, accompanied by a light plan in sync with the track. Aside from the installation opening hours, there were three live concerts.