Arda Cabaoglu Virtanen, DMA

BIOGRAPHY

Arda Cabaoglu Virtanen, DMA is a conceptual performance artist and trumpeter working at the intersection of immaterial art, long-duration performance, and sound-based artistic research. His work treats performance as a physical and perceptual condition, exploring endurance, presence, and the instability of live artistic action.

Trained as a trumpeter at the Eastman School of Music and Malmö Academy of Music, he has premiered works by leading composers and performed internationally across Europe and the United States. Alongside contemporary music practice, his work engages historically informed performance, experimental collaboration, and performance as research.

His recent projects focus on long-duration performance structures, commissioning, recording, and interdisciplinary formats that connect artistic research, institutions, and audiences.

Artistic Practice

Cabaoglu Virtanen’s work investigates how performance functions as material and perceptual event. Across long-duration structures, bodily limits become part of the work itself. His practice blends conceptual frameworks with sound, endurance, and physical presence, navigating the threshold between musical action and art experience.

I’MMATERIAL — Long-Durational Performance Art

I’MMATERIAL is an ongoing series of long-durational performance works that treat performance not as representation, but as a condition of presence. The project positions live artistic action as unstable, measurable, and physically contingent, where sound, time, and bodily endurance form the primary material of the work.

Rather than producing fixed musical objects, I’MMATERIAL investigates what remains when performance extends beyond conventional limits of attention, stamina, and control. Breath, repetition, fatigue, and perceptual fluctuation are not side effects but structural elements. The work unfolds in real time, allowing duration itself to shape form.

Situated between conceptual art, long durational performance art, and experimental music practice, I’MMATERIAL explores honesty, exposure, and the vulnerability of sustained action. Each iteration operates as both artwork and inquiry, examining how artistic intention interacts with physical reality and audience perception.

I’MMATERIAL No.1: The Musical Lie Detector (2026-2027)

The first work in the series extends this inquiry by integrating physiological measurement into live performance. Developed at Aalto University (Helsinki, Finland) in collaboration with a team of scientists, the project examines how internal bodily responses coexist with outward artistic control, framing performance as a site where intention, perception, and physical truth intersect. Supported by the Kone Foundation, the work situates artistic performance within a dialogue between conceptual art, embodied experience, and scientific observation.

Notable Projects & Artistic Achievements

• Presented long-duration performance art work Forced Misophonia: BLAST, BLOW, PULSE at SSM Contemporary Art Museum in a 4.5-week durational format (8 hours daily), within a curatorial framework connected to the Marina Abramović Institute.

• Creator of the ongoing performance art series I’MMATERIAL, exploring endurance, perception, and the physical and conceptual limits of live artistic action.

• Premiered and recorded more than twenty works in solo and collaborative formats, contributing to contemporary repertoire through sustained artist–composer partnerships.

• International performances across four continents in contexts spanning contemporary art presentation, experimental music practice, and interdisciplinary performance.

• Ongoing collaborations with artists and composers through Contemporary Art Music Project (CAMP), developing new long-duration and hybrid performance formats.

• Recipient of early career distinctions including First Prize at the National Trumpet Competition and national recognition in the Lions European Music Prize.


Selected Projects

Forced Misophonia: BLAST, BLOW, PULSE

A long-duration solo performance investigating presence, sonic pressure, and perceptual endurance. Over extended daily performance cycles, breath, repetition, and bodily strain become visible components of the work, shifting attention from musical outcome to the act of sustained artistic exposure. Presented in a durational museum context as part of a curatorial framework associated with the Marina Abramović Institute, the work situates trumpet performance within performance art traditions that engage time, physical limits, and audience perception. A publication and recording are in preparation.

Caged Dream of Stuffed Ludwig (Sangbin Rhie)

A collaborative work for trumpet and percussion/electronics exploring instability, fragmentation, and sculptural sound presence. The piece operates at the threshold between composed structure and physical gesture, where instrumental sound is treated as spatial and tactile material. Developed in collaboration with Contemporary Art Music Project (CAMP), the work forms part of an ongoing engagement with contemporary composition as performative and interdisciplinary practice.

Professional Record (Selected)

Performances and Ensembles

His ensemble work has included collaborations with contemporary music groups, orchestras, and interdisciplinary performance contexts across Europe and the United States, spanning new music, experimental performance, and large-scale ensemble settings.

Teaching and Service

Cabaoglu Virtanen has held teaching and faculty positions in the United States, Turkey, and Finland, working with students in performance, artistic research, and contemporary practice. His pedagogical work emphasizes individualized artistic development and interdisciplinary awareness.

Awards

His early career includes recognition in international competitions, including First Prize at the National Trumpet Competition and national distinction in the Lions European Music Prize. He has also served as a jury member and participated in Grammy-nominated recordings as an ensemble performer.

Education/Background

He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music and completed advanced studies at Malmö Academy of Music and Istanbul Technical University. His training bridges contemporary performance, historical practice, and artistic research.

Gear

Cabaoglu Virtanen performs on modern and historical trumpets and works with instrument makers and technicians to support his extended performance practice.

Ongoing & Related Projects

UNMUTE IT! — A global workshop platform supporting the creation of new solo repertoire and expanding the dialogue between composers and performers.

IsAndAir — A contemporary violin and trumpet duo with Sini Virtanen Cabaoglu dedicated to developing new repertoire and interdisciplinary performance formats.

I’MMATERIAL (Series) — Ongoing long-duration performance art works exploring endurance, perception, and performance as material.


Documentation & Media

Selected documentation, publications, and recordings related to Cabaoglu Virtanen’s performance art and contemporary music projects are available upon request.

Recent materials include:

• Publication in preparation for Forced Misophonia: BLAST, BLOW, PULSE, presented within a curatorial framework connected to the Marina Abramović Institute

• Ongoing collaborations and premieres through Contemporary Art Music Project (CAMP)

• International documentation of long-duration and experimental performance works

Cabaoglu Virtanen holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester (USA), where he studied under James Thompson and worked with faculty across performance, musicology, theory, and historical practice. His doctoral studies integrated contemporary performance, repertoire research, and interdisciplinary artistic inquiry.

He also completed advanced studies at the Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University (Sweden), focusing on interpretation, contemporary performance practice, and artistic individuality, studying with Håkan Hardenberger, Bo Nilsson, and Olle Sjöberg.

Earlier graduate work was undertaken at the Center for Advanced Studies in Music (MIAM), Istanbul Technical University (Turkey), where his studies bridged composition, performance, and contemporary music aesthetics.

He received his undergraduate training at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory, Istanbul, grounding his practice in classical performance traditions before moving toward experimental and interdisciplinary work.

The full academic Education record is below:

Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
Rochester, New York, USA
Doctor of Musical Arts, Trumpet Performance and Literature
Doctor of Musical Arts (degree recognized by the Finnish National Agency for Education)
2008–2010, 2013–2016 (academic leave 2010–2013)
Primary Professor: James Thompson
Other professors: Ellen Koskoff, Steve Laitz, Seth Monahan, Matthew Brown, Dave Headlam, Roger Freitas, Philip Silvey, Christopher Azzara, Christina Fava, Mark Davis Scatterday, Neil Varon, Brad Lubman, Michael Ruhling, Paul O'Dette, Donald Hunsberger, Clay Jenkins, Dariusz Terefenko, Patrick Macey, Ralph P. Locke, Bruce Frank, Douglas Prosser

Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University
Malmö, Sweden
Master of Music
2011–2013
Advanced Course in Interpretation of Music Performance
2010–2011
Primary Professors: Håkan Hardenberger, Bo Nilsson, Olle Sjöberg, Other instructors: Samuli Örnströmer, Kjell Edstrands

Center for Advanced Studies in Music, Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul, Turkey
Master of Arts
2006–2008
Primary Professor: Erden Bilgen Other instructors: Kamran Ince, Michael Ellison, Robert Reigle, Paul Whitehead, Mary Berkmen, Cihat Aşkın, Ayşegül Sarıca

Istanbul State Conservatory, State Academy of Fine Arts, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
Istanbul, Turkey
Bachelor of Music
2002–2005