BIOGRAPHY

Saskia Venegas Aernouts is a Spanish-Belgian composer, music theater maker, and violinist, now based in the Netherlands.

Venegas approaches music as a means of reflection and a way to protest the injustices of the world we all live in. Through her work, she appeals to the human subconscious and empathic capacity while simultaneously fostering personal critical thought.

Her interest in human socio-political behaviour significantly influences her work, often inspired by the theories of Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal. She applies their dramaturgical insights to the creation of interdisciplinary art performances, with music as the central element of the creative process. Among her various projects, she has collaborated with children in the West Bank and the area of Jerusalem (2011), and  has deeply investigated the unresolved crimes of the Franco regime, conducting thorough investigations, visiting old detention camps, searching for and interviewing family members of victims or disappeared individuals in order to create deep musical archives of history through her music (2017-2024).

Her compositional palette includes works for solo instruments such as the cello cycle “Medusa” tells the story of PTSD through the hidden narrative of the ancient myth of Medusa’s abuse, and her piece  “The Air we breathe” commissioned by the Klara Festival and performed by violinist Diamanda Dramm, which reflects on the impact of humans on the environment. Her  chamber workse “A veces, el silencio es la peor mentira” (Sometimes Silence is the Biggest Lie), “Gatos Salvajes” (Wild Cats), and “The House of Silk – Whispers of the Ebro” based on the aforementioned Franco regime, and  her  symphonic poem “At the Aegean shores” performed by the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Basque National Orchestra, which reflects her experiences as a volunteer in a refugee camp on Lesbos in the summer of 2016.

Her passion for interdisciplinary work includes collaborations with luminaries such as acclaimed Swiss director Milo Rau on the productions “Orestes in Mosul” and “Family” and with Iraqi director Hassan Khayoon on “Republic of Fear” amongst others.

She has been the founder and artistic director of the Dutch contemporary music Ensemble Oihua (The scream in Basque) since 2018, an ensemble focused on her new music and that of her contemporaries. Her advocacy through this platform includes the project “Spain’s Silenced Voices,” which she initiated and that focuses on recovering and showcasing music by composers who were oppressed or, in some cases, murdered during the Spanish dictatorship. These composers’ works were banished from any stage or performance venue. Once at the pinnacle of their careers during the Spanish Republic, they completely disappeared from music history books. “Spain’s Silenced Voices” was invited by the Spanish Ministry of Justice as the closing act for the 80th anniversary of the Spanish Republican exile exhibition in Madrid.

During 2024 and 2025, Saskia is undertaking the Nieuwe Makers (New Makers) trajectory at  Music Meeting Festival, where she will create two new productions. During this trajectory, she will have coaches to guide her, such as the renowned violinist and founder of the legendary American Kronos Quartet, David Harrington, acclaimed vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and dancer, Guggenheim Fellow and Paul Simon Music Fellows Guest Jen Shyu, and renowned composer and artistic director of the music organization National Sawdust in New York, Paola Prestini amongst others.

She started her musical career as a violinist obtaining her violin diploma at the Bilbao conservatory and her bachelors in classical violin at Codarts university fro the Arts (Rotterdam, NL). During her master studies in New Music Theatre she received music composition, dramaturgy and stage directing lessons and created several music theatre performances under the guidance of artists such as composer Michiel van der Aa , stage director Marcel Sijm , theatre director Titus Muizelaar and theatre writer Rob de Graaf among others.  After getting more and more into the creating chair Venegas pursued her second bachelor and master’s in composition at the  Royal Antwerp conservatory under de guidance of Wim Henderickx graduating Cum laude.