About
Natalia Mann is an award-winning harpist, composer, and conceptual artist who explores music as a natural form of expression—a universal language.
Her background in high art and cultural traditions informs her approach to Resonance music, revealing how sound connects us to the world around us.
Guided by Indigenous values, she explores the role of music as a force for awareness and change, particularly in the face of today’s environmental challenges.
Through her work, Natalia seeks to amplify the Earth’s voice, bringing it into the conversations that shape our future.
Biography
Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Mann's musical journey began at the age of four when her family lived in Los Angeles. She initially focused on classical music, studying both harp and piano and by age 16, she was performing with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Mann's career is marked by a profound evolution from classical roots to a deep engagement with improvisation and experimental music. Her journey took a pivotal turn in her early twenties, leading her to explore diverse musical traditions and collaborate with artists from various genres.
Her relocation to Melbourne, Australia, immersed her in the vibrant international folk and roots music scene, where she further honed her improvisational skills and collaborated on projects spanning meditation music, pop, hip hop, lounge, underground and experimental styles, while studying classical music at Victorian College of the Arts. She was the inspiration behind Irine Vela’s Hip Hop Harp Concerto for Outer Urban Projects at the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts. She toured Nicky Bomba as Angelbomb duo, performed and recorded with Michael Johnson, David Jones, Elf Tranzporter, Oryelle Defenstrate, Mia Stone, Aurora Kurth, and many more. She was an original member of avant-garde improvisation trio Shima with Emma Bathgate & Naomi Jean, and the Turkish groups Gece and Unified Gecko with Murat Yucel.
Mann's work celebrates her Pacific Island heritage and reflects her passion for cultural fusion and artistic exploration. She co-founded Brown Roots Creative Pacific Arts group in Melbourne, and the award-winning Samoan trio Suga (Sunga) with Grace Vanilau and Lila Meleisea, who toured internationally. She created together with Ela To’omaga and Marie Tamole, Tyssia Wahnawe and the group Kalaga’la of Kanaky.
In 2005, Mann moved to Istanbul, Turkey, where she performed alongside Turkish classical master musicians such as İzzet Kızıl, Göksel Baktagir, Sumru Ağıryürüyen, Eda Karaytug and many more. This period saw her composing original pieces, culminating in the release of her critically acclaimed album "Pasif.ist" in 2011 on the Rattle NZ label. In addition to her regular show at Alt. jazz club, Natalia appeared in major concert houses and on Turkish Radio Television.
Continuing to be active in abstract music, she created the album Medusa Dreaming (Neuma) in the Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, in collaboration with sound artists Ros Bandt and Erdem Helvacioğlu. She produced the album Utterance (Rattle NZ), with significant mentor Matua Richard Nunns and David Long. She played with Dine Doneff (Thessaloniki/Berlin), and experimental pioneers Korhan Erel (Turkey) and Robert Reigle (USA), and the arthouse Leda Atomica in Marseilles, France.
Additional endeavours included serving as the principal harpist with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, studying jazz with guitarist Toni Kitanovski, composing for Black Grace contemporary dance company’s ‘The Nature of Things’, and touring with New Zealand pop star Bic Runga.
Mann began to extend her musical expression into graphic scores, sculptural compositions, film, installation, and writing. Her conceptual framework, ‘Weaving of Perceptions’ is based on the concept that a Truth is more resonant for having not only one, but many perspectives. As she experiences so many ways of being and doing, they are woven into harmony through her music.
Mann's work is deeply influenced by her connection to nature and visual art. She resettled in the South Pacific rim (2013 - present), to focus her creative research on vibrations of place and environment. She engages in projects that involve ‘playing’ the resonance of landscapes and environmental elements, creating immersive auditory experiences that celebrate presence and aliveness.
Mann began developing a quantum method she calls Resonance Music, a way of translating frequencies into music. ‘The Art of Listening’ explored playing art as score in galleries. Her seminal project ‘The Sonic Earth’ explored the musical resonance of plants and trees. ‘The Blue Pen’ is a book of telepathic resonance with the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters star cluster.
Her music, performance and art installations have been commissioned for the National Museum of Australia & Victor Steffensen, Ephemera Festival (Townsville), NorthSite Gallery (Gimuy), Fremantle Biennale, SA/MOA Ten Days on the Island, Bonemap Intermedia, Mandigalpay Yidinji, Minjil Arts, Emily Granger & Claire Edwardes for HUSH, NZ Harp Society and NZHarpFest, Fâmes Croisées (Kanaky), Association Siapo (Kanaky).
Mann has given workshops, talks and published articles for the Melbourne Museum, Percy Grainger Museum, AsiaLink, NorthSite Gallery, National Indigenous Fire Workshop, Custodians of Country, Cairns Regional Council Green Space Our Place, Virtual Harp Summit I & II, NZ Harp Society, FNQ Harp Connection, Dumbo Feather Magazine, ABC Far North, Connect Magazine, Tū Mai Magazine, Spacifik Magazine and Tagata Pasifika.
Mann’s art has been supported by Arts Queensland, Screenworks APRA/AMCOS, Regional Arts Development Fund, Cairns Regional Council, Tanks Arts Centre and NorthSite Gallery. She was awarded grants from Creative New Zealand and Creative New Zealand Pasifika Arts Board, Margaret Netze Legacy Fund and the Pasifika Arts Iosefa Enari Prize for Musical Excellence (2013).
Natalia Mann's career as a performer, composer and collaborator has established her as a visionary artist, continually pushing the boundaries of music and inspiring audiences worldwide. Her unique approach to the harp has earned her recognition as a pioneering force in contemporary music.