Iva Casián-Lakoš

New York-based cellist, singer, and improviser Iva Casián-Lakoš is a versatile performer with repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary works involving choreography, acting,  and improvisation, and she has performed across the U.S., Mexico, and Europe with genre-bending ensembles Bang on a Can All-Stars, eco|tonal, PinkNoise, and Unheard-of//Ensemble. In 2017 Iva co-founded Zagreb-based Ensemble Illyrica, who has been hailed for their “creative ecstasy, freshness, tonal harmony and rhythmic clarity” (Novi List). Illyrica has performed in major venues and festivals across Ireland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia, and released their first album on Hitchtone Music in 2022.

Iva has recently collaborated with legendary vocalist and composer Joan La Barbara on an upcoming album featuring a new work for singing-cellist, commissioned by Bang on a Can and performed at their inaugural Long Play Festival and Noguchi Museum series. She has also worked closely with composers Christopher Stark, David Crowell, Ana Lopez-Reyes (nnux), Wang Lu, and Erika Dohi.

As a composer and improviser, Iva responds to visual or textual stimuli such as poetry, films, and paintings, and is currently working on a new album-length piece for voice and cello based on Aztec mythology. She enjoys collaborations with visual artists, videographers, and dancers in interdisciplinary projects, including her work with the Vienna based theater collective Synesthetic Project.

Iva holds degrees from Stony Brook University (DMA.), New England Conservatory (M.M.) and Oberlin Conservatory (B.M.) and has served as interim cello faculty at Vassar College. She is currently on faculty at Musart Music, in Syosset New York.