Maya Petrovna aka Maja Petrovna Hilčišin is an operatic 'crossover' alto, film music composer, multi-instrumentalist and physical theatre performance artist. Influenced by surrealism, she unfolds her music thru immersive art performances, which are written, directed and performed by Maya, who also composes the original music and designs the costumes and scenography, performing each music piece in different character which play significant role behind her music. 

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Maya is Sarajevo born/Australian citizen. She grew up in Yugoslavia, a country that no longer exists. It is a place of majestic mountains, contrasted by bleak soviet style buildings that follow you through the country like Mona Lisa from Alcatraz. She taught herself how to read music during 1992-1996 siege on Sarajevo, exploring first dissonances on a guitar with improvised fishing line strings. After the war, Maya attended a formal music education at Sarajevo Music School, where she graduated in classical guitar and operatic singing. Following her graduation she left Bosnia, spending  past two decades working in film and performance industry in London, Sydney, Europe and Asia. 

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Maya’s art performances include solo show ‘The Womb of Universe and The Boob Monster’, performed at the Sydney Opera House for sold-out Club Kooky, and for the official opening of 2019 Sydney VIVID. She contributed to CODA band ‘Music for the eyes show’ at Sydney Opera House (year 2005), and Maya’s closing contemporary operatic act Moth enjoyed a series of residencies at the exclusive celebrity hub, London Box Soho. Maya’s solo shows have travelled from London to International Rome Film Festival, International Sarajevo Film Festival, London Fashion Week, headlining Croatias Seven Days of Creation Festival at medieval Pazin Castle, Porec Art Festival (Lapidarium Museum), Prague SWAN, Venice Associazione Awai & Berlin Manoeuvre Studios. 

 

After graduating with Master Degree in Film Music Composition at renowned Sydney AFTRS, Petrovna has scored music for 28 movies, from short, TV, art to documentaries, some of which were recorded with Sydney Studio Orchestra and screened on international film festivals. Maya credits include singing and composing original orchestral scores for 10 Apple podcast series about film, Australia, by an acclaimed film director Baz Luhrmann, spot featuring Annie Leibovitz, a global advertising campaign Tourism Australia (Revolver Film and Bazmarq), Suzie Lovitt film about young Jude Law's son, produced by Sadie Frost, and recent scores for BTS 'Start your impossible' series for 2020 Paralympics, Toyota. 

 

Maya’s collaborations include album Ponyclub Massacre, with noted Australian/Russian violin player Naomi Radom, featuring drummer Tony Buck (The Necks), and supporting artists such as Hugo Race (former of Nick Cave band) and Kaki King. Maya is the featuring solo performer/ costume designer in video ‘Song of I’, for UK's multiple Grammy nominee Steven Wilson, directed by Lasse Hoile. In the UK, Maya recorded vocals and lyrics for an ambient/industrial album 'Blood Debts' by Years of Denial, produced by DJ/producer Jerome Tcherneyan (Dead can dance), released on digital and vinyl in 2017. ​

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One of her aspirations is to own a couple of black sheep as pets one day.  

 

Thank you for visiting and have a glorious day.