Nika Bauman (b. 1992) is a Croatian flautist, transdisciplinary performer, director, improviser, chamber musician, and artistic producer based in Vienna, Austria. Equally at home in classical music, performance art, and interdisciplinary creation, her practice bridges music, movement, visual arts, theatre, and dramaturgy. She holds classical training from the Zagreb Academy of Music and a Master’s degree in Contemporary Arts Practice (specialisation in transmedial performance) from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Nika’s work is rooted in exploration, connection, and boundary-crossing: she creates platforms where sound, movement, space, and narrative interact, challenging traditional forms and inviting audiences into immersive, collaborative artistic experiences.
As a musician, Bauman maintains an active presence both as a solo performer and as a member of ensembles across a wide range of genres. Grounded in her training in classical and contemporary music, she has cultivated a distinct approach to free improvisation that merges flute and voice simultaneously, a technique she integrates into her compositional work and solo performances. She performs regularly with the classical–contemporary–folk chamber quartet Ensemble Illyrica, the Croatian Improvisers Orchestra, the Nawa Orchestra specializing in contemporary music of the MENA region, and the Mimika Orchestra, an ensemble rooted in concept-driven ethno-jazz.
Nika is the founder and artistic director of the Synesthetic Project, a Vienna-based interdisciplinary music theatre ensemble that integrates music, contemporary dance, performance and visual arts to explore stories of diversity, connection, empathy, and creative exchange. Since its conception, Synesthetic Project has developed multiple original stage works and video productions directed by Nika and co-created with the artists of the ensemble, presenting performances in Austria, Germany, Croatia, and Ireland. The ensemble works as a dynamic collective of international musicians, dancers, visual and multimedia artists, adapting its formation to the needs of each project.
In addition to performance, Bauman collaborates with the VRUM performing arts collective as a musical dramaturg for productions aimed at young audiences, and is active as a producer and curator for several festivals, including the TAKT Festival for multidisciplinary performance, the Nawa Festival for contemporary music from North Africa and West Asia, the Milch x Honig Festival for new concert formats, and VRUMstival, a festival dedicated to contemporary dance for young audiences.
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