She was born in Seville in 1973, where she studied German linguistics. She then studied piano and composition in Zaragoza with Teresa Catalán, in Augsburg with John Van Buren, in Düsseldorf with Manfred Trojahn and in Berlin with Hanspeter Kyburz at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler. After finishing studies she was a fellow at different institutions, like Ensemble Modern Akademie in Frankfurt a.M., among others. Currently she lives and works in Berlin. She is particularly interested in timbrical and dramaturgical questions and has particular preferences for theatrical concepts touching on language, space and music. From these emerged in 2007 the music-theater production Niebla, written in close cooperation with the director Matthias Rebstock and setting new music-theatre standards. Currently she's preparing a new work for the stage together with the same art director: La ciudad de las mentiras, based on texts by Juan Carlos Onetti, on behalf of Gerard Mortier for the Teatro Real Madrid. She has worked in collaboration with ensemble recherche, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern, Neue Vokalsolisten Stuttgart, Ensemble Mosaik, Ensemble emex, Ensemble Taller Sonoro, Ensemble Ascolta, KNM Berlin, Ensemble espai sonor, Vogler-Quartett, Oper Nürnberg, Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg and many others. Her music has been presented at several international festivals, such as Ars Musica Brussels, Eclat Stuttgart, Maerzmusik Berlin, Dresdner Tage der Zeitgenössischer Musik, wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, Ultraschall Berlin, World New Music Festival, Acanthes Metz, Nous Sons Barcelona, Steirischer Herbst Graz, Musica Viva München or musicadhoy Madrid. She has won several important awards, such as a fellowship at the Academy Schloß Solitude, the Musikpreis Salzburg 2011 or the Spanish Premio Nacional de Música 2010. Elena Mendoza works to spread the understanding of recent musical languages using procedures of analysis by listening and offering composition-workshops. She is a professor for composition at the Universität der Künste Berlin. A portrait CD with chamber music has been published in 2008 by the label Kairos, in collaboration with musicadhoy and Deutschlandradio Kultur. Besides, a CD with scenes from Niebla and other vocal chamber music pieces been published by Wergo, Deutschlandradio Kultur and Deutscher Musikrat in 2011. From 2009 on her scores are published by Edition Peters.
