Kelley Sheehan (1989) is a composer and computer musician moving between electro-acoustic, electronic, and performance art works. In any medium, her work constructs environments meant to merge electronic and acoustic forces into one composite organism, dependent on this merging to become more than just an extension of itself. Her work has been described as “Full of discovery, collaboration, and unpredictability” (Iannotta, Kyriakides, & Stäbler) with “Woozy Electronics” (LA Times). Named prize winner of the Gaudeamus Award 2019, winner of the 2022 Hildegard Commission, awarded first place for the 2020 ASCAP/SEAMUS commissioning competition, and the 2021 George Arthur Knight Prize, among others.
When not composing, she’s an avid improviser on self-made DIY electronics, no-input mixer, her AI-electric guitar hybrid called ‘other machines,’ or modular. Having performed at such venues as the Banff Center for the Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum. Upcoming projects include works for Line Upon Line and Yarn/Wire
Her research has led her to study with composers of various interests such as Sivan Cohen Elias, Marcos Balter, and Fredrick Gifford. She’s a PhD Candidate in Composition at Harvard University studying with Chaya Czernowin and Hans Tutschku. Currently, she is serving as acting director of the Harvard Group for New Music.
Headshot (photo credit: Graham Carlson)
Portrait Article (EN) by neue zeitschrift für musik magazine
Interview with David Leone on Musica Kaleidoskopea
Interview with Thea Derks for Gaudeamus
Interview with On Composition by Oliver Thurley
Review by Thea Derks
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photo credit: Wenhua Shi