Katherine Young

Katherine Young

Fellow: Awarded 2021
Field of Study: Music Composition

Competition: US & Canada

Katherine Young makes electroacoustic music and sonic art using expressive noises, curious timbres, and kinetic structures to explore the intimate physicality of sound, shifting interpersonal dynamics, and tensions between the familiar and the strange. Collaboration is central to her practice. The LAPhil, Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, Ensemble Dal Niente, Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik, and others have commissioned her music. She has also worked closely with folks such as Wet Ink, Ensemble Nikel, WasteLAnd and RAGE Thormbones, Lucy Dehgrae, Linda Jankowska, Weston Olencki, Callithumpian Ensemble, Yarn/Wire, and Mocrep. Her installation work has been commissioned by the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art.

As a bassoonist and improviser, Katherine employs a flexible electronics setup. She regularly performs as a soloist, in ad hoc improvised groups, and with projects such as Beautifulish  (with Sam Scranton) and Architeuthis Walks on Land (with Amy Cimini). She has documented her work on numerous recordings, including her quartet Pretty Monsters’ self-titled debut and a duo recording with Anthony Braxton. Katherine teaches composition, improvisation, and electronic music at Emory University in Atlanta.

Photo Credit: Jim Newberry

Scroll to Top