Tonia Ko introduces recent compositions which feature creative transcriptions of field recordings and found sound. She will discuss the various technologies involved, orchestration tools and techniques, as well as the continued influence of the long-standing bubble wrap practice Breath, Contained on her creative work.

Speaker's Info:

With a catalogue encompassing acoustic concert pieces and improvisatory works with electronics, Tonia Ko’s award-winning work is constantly evolving in how it explores the relationship between physical objects and musical instruments.

Recipient of a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship, Ko has been commissioned by a broad range of leading soloists and ensembles, including collaborations with Riot Ensemble, Tangram Collective, Grossman Ensemble, and Spektral Quartet, seeing her work performed at prominent venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, LSO St. Luke’s. Recent projects include Her Land, Expanded (a collaboration with filmmaker Alexandra Cuesta) co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and American Composers Orchestra, Surge Out commissioned by the eavesdropping festival in London for pianist Eliza McCarthy, and A Night of Flight by Noises for four toy pianos and electronics which was premiered by Non-Piano Ensemble in Hamburg.

In November 2024, an expanded version of the bubble wrap concerto Breath, Contained III was premiered by the Luxembourg Philharmonic at Rainy Days festival, featuring Ko as soloist. The original version was commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation at the Library of Congress for Contemporaneous and has since been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Ko holds a DMA from Cornell University and was the 2018-19 Postdoctoral Researcher at The University of Chicago’s Center for Contemporary Composition. She is currently Senior Lecturer in Composition at Royal Holloway, University of London.