Composer, Sound Artist
Writes opera, orchestral music, choral works, sound design, and film scores.
Recipient of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Music.
Composer-in-Residence for both the Concertgebouw Concert Hall and Concertgebouw Orchestra: a unique collaboration
Contemporary Music Chair for Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Created Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK, a work of public art that reimagines city parks as interactive soundscapes.
Co-founder of Luna Composition Lab, a mentorship program for young female, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming composers.
Genre-Leading Contemporary Ensemble
Rob Moose (violin), Nadia Sirota (viola), Gabriel Cabezas (cello), Alex Sopp (flute), Mark Dover (clarinet), CJ Camerieri (trumpet)
• Performs in concert halls, clubs, and arenas around the world, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Royal Opera House and Madison Square Garden
• Has released four full-length albums of commissioned music, Ecstatic Science (2020), First (2017), Balance Problems (2014), and Beautiful Mechanical (2011), Time Out New York’s “#1 Classical Record of the Year.”
• Most recent release YMUSIC was written collaboratively by the ensemble
• Collaborated in the studio and on stage with dozens of popular artists, including Ben Folds, Emily King, Jose Gonzales, ANOHNI, Sufjan Stevens, Dirty Projectors, John Legend, Son Lux, the Staves, Bruce Hornsby, and Paul Simon.
Violist, Conductor, Producer, Curator, Broadcaster
Creative Associate, The Juilliard School; Artist-In-Residence, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance.
Recipient of Peabody Award for her podcast Meet the Composer.
Released four albums of commissioned music, first things first (2009), Baroque (2013), Keep In Touch (2016), and Tessellatum (2017).
Has appeared as soloist with orchestras around the world.
Recorded and performed with artists such as Paul Simon, David Bowie and Björk.
Member of acclaimed chamber sextet yMusic.
Cellist
Has appeared as soloist with America’s most prominent symphony orchestras.
Recipient of 2016 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, recognizing extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians.
Latest album is Lost Coast, a collaboration with composer Gabriella Smith, released on Bedroom Community.
Appeared on releases with artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Paul Simon and Phoebe Bridgers.
Co-founder of Duende, a new music and contemporary dance collective.
Member of acclaimed chamber sextet yMusic.
Saxophonist, Keyboardist, Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and Arranger.
• Grammy-winning producer of Meshell Ndegeocello’s album 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘮𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬, the 2024 awardee for Best Alternative Jazz Album.
• His second solo album, Unusual Object, a striking work of futuristic jazz and modern composition, will be released April 5 on Northern Spy Records.
• A regular collaborator with artists including Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, Nate Mercereau, Marquis Hill, Kiefer and the Chicago Underground Quartet
• Musical Director for soul singer Leon Bridges from 2018 to 2022, with whom he also played keyboards and saxophone. Johnson arranged 14 of Bridges’ songs for a performance with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, also contributing a choral arrangement and directing the concert.
• He can also be heard on records by Harry Styles, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Moonchild, Broken Bells, Miley Cyrus, Louis Cole and Carlos Niño, among others
Composer, Environmentalist
Connecting listeners with the natural world with an invitation to find joy in climate action
Recent commissions from Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, The Soraya, Kronos Quartet, yMusic
Latest album is Lost Coast, a collaboration with cellist Gabriel Cabezas, released on Bedroom Community
Has held residencies with the Nashville Symphony; Instituto Sacatar on the island of Itaparica in Bahia, Brazil; and the Copland House
When not composing, she can be found hiking, backpacking, birding, recording underwater soundscapes with her hydrophone, and volunteering on ecosystem restorations
Location-Based Sound Art
Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK is a GPS-enabled work of public art that uses music to illuminate the natural environment. Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid, SOUNDWALK is tailor-made for its setting, created to encourage calm reflection and introspection, and can be experienced while following social distancing guidelines.
Duo Album and Cello Concerto
Lost Coast is a dynamic work of original music composed by Gabriella Smith for cellist Gabriel Cabezas. It is inspired by the beauty and power of nature and the climate emergency which threatens to devastate it.
This multi-faceted project began its life as sketches for a conceived work for cello and orchestra. Upon entering Reykjavik’s Greenhouse Studios with producer Nadia Sirota, Gabriella embraced a new way to put her musical ideas forward. The result is a 7 track album, anchored by the three-movement central work, re-imagined as a dense soundscape predominantly comprised of layered voice and cello. It was released June 25th, 2021 on Bedroom Community.
Now, the project has come full circle. Lost Coast, for amplified cello and full orchestra, was premiered by Gabriel Cabezas, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Gustavo Dudamel on May 25-27, 2023.
Listen to Gabriella Smith’s Lost Coast: Joyful Climate Action through Music, an audio piece produced by Nadia Sirota and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for California Festival.
For booking and inquiries, contact James Lemkin
Click here to Stream, Purchase, and Learn More about the Lost Coast Album
