Ellen Reid

Ellen Reid is one of the most innovative artists of her generation. An American composer and sound artist whose breadth of work spans opera, sound design, film scoring, avant-pop, ensemble and choral writing, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for her opera, p r i s m, in 2019. Reid's orchestral work has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and the American Composers Orchestra, among others. Ellen Reid serves as the Contemporary Music Chair of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and she is currently the first composer to be in residence with both Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Concert Hall and Concertgebouw Orchestra simultaneously.

In 2020, Reid created Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK, a GPS-enabled work of public art that reimagines urban parks as interactive soundscapes. SOUNDWALK premiered in New York's Central Park, and continues to expand to urban parkland around the world, including Los Angeles' Griffith Park, London's Regent's Park & Primrose Hill, and Tokyo's Ueno Park. A forthcoming album of music written for the project will be released this season, featuring performances by the Kronos Quartet, Shabaka Hutchings, and the New York Philharmonic.

Reid is known for her crackling, lyrical film scores, and has worked with A24, Amazon Studios, and the Duplass Brothers Productions. Her work has been featured at film festivals including SXSW, IFC Fest, OutFest, TriBeCa Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. Her concert work was also the inspiration for artist Alex Prager’s short film RUN.

Reid released the album Isomonstrosity, an avant-pop collaboration with artists Johan Lenox and Yuga Cohler, The critically-acclaimed vocal chamber music album employed the modern production techniques and aesthetics of hip-hop, assembling contributions from a wide array of artists into a satisfying and varied final work.

Reid co-founded Luna Composition Lab in 2016 with composer Missy Mazzoli. The organization provides mentorship, education, and resources for young female, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming composers ages 13-18, and is the only initiative of its kind in the United States.

In addition to the Pulitzer Prize for Music, Ellen Reid’s p r i s m was the winner of the Music Critics Association of North America award for Best New Opera in 2019. Reid is a recipient of Lincoln Center's Emerging Artist Award, she has been one of Musical America’s 30 Professionals of the Year, and she is a Sundance Institute Interdisciplinary Program Grantee.

Born in Oak Ridge Tennesse in 1983, Ellen Reid received her BFA from Columbia University and her MA from California Institute of the Arts. She continues to live and and work in New York City and Los Angeles.

You can listen to Ellen On 'Composing Myself' A Wise Music original podcast here!