Leila Adu-Gilmore has established herself a composer who seamlessly moves between genres and weaves breathtaking swathes of sound into rich, sonic tapestries. Her work has been performed by Bang on a Can So Percussion, Mivos Quartet, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and more. She was Orchestra Wellington’s Emerging-Composer-in-Residence 2014, has written for chamber ensembles, had her compositions performed at Ojai Festival 2016 and has written and produced music for documentary, dance, theater and short-film. She recently composed a portion of the opera Magdalene and a new work for electric guitar to be premiered by Mark Stewart.
LIST OF WORKS
• “For Edna,” 2016, for solo cello, commissioned and performed by Amanda Gookin, Forward Music Project (empowering women and girls through music)
• “Asphalt Grandpa” 2016, for cimbalom, voice & electronics, performed by Leila Adu & Nick Tolle
• “Two Voices,” for bitKlavier + voice, written for K.A.T.E.S. Katelyn Halpern (choreography) and Kate Campbell (piano/synth). Spoken word and music piece, with lyrics by Katleyn Halpern
• “Blessings as Rain Fall,” for orchestra + voice. Listen to ‘Rain as Blessings Fall,’ Orchestra Wellington with Leila Adu from the live broadcast on Radio New Zealand. Listen to the studio re-mastered live broadcast, kindly provided by Radio New Zealand here:
• “Freedom Suite: Different States, Ghost Lullaby and Negative Space” 2014, for large chamber ensemble + voice, performed by De Coda ensemble.
• “Freedom Suite II: Negative Space” 2014, for large chamber ensemble + voice, performed by Useful Chamber (Recorded Useful Chamber’s ‘Dream within a Dream’ CD, 2015).
• “Alyssum,” 2014 for string quartet and harp, performed by Mivos String Quartet and Sivan Magen
• “if the stars align…” for string quartet, performed by the Brentano String Quartet
• “Te Wairua O Ma Wai Kainga,” 2012, for orchestra, performed by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
• “When Reality Breaks the Heart Remains,” 2012, for shakuhachi, voice and electronics, performed by Leila Adu and Riley Lee
• “Colour Wheel” 2013, set of piano studies, performed by Kate Campbell
• “Smash Division,” 2011, for percussion quartet and voice, performed by Leila Adu and So Percussion
• Created and performed music for voice, clarinet, jew’s harp, harmonica and found objects in collaboration with French Butoh dancer, Camille Mutel, as part of the SOMA Series, Teatro Furillo Camillo, Rome, 2008.
• Performed, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the vocal part of Leila’s own composition, Chaitou Feng/Pour Mon Tortionaire based on poems by female poets in Chinese and French as a prize from the SOUNZ Contemporary Awards, 2005
• Devised and performed site-specific, live music and dance piece Emporium, with dancers, Julia Milsom and Julie van Renen, with performances in the shop windows of Buana Satu, on Aucklands KRd and Wellingtons Rex Royale on Cuba St, 2006/2005.
• Forty Degrees Something, music composed and edited by Leila Adu, screened at The Film Archive, and as part of a dance film compilation at The International Film Festival, 2005.
• Created electro-acoustic with live vocals, piano and percussion soundtrack (1hr duration) for Plunge, an aerial and dance piece in collaboration with director Tom Beauchamp (director MTA at Toi Whakari) and the NZ School of Dance, 2005.
• Performs live at Civic Square as part of improvising synthesizer trio, Delete! to accompany a retrospective of short films by artist, Joanna Margaret Paul a joint production with The City Gallery, Wellington, 2004.
• ‘Veil’ for voice and tape, 2002.