Leilehua Lanzilotti

Leilehua Lanzilotti is a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) composer/sound artist dedicated to the arts of our time. A “leading composer-performer” (The New York Times), Lanzilotti’s work is characterized by explorations of timbre and an interest in translating everyday sounds to concert instruments using nontraditional techniques. Her musical voice is grounded in experimental practices, both through influences as part of the network of musicians/artists in the Wandelweiser collective, and her own explorations into radical indigenous contemporaneity. Lanzilotti was honored to be a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her string orchestra piece, with eyes the color of time, which the Pulitzer committee called, “a vibrant composition that distinctly combines experimental string textures and episodes of melting lyricism.” To reach new audiences and share contemporary music, Lanzilotti has published articles in Music & Literature and Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, and written program notes for the London Symphony Orchestra and liner notes for Kaija Saariaho/ Jennifer Koh among others. Dr. Lanzilotti studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Yale School of Music and Manhattan School of Music. In addition, Lanzilotti was an orchestral fellow in the Rundfunk- Sinfonieorchester Berlin and New World Symphony.