Molly Joyce

Composer and performer Molly Joyce was recently deemed one of the “most versatile, prolific and intriguing composers working under the vast new-music dome” by The Washington Post. Her music has additionally been described as “serene power” (The New York Times), written to “superb effect” (The Wire), and “unwavering” and “enveloping” (Vulture). Her work is concerned with disability as a creative source. She has an impaired left hand from a previous car accident, and the primary vehicle in her pursuit is her electric vintage toy organ, an instrument she bought on eBay which suits her body and engages her disability on a compositional and performative level.

Joyce’s creative projects have been presented and commissioned by Carnegie Hall, TEDxMidAtlantic, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Bang on a Can Marathon, Danspace Project, Americans for the Arts, National Sawdust, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, National Gallery of Art, Classical:NEXT, VisionIntoArt’s FERUS Festival, and featured in outlets such as Pitchfork, Red Bull Radio, WNYC’s New Sounds, I Care If You Listen, and National Sawdust Log. As a collaborator, Joyce has worked across disciplines including collaborations with visual artist Lex Brown, dancer Jerron Herman, director Austin Regan, and writers. Additionally, Molly is a recipient of ASCAP’s Leo Kaplan Award and grants from New Music USA, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Jerome Fund, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, and residencies at AIR Krems an Der Donau, De Link Tilburg, Embassy of Foreign Artists, Headlands Center for the Arts, Villa Sträuli, Swatch Art Peace Hotel, and The Watermill Center.

Joyce is a graduate of The Juilliard School, Royal Conservatory in The Hague, and Yale School of Music. She holds an Advanced Certificate in Disability Studies from CUNY School of Professional Studies, is alumnus of the National YoungArts Foundation, and has served on the composition faculty at New York University Steinhardt and Wagner College.