Meet 2022 faculty member Rajna Swaminathan!
Wildflower Composers Festival 2022 faculty member spotlight
Rajna Swaminathan
Rajna Swaminathan is an acclaimed mrudangam artist, composer, and scholar. Her ensemble RAJAS has been a prominent medium for her expansive compositions, which involve a lattice of rhythmic, textural, and modal approaches. The ensemble's sound has been described as “unlike any other on the scene” (New York Times), and their debut album, Of Agency and Abstraction (Biophilia Records, 2019), received much critical acclaim.
Check out a live performance of “Offering” from
RAJAS’s debut album, Of Agency and Abstraction:
Rajna’s scholarly work also intersects with her musical study and informs her creative curiosities. She was recently appointed as Assistant Professor of Music (Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology) at UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts. She holds a PhD in Music (Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry) from Harvard University, and degrees in Anthropology and French from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her dissertation, titled Time, Virtuosity, and Ethics Otherwise: Queer Resonances for Diasporic Play, catalyzes a creative dialogue between artistic and academic engagements with uncertainty and openness in geography, archive, and embodiment.
In addition to leading seminars and private lessons, Rajna will also direct the Wildflower New Music Ensemble.
All students will participate in our New Music Ensemble, where they will read contemporary scores, improvise, and collaborate on new works. We are thrilled to welcome Rajna to lead this new component of the Wildflower Composers Festival!
Our 2022 festival application closes on April 1!
We invite any gender-marginalized composer between the ages of 13–19 to join us from July 11–22 at Temple University! Student composers will receive private composition lessons, participate in coursework and new music ensemble, and receive a world premiere performance of a new composition. Apply before April 1.
Check out our Festival page for more information about our season, eligibility, and financial aid.
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