Joanna Bailie

The British composer Joanna Bailie was born in London and now lives in Berlin. She studied composition with Richard Barrett, electronic music at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, and, from 1999, at Columbia University. She completed her PhD at City, University of London in 2018. Her recent work includes chamber music and installation, and is characterized by the use of manipulated field recordings and other sound media together with acoustic instruments. Joanna is also interested in the interplay between the audio and visual as evidenced by her works incorporating camera obscura and film. Together with composer Matthew Shlomowitz, she founded the Plus-Minus Ensemble in 2003.
Joanna Bailie has taught composition at HMDK Stuttgart, the Luxembourg Composition Academy, the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, City, University of London, and at the 47th edition of the Darmstadt International Summer Course for New Music. Her music has been performed by groups such as Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble Resonanz, The Ives Ensemble, Ensemble Nadar, Ictus Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, United Instruments of Lucilin, Apparat, Asamisimasa, L’instant Donné, EXAUDI, Ensemble Mosaik, Explore Ensemble, Ensemble Musikfabrik, KNM Berlin, Zwerm, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and The SWR Vokalensemble.

During her residency, Joanna Bailie wants to give the term “wanderlust” a concrete form and aims to transfer the notion of landscape art into a musical realm. She would like to incorporate the city of Los Angeles and the immediate surroundings of Villa Aurora into her project.

Selected Works/Recitals
2025 | City Lines for choir and electronics. Premiere: September 11, 2025, Oslo (Oslo Cathedral Choir, conductor: Vivianne Sydnes).
2024 | Residue for 14 strings and electronics. Premiere: September 25, 2024, Strasbourg (Ensemble Resonanz, conductor: Peter Rundel).
2023 | 1979 for 8 musicians, video and electronics. Premiere: October 21, 2023, Donaueschingen (Ictus Ensemble).
2021 | A Giant Creeps out of a Keyhole for 12 musicians, video and electronics. Premiere: September 22, 2021, Strasbourg (Ensemble Contrechamps, conductor: Lin Liao).
2019 | Analogue for string trio, electronics and camera obscura. Premiere: July 23, 2018, Darmstadt (Ensemble Nadar)
2015 | To Be Beside the Seaside for orchestra. Premiere: May 2, 2015, Glasgow (BBCSSO, conductor Ilan Volkov)

Selected Discography
2026 | 1997, Joanna Bailie, Ictus Ensemble, Vlek
2019 | Artificial Environments, Joanna Bailie, Plus-Minus Ensemble, NMC
2013 | Harmonizing, Joanna Bailie, EXAUDI, HCR

Selected Awards
2023 | Kunstpreis Berlin in the category Music, Akademie der Künste
2016 | Guest of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin program
2012 | Full scholarship, City, University of London
2011 | Working scholarship, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Italy
2009 | DIVA working scholarship, Danish International Visiting Artists Exchange Programme, Denmark
1999 | Full scholarship, Columbia University