Miriama Young

Miriama Young is a dual-national New Zealand / Australian composer, sound artist and educator based at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Hailed by The Herald Scotland as a 'Renaissance woman', her eclectic interests move beyond distinctions of genre. film scores, interactive sound for dance, electro-acoustic and radiophonic work, installations with live electronics. She composes vocal, instrumental and orchestral concert works, and her work often combines soundscape, interactivity, field recordings, sound art with live acoustic instruments to produce unique sound worlds. Without distinction for genre, she collaborates with artists across dance, film, radio, installation to create physically immersive experiences that cross sensory dimensions.

The recipient of numerous awards, Miriama Young's work is performed and commissioned by ensembles from Norway to New Zealand, including Sydney Symphony, Scottish Opera, NZTrio, So Percussion, Syzygy Ensemble, the Yesaroun' Duo, Strike Percussion, and pianists Aura Go, Xenia Pestova and Rolf Hind. Her work with film has attracted awards at major festivals worldwide, her installations have featured at Vivid Sydney, and her radio work on National Public Radio (USA), ABC (Australia), and Radio New Zealand. Young’s work is featured on several recordings and albums, including ‘Iron Tongues’ on Strike Percussion’s album Strike: New Zealand Percussion Music (NZ best classical album of the year, 2001).

Young’s scholarly work examines the human voice and recording technology, and a monograph on this subject, Singing the Body Electric: The Human Voice and Sound Technology (Routledge, 2015) is listed in the Times Higher Education Best Books 2015. Chapters and articles on this theme are published in Oxford Handbook of Voices Studies, Leonardo Music Journal, and Contemporary Music Review.

Young represented New Zealand at the International World Music Days Festival and is represented by SOUNZ and the Australian Music Centre. A Fulbright scholar, Miriama attained Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music (1st Class Hons) degrees from Victoria University of Wellington, and the The New Zealand School of Music Te Kōkī; and her MFA and PhD from Princeton University.