Composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1981 and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Interested in creating intricate yet simple narratives that evoke intangible moments in time, she writes music for accordions, toys and electronics as well as chamber ensembles and orchestras. Her music has been described as “wistfully idiosyncratic and contemplative” (WQXR/Q2) and “mesmerizing and affecting” (Feast of Music) while The New York Times noted her “capacity to surprise” and her “quirky approach to scoring”. She was selected by Q2 and NPR listeners as part of “The Mix: 100 Composers Under 40”, by Flavorpill as one of the “10 Young Female Composers You Should Know” and by Paste Magazine as one of the 20 most innovative musicians working today.
Angélica has been commissioned by the Albany Symphony, Bang on a Can All-Stars, A Far Cry, MATA Festival, loadbang, The Playground Ensemble and the American Composers Orchestra, among others. Her music has been performed at the Kennedy Center, the Ecstatic Music Festival, EMPAC, Bang on a Can Marathon and the 2016 New York Philharmonic Biennial and her film scores have been heard numerous times at the Tribeca Film Festival. She has collaborated with artists like Sō Percussion, The Knights, Face the Music and NOVUS NY and her music has been performed by TRANSIT Ensemble, Choral Chameleon, janus trio, Cadillac Moon Ensemble, Cantori NY, Face the Music, Iktus Percussion Quartet, ETHEL, NYU Symphony Orchestra, Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, Springfield-Drury Civic Orchestra and the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, among others. She has written music for documentaries, films, theater and modern dance and frequently collaborates with the experimental theater company from Puerto Rico Y No Había Luz writing music for their plays, which often incorporate puppets, masks and unusual objects. A long time member of the Puerto Rican underground music scene, Angélica is a founding member of the electronic indie band Balún where she sings and plays the accordion.
Angélica received an early education in piano and violin at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico where she later studied composition under the guidance of composer Alfonso Fuentes. She holds a master’s degree in music composition from New York University where she studied with Pedro da Silva and is currently a doctoral candidate at The Graduate Center (CUNY), where she studies composition with Tania León and focuses on the work of Meredith Monk for her dissertation.
Also active as an educator, Angélica is currently a teaching artist for New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program and Lincoln Center Education, and co-founded with Noraliz Ruiz the Spanish immersion music program for young children Acopladitos. She has contributed as a writer to the International Alliance of Women in Music Journal and the British magazine The Wire and has been featured as an Ableton artist. She was a composer fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival 2011 and was the 2014-2015 Van Lier Fellow at American Composers Orchestra.
Angélica is currently an artist in residency at National Sawdust working on a lip sync opera titled Chimera for drag queen performers and chamber ensemble exploring the ideas of fantasy and illusion as well as the intricacies and complexities of identity. She is the composer in residence for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra for their 2018-2019 season.