Photo by Nadine Dyskant-Miller
Annika Socolofsky is a composer and avant folk vocalist who explores corners and colors of the voice frequently deemed to be “untrained” and not “classical.” Described as “unbearably moving” (Gramophone) and “just the right balance between edgy precision and freewheeling exuberance” (The Guardian), her music erupts from the embodied power of the human voice and is communicated through mediums ranging from orchestral and operatic works to unaccompanied folk ballads and unapologetically joyous Dolly Parton covers. Annika writes extensively for her own voice with chamber ensemble, including composing a growing repertoire of “feminist rager-lullabies” titled Don’t say a word, which serves to confront centuries of damaging lessons taught to young children by retelling old lullaby texts for a new, queer era. Annika has taken Don’t say a word on the road, performing with ensembles including Eighth Blackbird, New European Ensemble, Albany Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Latitude 49, and Contemporaneous. Her follow-up feminist rager-lullaby song cycle in collaboration with ~Nois, titled I Tell You Me, was recognized by the Chicago Tribune as “grotesquely gorgeous… among the most captivating compositions heard the whole festival [Ear Taxi 2021]” and was included in their “Chicago's Top 10 for classical music, opera and jazz that defined 2021”.
Annika performing "I Tell You Me" with ~Nois at Ear Taxi Festival in Chicago, Illinois, 2021
Photo by Forestt Strong LaFave.
As a composer, Annika has collaborated with artists such as the Rochester Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Eighth Blackbird, Asko|Schönberg, Third Coast Percussion, So Percussion, HIIIT (Slagwerk Den Haag), TorQ Percussion, Slagwerk Den Haag (HIIIT), Akropolis Reed Quintet, Contemporaneous, Music from Copland House, ~Nois, Bergamot Quartet, Elora Singers, Quince, marimbist Ji Hye Jung, Bang on a Can All-Stars cellist Arlen Hlusko, and sean-nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird. Upcoming projects include an audio documentary on pay equity for the University of Colorado Bands and a national constortium, an EP for her own voice and Friction Quartet, and a new work for Owls. She is currently working on her first full-length opera, SENTINEL. Her music has been presented at Carnegie Hall, the Bang on a Can Marathon, PROTOTYPE, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Cabrillo Festival, and Ear Taxi. Recordings of her music are available on New Amsterdam, Bright Shiny Things, Carrier, Naxos, and Innova record labels.
Annika performing “Don’t say a word” with the New European Ensemble at Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2021
Photo by Co Broerse
Annika is a recipient of the 2021 Gaudeamus Award, the 2019 Cortona Prize, grants from Harvard University’s Fromm Foundation and the Barlow Endowment, and awards from ASCAP and BMI. She has served as guest faculty at the OAcademy, Nief Norf, and PluComp Du Vert à L'infini.
She is Associate Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado Boulder, and has taught at Carnegie Mellon University and Concordia University Ann Arbor. She holds her PhD in composition from Princeton University and studied at the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University. Her primary musical mentors have been Reza Vali, Kristin Kuster, Evan Chambers, Dan Trueman, and Juri Seo. Annika plays a Norwegian hardanger d’amore fiddle made by Salve Håkedal. www.aksocolofsky.com
Name Note
Annika pronounces her name ANN-ih-kuh (rhymes with Danica) sew-co-LAWV-skee. Her last name is spelled with a C and an F (Socolofsky).