Name: i'm fine by Ember Shilts - Composer
Duration: 8 min 7 s
Description: 'i'm fine' is a political protest piece for fixed media reacting towards the anti trans culture war that America is in the middle of. It is a sonic manifestation of my own struggles with gender dysphoria within our current political climate.

In this work, I’ve made an effort to step away from my typical use of tonality, using a tonal center instead. A recurring theme, first found in the violin, is passed around to all instruments, finding its way into each of the sections before the end. The subtle drama of sustained harmonies interplays with the mystery captured in the energy of rhythm - creating a constant tension.

Performed by Megan Lin, violin; Olivia Jakyoung Huh, cello; Elisabeth Tsai, piano at Yale University 4/18/24

Piano Trio No. 1

Noise

'i'm fine' is a political protest piece for fixed media reacting towards the anti trans culture war that America is in the middle of. It is a sonic manifestation of my own struggles with gender dysphoria within our current political climate.

i'm fine

Royal Albert Hall Lockdown

Tidal (piano endlesss)

Etched on the walls | Leah Mullen
Performer: Alice Paroissien
Performance: January 14, 2025; at the Hochschule der Künste Bern for the Playtime Festival

*headphones recommended 

Movements
I. Misha’s Love
II. Anonymous
III. Gasukina Lidya
IV. Tosya

Program Notes
'Etched on the walls' is a work for amplified solo voice and found stone material, written for the 2024-2025 Akademie für Neue Musik program, out:spoken, hosted in Boswil, Switzerland. The content of the piece comes from a former Gestapo Headquarters that has been converted and preserved into a museum in Cologne, Germany. When the building was still in use as a headquarters, the basement had a few prison cells, to hold prisoners of war. The people imprisoned there carved messages into the walls, which have been preserved and translated, and are highlighted in the basement of the now museum. 'Etched on the walls' uses four of the texts, scratched into the walls by four different people, as the four movements of the work. This piece is written for soprano Alice Paroissien.

Etched on the walls

Performed at the University of Miami SCI Spring Concert 
03 / 19 / 2025

From Le Bistro Poulet. 
Libretto by Julian Baldwin
Isabel Breakey– Soprano
Jacob Mason– Piano

Erica's Aria

Recorded at the Maurice Gusman Hall at the University of Miami on April 7th, 2025
Jake Buhler, violin
Kyle Pearl, cello
Ruyue Tan, piano

STUCK (2024) for piano trio

To Gently Vaporize (2025)
for flute, B-flat clarinet, vibraphone, harp and piano

Ensemble Dal Niente reading session, March 18, 2025, Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater, UNT
Flute: Emma Hospelhorn
Clarinet: Zachary Good
Vibraphone: Gregory Beyer
Harp: Ben Melsky
Piano: Kuang-hao Huang


To Gently Vaporize (2025)

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek (20th Anniversary Remaster)

Shilts received their Bachelor’s degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, their Masters in Music Composition from Shenandoah University, Master of Arts in Opera Making and Writing from Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Doctor of Musical Arts from University of Miami. Shilts' musical style is influenced by their interest in opera, politics, mental health, and gender expression. As an artist, Shilts is interested in creating music that's expressionistic in emotion, but surreal in experience through temporal manipulation and the distortion of sound.

Their works have been featured in Walden Creative Musicians Retreat, Charlotte New Music Festival, Hypercube Composition Lab, Longy’s Divergent studio, Alba Music Festival, and Marginale Transmedia Arts and Electronic Music Festival; their work has been performed by ensembles such as the Mivos Quartet, Hypercube, Loadbang, Arx Duo, Transient Canvas, and The _____ Experiment. In June of 2022, Their chamber opera Samhain Bloom premiered at the Guildhall School, and followed on the heels of their premiere of Le Bistro Poulet by Opera Extra at Shenandoah Conservatory. Shilts was also a finalist in Atlanta Opera's 96-Hour Opera Project in June of 2023.

i'm fine

Ember Shilts - Composer

Related tracks