Ellen Fullman facts for kids

Ellen Fullman, born in 1957, is an American composer, instrument builder, and performer. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, she lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ellen is famous for creating and playing her unique "Long String Instrument." This amazing instrument is 70 feet (21 meters) long! She tunes it very carefully and plays it by rubbing her fingers, coated with rosin, along the long strings.

Meet Ellen Fullman: Musician and Inventor

Ellen Fullman first studied sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute. In the early 1980s, she moved to New York. While in Kansas City, she even made and performed in a special skirt that made sounds! She also wrote songs and recorded them.

The Long String Instrument

In 1981, Ellen started building her most famous creation: the Long String Instrument. She built it in her studio in Brooklyn. This instrument has many long metal strings. When Ellen rubs her fingers, coated with rosin (a sticky substance), along the strings, it creates a chorus of organ-like sounds. People have said that hearing it is like standing inside a giant grand piano!

Ellen has recorded a lot of music using this special instrument. She has also worked with many other talented artists. These include the composer Pauline Oliveros, choreographer Deborah Hay, the famous Kronos Quartet, and cellist Frances-Marie Uitti. In 1985, she was an artist-in-residence at the Apollohuis in the Netherlands. There, she recorded her first album, The Long String Instrument.

Awards and Performances

Ellen Fullman has received many awards and honors for her unique work. These awards help artists create new projects. Some of her awards include:

• A Grants to Artists Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (2015).
• A McKnight Visiting Composer Residency from American Composers Forum (2010).
• Being an Artist-In-Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts (2008).
• A Japan/U.S. Friendship Commission/NEA Fellowship for Japan (2007).
• A residency with the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program (2000).

Her performance with the Austin New Music Co-op was even given an award for Best Chamber Performance in 2009-2010.

Where Ellen Has Performed

Ellen Fullman has performed her music in many different places around the world. She has played at music festivals, art spaces, and museums. Some of these include:

• Lincoln Center Out of Doors in New York.
• The Festival van Vlaanderen in Brussels.
• Other Minds in San Francisco.
• The Donaueschinger Musiktage in Germany.
• The Walker Art Center.

Her music has also been part of art exhibits. These include "The American Century" at the Whitney Museum of American Art and "Listening" at the Pompidou Center in Paris.

Films About Her Work

There are also films about Ellen Fullman's music.

• Peter Esmonde directed a documentary film about her work called 5 Variations on a Long String. It first showed at the SXSW festival.
• Ellen herself edited a documentary film called Suspended Music. This film is about her collaboration with Pauline Oliveros's Deep Listening Band. It premiered at the Pacific Film Archive at UC Berkeley in 2004.

Ellen has also written articles about her work for music magazines. She has been interviewed by NPR's Morning Edition and other music publications.

Ellen Fullman's Music Albums

Ellen Fullman has released several albums featuring her unique music. Some of her works include:

• Fluctuations: This album was made with trombonist Monique Buzzarté. It was chosen as one of the top 50 recordings of 2008 by The Wire magazine.
• Ort: Recorded with her Berlin collaborator Konrad Sprenger. This album was also chosen as one of the top 50 recordings of 2004 by The Wire.
• Suspended Music: A collaboration with the Deep Listening Band.
• Change of Direction.
• Body Music.

Commissioned Works

Sometimes, artists are asked to create a new piece of music for a special event or project. These are called "commissioned works." Ellen Fullman's commissioned works include:

• Post Futurist Reverie: This piece was for a project called "Music for 16 Futurist Noise Intoners." These were replicas of special instruments invented by Luigi Russolo.
• A piece for Trimpin's Klavier Nonette: This was an art installation with nine toy pianos controlled by computers.

Ellen has also given many talks about her work. She has shared her ideas at places like Mills College and for the Rova:Arts lecture series in San Francisco.

Her album The Long Instrument was re-released on vinyl. This recording comes from her time as an artist-in-residence in Holland in 1985.