Jennifer Walshe facts for kids

Jennifer Walshe on stage in 2024

Jennifer Walshe (born on June 1, 1974) is a talented Irish composer, singer, and artist. She creates unique music and art that often includes her own voice.

About Jennifer Walshe

Jennifer Walshe was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1974. She studied how to compose music at different universities. She learned from teachers like John Maxwell Geddes and Kevin Volans. She earned her highest degree in music in 2002 from Northwestern University in the United States.

After her studies, Jennifer lived in Germany for a few years. She was a special guest artist there. From 2006 to 2008, she was a composer-in-residence in South Dublin County. This means she was a special composer working in that area.

Jennifer has won several awards for her music. In 2008, she received the Praetorius Music Prize for Composition. This award recognized her amazing work in creating new music. In 2014, she was asked to be a guest curator for a music and sound art festival in Denmark called SPOR.

Her Music Around the World

Jennifer's music has been played by many different groups all over the world. These groups include Alter Ego, ensemble recherche, and the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Her pieces have been performed in many countries.

She has also been asked to create new music by many organizations. These include RTÉ (Ireland's national broadcaster), Westdeutscher Rundfunk (a German broadcaster), and the Irish Chamber Orchestra. She also received awards from the Arts Council of Ireland to help her create new works.

In 2000, Jennifer won the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis. This was at a big festival for new music in Germany. She also won first prize in a competition called SCI/ASCAP in 2002. She even went back to the German festival in 2002 to teach about composing music.

Jennifer as a Performer

Besides composing, Jennifer often performs as a singer. She is known for using "extended techniques" with her voice. This means she uses her voice in unusual and creative ways, not just singing traditional melodies. Many of her recent pieces were written especially for her voice.

She performs her works and other pieces at many festivals. These include RTÉ Living Music in Dublin and the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. Jennifer also enjoys improvising music. This means she makes up music on the spot with other musicians.

The Grúpat Project

One of Jennifer's most interesting projects was called Grúpat. This project lasted for two years. During this time, Jennifer pretended to be nine different artists. She called these her "alter egos." Each alter ego was part of an art group called Grúpat.

Under these different names, Jennifer created many types of art. She made music, art installations (like art you can walk through), graphic scores (music written with pictures), films, photos, sculptures, and even fashion. Pieces by the Grúpat artists have been shown all over the world. They were displayed at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York and the Kilkenny Arts Festival in Ireland.

In 2009, there was a special show in Dublin that looked back at all the Grúpat work. A book about Grúpat was also released, along with two music CDs.

Teaching and Recognition

Since 2016, Jennifer Walshe has been a Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany. She teaches, gives talks, and leads workshops.

In 2019, The Guardian newspaper listed her work ..._LIVE_NUDE_GIRLS!!! (from 2003) as one of the greatest art music pieces since 2000. They said she "pulls off the fake look of commercial culture by making fun of it and then taking apart the usual ideas."

As of 2021, Jennifer Walshe is a Professor of Composition at the University of Oxford in England.

Jennifer Walshe's Works

Here are some of the musical works Jennifer Walshe has created:

• A Girl's Book of Song (2016) for girls' choir
• EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT (2016) for voice, string quartet, and film
• AN GLÉACHT (2015) for one or more performers
• 1984 IT'S O.K. (2015) for violin, cello, and percussion
• VOLUNTEER CHORUS (2015) for five or more performers
• 13 Vices (2015) for string trio, three improvisers, and voice; created with Brian Irvine
• Historical Documents of the Irish Avant-Garde (2015)
• Zusammen ii (2015) for seven performers
• The Chimes Hours (2014) for ensemble, four soloists, quartet of improvisers, installations, and film; created with Lee Patterson and Peter Meanwell
• Zusammen i (2014) for ten performers, from The Chimes Hours
• THE TOTAL MOUNTAIN (2014) for voice and film
• THE SIGNING (2014) shadow opera for voice, violin, shadow puppets, and film; created with Tony Conrad
• TRAINING IS THE OPPOSITE (2014) chamber opera for soprano, string quartet, electronics, and film
• THEY LEFT HIM IN THE OCEAN (2014) for string quartet and DVD
• DORDÁN (2013) for clarinet, trombone, guitar, cello, double bass, and DVD
• WASH ME WHITER THAN SNOW (2013) for violin, cello, and DVD
• DURATION & ITS SIMPLE MODES (2013) for solo voice and 16-voice choir
• LANGUAGE RUINS EVERYTHING (2013) for counter-tenor, piano, volunteer chorus, and DVD
• EVERYTHING YOU OWN HAS BEEN TAKEN TO A DEPOT SOMEWHERE (2013) for three performers
• Historical Documents of the Irish Avant-garde Vol. 1: Dada for voice and electronics (2012)
• The White Noisery (2012) for 16 voices (with objects) and CD
• SILENTLY & VERY FAST (2012) for any number of performers
• Look, Stranger on this Island (2012) for voice and electronics
• Die Taktik (2012) opera for 4 voices, chorus, 3 dancers, trombone, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello, and electronics
• Atlanta 2089 (2011) for voice, trumpet, trombone, 2 percussion, piano, guitar, cello, and DVD
• METTA (2011) for flute, clarinet, trombone, tuba, piano, percussion, violin, cello, and voice
• Flor Hartigan's to Damhnait Brixius (2011) for voice and ensemble
• A Folk Song Collection (2011) for three voices
• ALL THE MANY PEOPLES (2011) for solo voice, DVD, and electronics
• The Soft Menagerie (2011) for three voices
• WATCHED OVER LOVINGLY BY SILENT MACHINES (2011) for five voices (with objects) and DVD
• Julian & Kanye (2011) for three voices
• HYGIENE (2011) for violin, viola or cello, 8 performers, and DVD
• lashings of the old ultra-v (2010) for four male voices and electronics
• The Church of Frequency & Protein (2010) for voice, trumpet, trombone, 2 percussion, piano, guitar, cello, and DVD
• Stuttgart 2089 (2010) for voice, trumpet, trombone, 2 percussion, piano, guitar, cello, and DVD
• Freya Birren's The Faerie Queene (2010) for voice, guitar, and DVD
• Wilhelm vs. Bruce (Fists of Fury!) (2010) for 16-channel sound
• Hotel Chelsea (2010) for organ and symphony orchestra
• The Geometry (2009) opera for 4 actors, voice, clarinet, guitar, live electronics
• Performat #2 (2009) for voice and electronics
• Freya Birren's Libris Solar (2009) for voice and orchestra
• MARLOWE S. (2009) for string quartet, tape recorder, and CD
• Thelma Mansfield (2008) for flute, percussion, and piano with DVD
• Violetta Mahon's Dream Diaries, 1988–2008 (2008) for trumpet, trombone, cello, two percussionists, piano, cello, and CD
• PADDY REILLY RUNS WITH THE DEVIL (2008) for five vocalists with mp3 players
• he was she was (2008) for four performers and CD
• The Dowager Marchylove's The Wasistas of Thereswhere (2008) for voice, tin whistle, kazoo, and live electronics
• becher (2008) for solo piano
• Turf Boon's Community Choir Drawing 8291: lámh (2008) for voice, chamber ensemble, and laptop
• Detleva Verens' Scintillia (2008) for solo voice, with film canister and comb
• Flor Hartigan's Conturador (2008) for solo or ensemble
• i: same person/ii: not the same person (2007) for solo voice (with psaltery), instruments and laptop, or for solo voice (with psalter) and electronics
• Flor Hartigan's whives: trio and solo (2007)
• My Extensive Relationship with Mr. Stephen Patrick M. (2007) for oboe, clarinet, accordion, percussion, voice, cello, and CD
• "The Blue Room" (2007) for piano, from FASTER, FASTER, PUSSYCAT – KILL KILL KILL!
• Ukeoirn O'Connor's Three Songs (2007) for voice and ukulele
• Physics for the Girl in the Street (2007) for voice and percussion quartet
• elephant (2006) for harp and guns
• passenger (2006) for string orchestra
• 22’30” (2006) for a singer for voice and laptop
• dub/ber/vie (2006) for voice, 4-channel sound projection, and live electronics
• The Procedure for Smoothing Air (2005) for trombone, voice, piano, cello, and CD
• Motel Abandon (2005) for voice, actor, cello, DVD, and multiple CDs
• The Book of Tamworth (2005) for any forces
• (your name here) (2005) for voice, violin, and video
• G.L.O.R.I.- (2005) for solo voice
• meanwhile, back at the ranch... (2005) for seven performers and image controller
• #214: the son and heir (2004) for voice, clarinet, and cello
• nature data (2004) for voice and dictaphones
• A Fyne Prospeckte: Jim and Christine Sheenan's Chateau Tamworth (2004) for four performers
• x=dative case (2004) for French horn
• set phasers on KILL! (2004) for three female voices and two male voices, trombone, two percussionists, prepared piano, viola, cello, video, slides, and CD
• Cooking with Stone (2004) open score
• #132: the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat (2004) for voice, cello, and viola/percussion
• #112: dear hero imprison'd (2004) for two voices and cello
• THIS IS WHY PEOPLE O.D. ON PILLS /AND JUMP FROM THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE (2004) for solo or ensemble
• a sensitive number for the laydeez (2004) for viola, saxophone, percussion, piano, and video
• ..._LIVE_NUDE_GIRLS!!! (2003) for two female vocalists, clarinet, trombone, accordion, cello, two puppeteers, two camera operators, and CD
• minard/nithsdale (2003) for string quartet and two boomboxes
• been in a room and a room and a room and a room (2002) for twelve voices
• theme from (2002) for violin and piano with walkie-talkies
• here we are now (2002) for voice, cello, trombone, and percussion
• unbreakable line. hinged waist. (2002) for flute, oboe, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, and cello
• movement v: presto giocose (2002) for chamber orchestra
• ná déan NÍL CEAD (2001) for voice and string ensemble
• dirty white fields (2001) for voice and violin
• NOW WASH YOUR HANDS (2001) for voice, cello, and two djs
• small small big (2001) for wind ensemble
• moving in/love song/city front garden with old men (2001) for tenor voice and piano
• like glass in a mirror on a windowpane (2000) for wind quintet
• as mo cheann (2000) for voice and violin