M (Em) Denney is a composer-performer, electronic musician, improviser, and guitarist currently based in Iowa City. She is a founding member of LA new music ensemble This Machine, a founding member and music director for Washington D.C . based theatre company Beat on the Bard, performs with experimental guitar group Trio Ampliphonic (with Alan S. Tofighi and Michael Jon Fink), and releases noise music as Lithops. Their practice often deals with ideas of “The Natural,” the human perspective and place within natural systems, and noise and audio feedback as models for understanding these systems, as well as with the use of rituals, repetitive actions, and outmoded technologies as ways of engaging with memory and the past. They are also deeply engaged with the study of just intonation and other ideas around tuning and temperament. Her recent work has focused on the voice and its role in identity as part of a digital landscape.
Alongside her practice as a performer and improviser, Em has composed for a broad range of ensembles, including Aperture Duo, Dal Niente, and the JACK Quartet
Born in Iowa, Em grew up in the Washington D.C. area, received a BM in Jazz Studies from Shenandoah University, and holds an MFA in Composition and Performance from California Institute of the Arts, where she studied with Michael Jon Fink, Wolfgang Von Schweinitz, and Michael Pisaro. They are currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at The University of Iowa, studying with Jean-François Charles.
Alongside her practice as a performer and improviser, Em has composed for a broad range of ensembles, including Aperture Duo, Dal Niente, and the JACK Quartet
Born in Iowa, Em grew up in the Washington D.C. area, received a BM in Jazz Studies from Shenandoah University, and holds an MFA in Composition and Performance from California Institute of the Arts, where she studied with Michael Jon Fink, Wolfgang Von Schweinitz, and Michael Pisaro. They are currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at The University of Iowa, studying with Jean-François Charles.
