photo by anatheium
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TJ Cole (they/them) is a composer, producer, performer, and educator currently based in Louisville, KY. TJ's work often bridges the visual and tactile worlds with the emotional and auditory ones. Drawing from both traditional and experimental elements, acoustic and electronic sounds, eclectic and homogenous styles, TJ finds joy in blending contrasting elements to explore fresh ways of hearing and experiencing music.
Described as having “a very serious level of invention with their music” by Teddy Abrams, they are most enriched by collaborative projects, working closely with soloists interested in contemporary music, alternative-orientation communities, and multimedia collaborations. TJ’s recent work embraces play as resistance to perfectionism, using games, improvisation, and humor to challenge elitism in the arts.
TJ is currently a 2025-27 McKnight Visiting Composer-in-Residence, and was recently part of the inaugural class of the Louisville Orchestra Creators Corps program (2022-23). This year-long residency involved composing new large-scale works for the orchestra, and spearheading community engagement initiatives across Louisville.
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TJ has received commissions from the Baltimore, Cincinnati, Louisville and New Haven Symphony Orchestras, Ensemble Connect, Intersection, and numerous others. Their compositions have been showcased by the Chicago, Atlanta, St.Louis, and Minnesota Orchestras, Tracy Silverman, Carnegie Hall, Gabriel Cabezas, among others. They have been a composer and creative director with StageOne Theater, a songwriter and pop producer with Twin Pixie, and are a synthesizer soloist in settings ranging from DIY to orchestral stages. They have collaborated as orchestrator and arranger with Time for Three and held the position of composer-in-residence at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in 2014. They currently teach composition and electronic music at the Louisville Academy of Music and also maintain a private studio of mentees.
Their work has been recognized by two ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer awards (2014 & 2020), including the prestigious Leo Kaplan Award for their string sextet 'Playtime'. Their projects have received support from the Daniel W. Dietrich II Young Alumni Fund (2022), and a New Music USA Creator Fund (2024).
TJ loves collaborating. Currently, they are an active performer in Choir Siren, an electro-acoustic duo based in Louisville. Choir Siren combines improvised music, live sound design, movement, and props in alternative performance spaces, creating unique experiences that respond directly to their surroundings.
TJ is deeply interested in community engagement as part their creative practice. In their yearlong ArtistYear Fellowship (2016-17), they co-facilitated musical performances and songwriting workshops with residents of Project HOME, a Philadelphia-based organization fighting to end chronic homelessness. During the 2022-23 Louisville Orchestra Creator-Corps residency, TJ collaborated with VOICES of Kentuckiana, an LGBTQ+ and allies community chorus in Louisville, on 'Those Moments', an ongoing project that shares choir members' stories experiences with gender.
TJ studied composition at both the Curtis Institute of Music and at Interlochen Arts Academy. Their mentors include John Boyle Jr., Jennifer Higdon, David Ludwig, and Richard Danielpour.
As a trans-nonbinary person, TJ kindly requests not to be included in events or settings intentionally promoted as exclusively featuring "all women composers" or anything similar. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.
Beyond their musical pursuits, TJ finds joy in cooking, visual art, video games, swing sets on playgrounds, plants, and caring for their wobbly cat, Zucchini. Their current favorite plant is the Sunflower.
