Emerson Voss

Emerson Voss's intermedia sound installations and staged music theater works transport participants to dramatized recreations of everyday mundanities. He uses combinations of music and field recordings, video and lighting, performance and narrative, as well as site-specificity and audience interactivity to plunder these moments’ emotional depths, expose their intimacies, and elevate their meanings within our lives.

Emerson’s work has been supported by numerous grants and organizations, including from the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Pittsburgh, the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. His installations have been shown in venues internationally, most recently in Oslo, Norway, and his scholarly research on Norwegian intermedia composer Trond Reinholdtsen has been presented internationally, most recently in Seoul, South Korea. His musical compositions have been performed by the JACK Quartet, Duo Cortona, TAK Ensemble, Da Capo Chamber Players, Dior Quartet, The Boston New Music Initiative, Michael Lowenstern, Miranda Cuckson, Steven Beck, and Julia Den Boer, among others.

Emerson is also active as a performer and organizer in Pittsburgh's local music scene. He most recently performed a set of original songs at the Government Center and regularly hosts and organizes intimate house shows.

Emerson received a Ph.D. in music composition and theory from the University of Pittsburgh. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, he moved to Pittsburgh in 2018, where he is currently based.

• Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
• M.M., East Carolina University 
• B.A., Campbell University

• Musical Theatre
• Sound Installation 
• Electronic Music
• Politics of New Music