photo by Jon Cherry
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TJ Cole (they/them) is a composer, producer, and performer 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, co-creating electro-acoustic performances, and collaborating with artists or organizations across different mediums.
Recently, TJ’s work has turned to childlike themes, using play as a form of resistance to perfectionism. By incorporating more games, improvisation, and humor into their music, TJ strives for a more inclusive art world that challenges the elitism and exclusivity often found in the arts.
Recently TJ was 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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Additionally, TJ has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Baltimore, Cincinnati, and New Haven Symphony Orchestras, Music in the Vineyards, and numerous others. Their compositions have been showcased by the Chicago, Atlanta, St.Louis, Detroit, and Curtis Symphony Orchestras, the Minnesota and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras, the Dover Quartet, among others. Additionally, they have collaborated on various ventures as an orchestrator and arranger with Time for Three and held the position of composer-in-residence at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in 2014.
enjoying a bouncy ball
photo by Emily Ravenscraft
Their work has been recognized by two ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer awards, one in 2014 for their string orchestra work ‘Death of the Poet’, and another in 2020, which included 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).
encouraging a Teddy Bear to sing
photo by Chris Bennett
Choir Siren performing at the KMAC Museum
photo by Aubrielle Whitis
wearing a nice shirt
photo by O'Neil Arnold
TJ has a strong passion for collaborative endeavors. 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.
Additionally, they have been a singer-songwriter, producer, and engineer in Twin Pixie, a fully electronic synth-pop band. Twin Pixie's creative direction revolved around the fusion of queerness, pop culture, and the supernatural.
TJ is deeply committed to music-related community engagement projects. 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 curated and composed music to accompany children's stories performed at various Louisville Free Public Libraries. They also 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.
Furthermore, TJ worked with bassist Ranaan Meyer as an orchestrator on "The World We All Deserve Through Music" project and collaborated with Eric Huckins (Astral Artists) and the Aquinas Center in Philadelphia on an after-school program for children aged 6-12. This program aimed to nurture emotional self-awareness and self-expression through music and creativity.
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 genderqueer person, TJ kindly requests not to be included in events or settings intentionally promoted as exclusively featuring "all women composers" or anything similar. (However, this does not prevent their inclusion in concerts that happen to feature compositions by women composers.) Your understanding is greatly appreciated.
Beyond their musical pursuits, TJ finds joy in various activities, including cooking, creating visual art, playing video games, enjoying swing sets on playgrounds, assisting at a plant nursery, and co-existing with their cat, Zucchini. Their current favorite plant is the 'Let's Dance Rhythmic Blue' Hydrangea variety.
