“She exhibits superhuman control and stamina over every note, gliss, click and hum…utterly spellbinding.” ”
Based in Los Angeles, Élise Ming Chu Roy is a freelance composer, flutist, and improviser. Her work brings into conflict a multitude of digital and acoustic vocabularies.
In recent pieces she has created complex sound worlds by layering traditional instrumental sounds and extended techniques with audio that included samples of NASA space missions and field recordings of elephants. Amongst her projects this past season were premiers of movements of Jeffrey Holmes’ “Rider of Darkness” with Kirsten Ashley Wiest in Desert Springs, CA. In the 2022-2023 season, Élise is looking forward to the premiere of “Trying to Talk with a Man” for soprano and electronics by Liz Pearse in Winona, MN followed by a performance at University of Chicago’s CHIMEFest as well as concert at Coaxial in Los Angeles that will feature the premiere of her new flute and bassoon piece based on the poetry of Diane di Prima alongside new works by Erik Ulman and David Coll.
While studying flute performance at CalArts, Élise studied improvisation with jazz faculty member Vinny Golia and also received an introduction to electronic music composition, which were key to the development of her current musical practices. She is currently pursuing her compositional work under the mentorship of Erik Ulman.
Élise has been commissioned by ensembles such as the LA Phil, gnarwhallaby, Brightwork New music, and the SPLICE ensemble. Her music has been performed at festivals all over the world including PAS-E (Venice, Italy), SEAMUS (Blacksburg, Virginia), and NYCEMF (New York City), and she is a recipient of an ASCAP/SEAMUS commissioning award. In LA, she was an associate director of the wasteLAnd concert series and a flutist in the wasteLAnd ensemble for three seasons. Élise has taught electronic music and coached chamber music at the SPLICE Institute, Chapman University, and the New Mexico School for the Arts.
Élise is a graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she earned double undergraduate degrees in neuroscience and flute performance studying under Michel Debost and Kathleen Chastain. She is also a graduate of CalArts where she earned a masters degree in flute performance studying under Rachel Rudich.
