Angélica Negrón
Tell us about you and your work
My name is Angélica Negrón and I’m a composer, performer, and educator. I’m originally from Carolina, Puerto Rico but currently live in Brooklyn, and I write music for chamber ensembles, orchestras, toys, films, plants, robots, and drag queens. My music has always been preoccupied with revealing personal truth through constant attempts at understanding my past and the world around me to make sense of my present. I use found sounds and objects in my music as a way to highlight the sometimes- overlooked magic in the ostensibly insignificant, the mundane, and the quotidian. I’m also really drawn to the many possibilities of manipulating and transforming the sounds that surround us and bringing them to new spaces to create new meanings and evoke distant personal memories. In my search for demystifying the performance of electronic music and making it more alive and engaging, I’ve also been exploring unconventional instruments as well as multiple collaborations with instrument builders. I also make music with my tropical electronic band Balún and mentor young composers on creative composition projects through the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program. I’ve collaborated with artists like Sō Percussion, Lido Pimienta, Kronos Quartet, Sasha Velour, and Brooklyn Youth Chorus, among others and I’m excited about upcoming premieres including works for the LA Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, Opera Philadelphia, and NY Philharmonic’s Project 19 initiative.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by nature and its sounds, colors, and textures, by comedy, everyday objects, dogs, films, my students, drag queens, podcasts, my family, illustrations, voice messages from friends, and many other things that spark curiosity and bring joy to my life.
What does community mean to you?
To me, community means to find your people and together create a space to support, learn from, and care for each other.
Favorite film
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry
Favorite song
Jóga by Björk
Favorite place
My cousin's finca in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico