ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT

The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker is a new renaissance artist whose work is best expressed as a constantly evolving practice that doesn’t fit neatly into definition or expectation boxes. It is an artistic body of work vast in scope and scale outside of the confines of a simple elevator pitch, unrestrained and unencapsulated.

In recent years, Elizabeth’s commitment to pushing herself and the scope of her work has manifested as a deeply in-depth and time intensive process of creating pieces that involve new systems of notation from time-cones to video scores as well as creating new virtual instruments based on original samples from archives and field recordings collected by Elizabeth both nationally and internationally. Building the virtual instruments and backend of these notation systems to create new works for herself and others can take upwards of 30 to 100 hours.

Within her role as sonic practice artist, Elizabeth’s extensive and evolving setup, lovingly referred to as “The Spaceship” includes a variety of semi-modular analogue synths, interactive MIDI controllers driven by movement and light, theremins, multiple computers and mobile devices, found objects, toy piano, harmonium, handmade hydrophones, as well as a 6’ 2” custom double-sided third-bridge non-resonant amplified zither designed and built by experimental luthier John C. L. Jansen, named “Black Moon Lilith.”

Elizabeth’s practice also extends into the visual aspects both still and moving her works on canvas have been displayed in galleries as well as being enjoyed by collectors across the United States, while her film works have been featured in international festivals such as Women of the Lens (UK) and African Smartphone International Film Festival (Nigeria). Her video series FIELD STUDIES and AGGRESSIVE PILLOW TALK, which explores the nature of humans and their structures as an equal part of the cosmic ecosystem have been awarded grants from the State of Florida and was the subject of her research as a 2021-2022 Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellow.

Innovation and expression of ideas that cause people to think and listen deeply has placed Elizabeth at the forefront of discussion about humanity, the impact of art, mental health in the artistic community, as well as dismantling hierarchy in artistic presentation and society as a whole unit. Elizabeth’s work has been studied by scholars across the globe, recognised by press, highly sought after by performers, and been a life-changing experience for collectives of people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Whilst Elizabeth assigns no specific human narrative to the majority of her work and notably mentions that all beings experience her work through the lens of their own backgrounds and physiological capacity, she challenges the receiver of her work to consider… “all things exist and have their own essence outside of human definition… what does our interaction with the world around us look like if we remove ourselves from the narrative center?”

Fanfare Magazine and I Care If You Listen (.com) have both proclaimed The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker as “the Pauline Oliveros of her generation.”

STYLE NOTES

When referring to Elizabeth in print her honorific title and full name including the middle initial is always to be used —
The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker.

In print and speech, the shortened version of The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker is just Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s pronouns are she/her.

Elizabeth’s honorific title is The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker, which should be used in lieu of “Ms. Baker.” The entire title is used every time like “A Tribe Called Quest” you say “The Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker” as a whole.

In lieu of an other title or label such as composer, performer, author, etc., Elizabeth is always a referred to as a “new renaissance artist.”

PRESS & REVIEWS

It takes a lot to send astonished ripples through an audience of AACM acolytes, but that’s exactly what the final commissionee, the Honourable Elizabeth A. Baker, did in her “Strange Loops.” Imagine, if you will, ping-pong balls rattling around a grand piano, while a supine trumpet player (Sam Trump) blows into the instrument’s belly and vocalist Dee Alexander sings into an upright bass’s F holes nearby. – Chicago Tribune

Claiming Space, Defying Expectations: The Honorable Elizabeth A. Baker – HearTOGETHER Podcast, The Philadelphia Orchestra

“Saying Elizabeth A. Baker plays toy pianos is like saying the Hubble telescope takes photos.” – Tampa Bay Times

“…Baker’s unorthodox approach toward composition and performance shows her unique perception of the world.” – Jeff Brown, VAN Magazine

“A more than impressive debut…” – Textura

“New perspectives, perhaps, are Quadrivium’s best exports. The album isn’t a conventional listen by any means; the title is a nod at the idea of curricula involving the “mathematical arts” of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. But Quadrivium isn’t burdensome — or laborious, either. It’s an invitation to get focused, unplug from distractions, and take a lap around an extensive work of art. And hopefully learn a little bit about yourself when it’s all said and done.” – Ray Roa, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

“As distinguished as the other composers she interpreted in this performance are, Baker’s own pieces were by far the most provocative. Work like this is a sterling testimonial to her artistry that proves she’s not just an expert in the toy piano field but a pioneer.” – The Orlando Weekly

Baker’s striking high/low piano contrasts follow a hypnotically circling, glacial pace in the thirteen-plus minutes of the album’s opening track, Sashay. Subtly and slowly, her icicle accents grow more spacious, with the occasional unexpectedly playful accent… Lots of flavors and lots of troubling relevance in an album which has a remarkably persistent awareness even as Baker messes with the listener’s imagination. – New York Music Daily

It is as contemporary as anything you will hear, and it is not afraid to combine deftly timbral and sound-color beauty in striking ways. The music is visceral. The words are frank yet poetic. – Gregory Edwards

“In Quadrivium, Elizabeth A. Baker does more than show the different ways that historical and modern influences can co-exist, she does so with purpose. She illuminates the ways that the changing digital world is changing us. She embraces the future cautiously while avoiding nostalgia for the past. She warns of the consequences of our rapidly changing world while leading us into the future anyway. She acknowledges the dangers that lie ahead but equips us with her own quadrivium of lessons in a variety of subjects & mediums.” – Erin Marie Hoerchler for The Sybaritic Singer

PHOTOS

LIVE PERFORMANCES & FILMS

COMMERCIAL RELEASES

Chaotic Neutral (2022)
A collection of non-narrative sounds from the evolving spaceship A sound doesn’t have to hold human meaning to carry weight and identity. This is a collective of sounds presented without specific narrative, but with deep appreciation for the unique beauty inherent in each sonic moment.

Remain Calm. This Is Just A Test. (2021)
Recorded at The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University

Quadrivium (2018)
“After some thought, I have come up with an album name Quadrivium. I am drawn to this name because I’ve been very fascinated with the actual Quadrivium for several years and a copy of it is always on my studio desk. It also, ties into my concept of what a new renaissance artist is because it covers arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy… all subjects that are of interest to me in my creative practice.”
— ELIZABETH A. BAKER

Quadrivium is Elizabeth A. Baker’s debut album on Aerocade. It is a double disc sized digital release of minimalist solo piano compositions, avant garde prepared piano improvisations, meditative new-age tracks, spoken word, and electronics.

{this is not a piano album} (2016)
(noun) an album in which, a keyboard connected to hammers striking strings with 88 distinct pitches, is never played.

Compositions and structured improvisational works by Elizabeth A. Baker for a cast of instrumental characters played by Elizabeth A. Baker including toy piano, Indian harmonium, theremin, electronics, synthesizer, and found objects; with assistance from Dawn Pufahl (viola) and Fofi Panagiotouros (clarinet).

{a series of strange narratives} (2015)
A collection of electroacoustic works for piano and voice, exploring a series metaphysical programatic themes.

PUBLICATIONS

Ain’t I A Woman Too – New Music Box (2018)
The Resonant Life: Attack. Decay. Sustain. Release. Resonate.Ain’t I A Woman Too (2018)
Musings of a Young Composer (2016)
Toyager: A Toy Piano Method (2016)

SPONSORSHIPS, AWARDS, & HONOURS

Rieman and Baketel Fellow for Music at Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University (2021-2022)
Individual Artist Grant, Florida Department of State – Division of Arts & Culture (2019, 2022)
Artist Residency, Price Hill Creative Community Festival – Virtual (2020)
Villa Sträuli Artist Residency – Winterthur, Switzerland (2020) (POSTPONED DUE TO COVID 2022)
Inaugural Marjorie Bruce Holland Artist Residency – ÆPEX Contemporary Performance – (2020)
ACF Connect – Composer Award (2019-2021)
Westben Performer-Composer Residency – Campbell, ON (2019)
Pitt County Schools – Sound Artist Residency – Greenville, NC (2019)
Oregon Fringe Festival – Ashland, OR (2019)
Waterloo Region Contemporary Music Sessions – Waterloo, ON, CA (2018)
Laboratory for Live Electronic Audio Performance Practice (LLEAP) – Phoenix, AZ (2018)
Artist Endorsement, Source Audio LLC – Woburn, MA (2017)
Individual Artist Award, St. Petersburg Arts Alliance – St. Petersburg, FL (2017)
Professional Artist Fellowship, Creative Pinellas – Pinellas County, FL (2017)
Guest Artist, co-incidence residency – Somerville, MA (2017)
Official Roster Artist, Schoenhut Piano Company – St. Augustine, FL (2015)
Individual Artist Award, St. Petersburg Arts Alliance – St. Petersburg, FL (2015