Tina Tallon

Position
Assistant Professor of Composition

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Tina Tallon joined the Conservatory in 2018 and is an assistant professor of composition.



Tallon’s work has been performed internationally by some of the world’s leading ensembles and musicians, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ensemble Intercontemporain, wild Up, Talea Ensemble, h2 quartet, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet, among others. She has received numerous awards and grants from institutions including the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, New Music USA, Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, PARMA Music, the University of California San Diego, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

Recently commissioned projects have included works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Guerilla Opera, and La Jolla Symphony, as well as for pianist Brianna Matzke’s Response Project, and pianist Michael Kirkendoll. Tallon’s work has been presented at IRCAM ManiFeste, Los Angeles Philharmonic’s National Composers Intensive, Cortona Sessions for New Music, and New Music Gathering, among others.

Tallon’s primary research interests include the social history of voice technology, algorithmic composition, embodied music cognition, and computational approaches to musicological inquiry. Her research has been featured in and covered by the New Yorker, NPR’s On the Media, Politico, and TheNextWeb, among others. In addition, Tallon is the lead documentarian and owner of SALT Arts Documentation, which specializes in sophisticated and artistically-informed audiovisual documentation of contemporary performing arts, as well as the facilitation of complex technologically-mediated performance components.

Tallon holds B.S. degrees in biological engineering and music from M.I.T. and an M.F.A. in composition and theory from Brandeis University. She has studied composition primarily with Peter Child, David Rakowski, and Lei Liang, and computer music with Miller Puckette and Tom Erbe.

Professional Awards and Recognitions

  • Radcliffe Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University (2020–2021)
  • ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award (2018)
  • LA Philharmonic Association Commission (2018)
  • La Jolla Symphony Nee Commission (2017)
  • Barlow Endowment General Commission (2017)
  • NewMusic USA Project Grant (2017)
  • PARMA Student Composer Competition Grand Prize (2013)
  • UC San Diego Katzin Prize (2013)

Notable Recent Works

  • excision no.2: they didn't know we were seeds, for viola and live electronics, commissioned by Kurt Rohde and the Barlow Endowment (2019)—Composer
  • ...for we who keep our lives in our throats..., for violin, viola, cello, harp, bass flute, and live electronics, commissioned by the LA Philharmonic (2018)—Composer
  • luscinia, for orchestra and live electronics, commissioned by Steven Schick and La Jolla Symphony (2017)—Composer
  • eve, for violin, viola, cello, and bass clarinet, written for ManiFeste 2017 and the soloists of Ensemble Intercontemporain (2017)—Composer
  • sear, for sinfonietta, written for wild Up for the LA Philharmonic National Composers Intensive (2016)—Composer
  • pneuma mekhanes, for accordion and chamber ensemble, written for Isaac Schankler and Talea Ensemble (2015)—Composer