Chloe Knibbs

Chloe Knibbs is a composer and sound artist motivated by lyricism and vulnerability, whose work seeks to hold space to explore and reframe societal issues. Informed by feminism and interdisciplinary approaches, her work encompasses opera, theatre, choral and chamber works, installations and song-writing. Her music also draws on life experiences and has been described as ‘quietly effective with every note made to count’ and as having an ‘unmistakable ring of authenticity’ (Musical Opinion).

Chloe’s music confronts the absence and portrayal of women composers in classical music. Her practice utilises a collage-like approach that juxtaposes historical and contemporary sources to consider the representation of women composers, with a specific focus on the 19th century. Her choral work Clara explores Clara Schumann’s ambivalence about her and was created on Making Music’s Adopt A-Composer Scheme and later broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Her series of works Ruins, uses the metaphor of ruins and erosion to consider the tropes around women composers, legacy-building and sonic disintegration, and exists as an electroacoustic work (supported by Jerwood Arts Bursary and Sound and Music’s Francis Chagrin Award) and an online interactive sound art installation made in collaboration with designer Denitsa Toneva (supported by an Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice grant).

Performed across the UK, Chloe’s work has been heard in venues including Birmingham New Street Station, October Gallery, MeWe360 and the International Anthony Burgess Centre. Her commissioners include the Sound and Music, Birmingham Opera Company, Illuminate Womens’ Music, British Council Music.

Chloe holds a BMus in Music from the University of Manchester and a Masters in Composition from the Birmingham Conservatoire, where she studied with Joe Cutler. She is also a member of the Musicians’ Union, the International Alliance for Women in Music and PRS.

Biography

Chloe Knibbs is a composer and sound artist motivated by lyricism and vulnerability, whose work seeks to hold space to explore and reframe societal issues. Informed by feminism and interdisciplinary approaches, her work encompasses opera, theatre, choral and chamber works, installations and song-writing. Her music also draws on life experiences and has been described as ‘quietly effective with every note made to count’ and as having an ‘unmistakable ring of authenticity’ (Musical Opinion).

Chloe’s music confronts the absence and portrayal of women composers in classical music. Her practice utilises a collage-like approach that juxtaposes historical and contemporary sources to consider the representation of women composers, with a specific focus on the 19th century. Her choral work Clara explores Clara Schumann’s ambivalence about her and was created on Making Music’s Adopt A-Composer Scheme and later broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Her series of works Ruins, uses the metaphor of ruins and erosion to consider the tropes around women composers, legacy-building and sonic disintegration, and exists as an electroacoustic work (supported by Jerwood Arts Bursary and Sound and Music’s Francis Chagrin Award) and an online interactive sound art installation made in collaboration with designer Denitsa Toneva (supported by an Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice grant).

Performed across the UK, Chloe’s work has been heard in venues including Birmingham New Street Station, October Gallery, MeWe360 and the International Anthony Burgess Centre. Her commissioners include the Sound and Music, Birmingham Opera Company, Illuminate Womens’ Music, British Council Music.

Chloe holds a BMus in Music from the University of Manchester and a Masters in Composition from the Birmingham Conservatoire, where she studied with Joe Cutler. She is also a member of the Musicians’ Union, the International Alliance for Women in Music and PRS.

Compilations with this composer

Compilations
CBSO Sounds New

Sounds New: 20 New Works Celebrating 100 Years of CBSO

NMC Recordings

20 short commissions from rising-star composers performed by The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra form an impressive showcase of the range and breadth of contemporary orchestral writing happening in the UK today

More info

External Links

Music Map

Discover more about the classical music of today with NMC's Music Map, and exciting and educational online tool which enables you to see and hear the connections between composers, their teachers, pupils, influences and their works.

Music Map