New Zealand-born composer
Dorothy Ker (born 1965) is a New Zealand-born composer of instrumental and vocal music who has lived in the UK since 1992. She is known for her inter-disciplinary collaborations and experimentation with live electronic music performances.[1]
Early life
Ker was born in Carterton, in the North Island of New Zealand in 1965.[2]
Education
Ker completed B.Mus and M.Mus degrees at the University of Auckland, where she studied composition and electronic music with John Rimmer.[3] She emigrated to the UK in 1992,[4] and completed a Ph.D in composition at the University of York in 1998.[5]
Career
Following her graduation, Ker took up a position at the University of Reading. She later moved to the position of Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield,[6] before becoming a lecturer in Composition there,[7] and most recently, a Senior Lecturer in Music.[8]
In 2008, a collaboration with the mathematician Marcus du Sautoy resulted in the creation and performance of a piece of experimental music, The 19th Step.[9] The research with du Sautoy was later the basis for a mixed-media theatre piece produced in collaboration with the sculptor Kate Allen in 2010.[10]
In July 2013, Ker began a year-long position in Wellington, New Zealand, as a Research Teaching Associate at the New Zealand School of Music.[11]
In 2015, Ker received the 2015 Composers Association of New Zealand Trust Fund Award for her contribution to music composition.[12]
Ker's music has been heard at international festivals in Auckland, Belfast, Darmstadt, Huddersfield, Perth, Taipei, Seoul, at the International Society for Contemporary Music, in London and on BBC Radio 3 and Radio New Zealand.[13][14]
