Shelley Burgon is a harpist and electronic musician based in New York. Her work centers around the sound of the harp, either as a traditional acoustic instrument in a chamber setting or as the primary sound source for her electronic music.

Prior to moving to New York, Shelley received her MFA in Electronic Music from Mills College and studied with notable musicians such as Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, Alvin Curran and Maryanne Amacher. Since moving to New York, Shelley has had the pleasure to play and record the music of a broad range of artists that span many genres to include people such as Bjork, Zeena Parkins, Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Butch Morris, Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto), Christian Marclay, Joan LaBarbara, Elliott Sharp and Maria Chavez along with bands such as Stars Like Fleas, Elysian Fields and Blondes. Shelley has also had the pleasure to perform at New York institutions such as the Whitney Museum, MoMA (Monday Nights), MoMA PS1 (Warm Up), Dia:Beacon, Chelsea Art Museum, White Box Gallery, Silver Shed Gallery and Issue Project Room. Her music has been commissioned by The Merce Cunningham Dance Company for the Hudson Valley Project at the Dia Museum, Ne(x)tworks chamber ensemble for the MATA Festival and choreographer Katherine Behar.

Recent projects of 2011 have including recording harp for Bjork’s new release Biophilia, Anthony Braxton’s Trilium E, Helado Negro and her band Family Dynamics. This year has also brought performances at MoMA’s PS1 (Saturday Sessions), Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal, Roulette, Insound Festival at Issue Project Room and Glasslands Gallery. In March of 2011, Shelley made her New York City gallery debut with her sound installation Eridanus – A Path Of Souls at Splatterpool Artspace. She currently performs solo under the name Rowan.

Selected Press Quotes:
“… a musician with flowy hair tucked over her shoulder was playing ethereal beats through a laptop.”
Melena Ryzik, The New York Times, August 2011

“… Berio’s “Sequenzas,” a series of intense, virtuosic pieces for solo performers, have achieved repertory status. On Wednesday, the first 10 of these works (there are 14 in all), played by a starry roster of young new-music luminaries, attracted a capacity crowd… The Second, beautifully played by the harpist Shelley Burgon, brushes aside frippery and frills in favor of evocative mystery.”
Steve Smith, The New York Times, December 2010

“The electronics maestro and pedal harpist lends her unique twist to music by Morton Feldman, John Cage and Shelley Burgon.”
Time Out New York, August 2010

“In a mesmerizing rendition of “Four Systems[Earle Brown],” the harpist Shelley Burgon collaborated with Miguel Frasconi…” Steve Smith, The New York Times, April 2007

www.shelleyburgon.com
www.rowan-music.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rowan/100523906658746