Ursula Kwong-Brown

2019 Honorable Mention John Eaton Memorial Competition
[ INACTIVE ]

URSULA KWONG-BROWN is a composer, multimedia artist, research scientist, and political activist based in New York City. Described as “atmospheric and accomplished” by The New York Times, her work has been frequently performed in the United States, Europe, and Asia in diverse venues, including Carnegie Hall, le Poisson Rouge, Miller Theatre, the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Honors include ASCAP and NACUSA awards, a two-year Berkeley Symphony Composer Fellowship supported by the New Music USA Music Alive program, a San Francisco Friends of Contemporary Music Commissioning Grant, and being selected as a winner of Call-for-Scores by numerous talented groups, including the Juventas Ensemble, the Ipse Ensemble, the Pacific Chorale, the Black Cedar Trio and the New York Composers Circle.

Ursula received her B.A. from Columbia University in 2010, graduating with honors in Music and Biology. In 2018, she received her Ph.D. in Music Composition and New Media from the University of California, Berkeley, where her main advisor was Myra Melford.

Currently, Ursula is composing and collaborating with musicians worldwide while teaching music at Molloy College on Long Island and doing independent research in Dr. Darcy Kelley's laboratory at Columbia University. She has received funding from the Columbia Presidential Scholars in Neuroscience and Society Program and the Sloan Foundation to develop a musical instrument controlled with an EMG wristband developed by CTRL-labs.

​Following the 2018 presidential election, Ursula decided to become politically active. With the generous help of Jason T. Roff and his colleagues at First Factory, she has created a non-partisan website that helps college students decide where their vote matters the most: MakeMyVoteMatter.com.