Bio

Ash Stemke (b. 1991) “…simply composes music he wants to hear, because it is beautiful…and manages nonetheless to avoid the too-well-known and trite.” (Steven Kruger, New York Arts). Ash’s music explores self-similarity, teleology, and transformation, and was recently performed by yMusic, the Riverside Symphony, the Boston New Music Initiative, and musicians of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra. Soon, his commissioned film score “Launch Sequence” will be sent on a 238,900-mile journey to the moon (!)—as part of Carnegie-Mellon University’s MoonArk project.

Recently, Ash won first prize in the San Francisco Choral Artists’ New Voices Project and was honorably mentioned by the MidCities Chamber Singers and the Uproar Duo. His music has been featured at events such as New Music on the Bayou, DIGITECH, the FSU Festival of New Music, numerous SCI conferences, and the Schoenberg Academy in Vienna, Austria.

Currently, Ash serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Murray State University, where he teaches courses in music theory, aural skills, composition, and digital music. He holds a Doctor of Music from Florida State University, a Master of Music in Composition and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Music Theory from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Bachelor of Music with Highest Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.