Dorothy Ker
Dorothy Ker 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.
Early life
Ker was born in Carterton, in the North Island of New Zealand in 1965.Education
Ker completed B.Mus and M.Mus degrees at the University of Auckland, where she studied composition and electronic music with John Rimmer. She emigrated to the UK in 1992, and completed a Ph.D in composition at the University of York in 1998.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, before becoming a lecturer in Composition there, and most recently, a Senior Lecturer in Music.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. 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.
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.
In 2015, Ker received the 2015 Composers Association of New Zealand Trust Fund Award for her contribution to music composition.
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.
Works
Movement for String OrchestraThe Structure of Memory diffracted terrains: duo i diffracted terrains: duo ii diffracted terrains: quintet solo for cellowater mountain '- '