Shelley Burgon is a harpist, composer and sound installation artist who creates ambient and abstract music using graphic notation, indeterminacy, electronics and sound sculptures.

Shelley’s chamber music has been recorded by the Ne(x)tworks ensemble featuring the vocalist Joan LaBarbara. Her most recent work The In Between for solo harp will be released on Thin Wrist in 2024. Shelley’s music has been commissioned for film and choreographers, most notably by The Merce Cunningham Dance Company for their Hudson Valley Project at the Dia Beacon.

As an ensemble member Shelley is sought after for her vast experience as an interpreter of new-music and the classical avant-garde performing the works of Pauline Oliveros, John Cage, Butch Morris, Anthony Braxton, Morton Subotnick, Cornelius Cardew among others. She has performed at institutions such as the Whitney Museum, MoMA, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dia Beacon and Lincoln Center and has recorded harp for various artists ranging from Bjork to Anthony Braxton.

Shelley received her MFA in Electronic Music from Mills College where she studied with pioneering electronics musicians and composers such as Pauline Oliveros, Maggi Payne, Fred Frith, Alvin Curran and Maryanne Amacher.

The New York Times has referred to her as a “new-music luminary” describing her performances as “mesmerizing”.