Biography
Chaz Underriner (b. 1987 in Texas, USA) is a composer, intermedia artist and performer based in DeLand, Florida. Chaz’s work explores the representation of reality in art, especially landscape, through the juxtaposition of video projections, audio recordings and live performers. His work is “quietly radiant in animated stasis” (The Wire 2022) and “enchant[s] the listener so that time loses its function, so that you are completely subordinated to your dreams.” (Nieuw Noten 2017)
Chaz’s work has been programmed at Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Utrecht, NE), GROUND Solyanka (Moscow, RU), the Moscow State Philarmonic Society (Moscow, RU), the Proyector International Video Art Festival (Madrid, ESP), the Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival (Hawick, Scotland), the International Computer Music Conference, the Impuls Festival (Graz, AU), the Morley College Engine Room Sound Art Exhibition (London, UK), the National Building Museum (Washington D.C.), Darmstadt (DE), the Global Composition Conference (DE), Ostrava New Music Days (CZ), the Forfest Festival (CZ), Champ dAction’s Laboratorium (Antwerp, BE), RAUM (Vienna, AU), the Mise En Music Festival (USA), the Timucua Arts Foundation (Orlando), the Charlotte New Music Festival (USA), the Louisville New Music Festival (USA), Dogstar Orchestra (Los Angeles), at Edith Cowan University (Perth, AU), the Florida State New Music Festival (Tallahassee), the Texas Dance Improvisation Festival (Texas), the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s National Composer’s Intensive, and the American College Dance Festival Association Regional Conference (Texas).
Chaz has been an artist-in-residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts and at NYU. Chaz’s compositions have been performed by the Wet Ink Ensemble, Ensemble Modelo62, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (MCME), the Vacuum Quartet, the Amorsima Trio, Kluster5, Andother Stage, Ghost Ensemble, IKTUS Percussion, Ossia New Music Ensemble, Manufaktur für aktuelle Musik, the Krulik Quartet, Austin New Music Co-Op, guitarist Nico Couck, the CalArts New Century Players, the UNT Baroque Orchestra, the Lewisville Lake Symphony and the Santa Clarita Master Chorale.
In the US, Chaz’s works have been presented at Florida State University, the University of North Texas, Texas State University, the University of California Los Angeles, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the University of Louisville, the Eastman School of Music, and California Institute of the Arts. Chaz is also the recipient of several award including a classical commissioning grant from Chamber Music America, a finalist for the Gaudeamus Prize, the Ossia International Call for Scores competition, 2nd prize in the Frank Robert Abell Young Composers Competition for New Chamber Music for nocturne series: 5, and a commission by the Santa Clarita Master Chorale for their commission competition.
As a performer, Chaz plays music written after 1925 on multiple plucked string instruments especially on electric guitar. Chaz has collaborated with composers including Chaya Czernowin, Sofia Gubaidulina, Mark Applebaum, Michael Pisaro, Joseph Klein, Kirsten Broberg, Mike Winter, Mark Menzies, Josh Levine, Anastassis Philippakopoulous, Brent Farris, and Travis Weller, both as a soloist and in an ensemble setting. Chaz has performed at REDCAT in Los Angeles during the Sofia Gubaidulina festival, in a chamber performance the LA Times critic Mark Swed declared “[was played with] focused abandon,” in the New Zealand in LA concert series, and as a part of Deep Camp Festival and Ostrava New Music Days festival in Czech Republic. Chaz also performed at the Laboratorium 2011 Festival in Antwerp, Beligum, with Austin New Music Co-op, at the wulf in Los Angeles, at the Dallas Contemporary, with the UNT Baroque Orchestra, NOVA Ensemble and the Keith Karns Big Band.
As an engineer, composer, and performer, Chaz’s work has been released on Edition Wandelweiser Records (EWR 1502), Task Records (Devin Disanto Tracing a Boundary), Slubmusic (Michael Pisaro/Taku Sugimoto D minor / Bb Major), New World Records (Michael Winter, Music for Plucked Strings), Fleur du Son (Triopolis), Delos Records (Sean Kennard), Sedimental Records (Ex Mus Ensemble), and Tonelist Records (Greywing Ensemble).
Chaz’s writing has been published in journals Organised Sound (Cambridge University Press), Leonardo Music Journal (MIT Press), LINKs, and presented at conferences such as the 40 Years with Murakami Haruki Conference (Newcastle University, UK), and the Korea Electroacoustic Music Conference (Seoul National University, Korea).
Chaz is an Associate Professor of Digital Arts at Stetson University. Previously, Chaz was an Adjunct Professor and Audio Engineer at Grayson College, an Adjunct Professor at the Art Institute of Dallas, the Lead Engineer at the UNT College of Music Lab Recording Studio and a founder and curator of the ex mus concert series based at CentralTrak Gallery in Dallas, TX. Chaz earned a Ph.D. in music composition at the University of North Texas where he studied with Joseph Klein, Panayiotis Kokoras, David Stout and Jon Nelson. Chaz earned an M.F.A. in composition at California Institute of the Arts where he studied primarily with Michael Pisaro and Anne LeBaron.
Shorter Biography
Chaz Underriner (b. 1987 in Texas, USA) is a composer, intermedia artist and performer based in DeLand, Florida. Chaz’s work explores the representation of reality in art, especially landscape, through the juxtaposition of video projections, audio recordings and live performers. His work is “quietly radiant in animated stasis” (The Wire 2022) and “enchant[s] the listener so that time loses its function, so that you are completely subordinated to your dreams.” (Nieuw Noten 2017)
Chaz’s work has been programmed at Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Utrecht, NE), the Los Angeles Philharmonic National Composer’s Intensive, the Moscow State Philharmonic Society (Moscow, RU), the Proyector International Video Art Festival (Madrid, ES), the Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival (Hawick, UK), the International Computer Music Conference, the Impuls Festival (Graz, AU), the Morley College Engine Room Sound Art Exhibition (London, UK), the National Building Museum (Washington D.C.), Darmstadt (DE), the Global Composition Conference (Dieburg, DE), Ostrava New Music Days (CZ), Champ dAction’s Laboratorium (Antwerp, BE), the Mise En Music Festival (USA), the Charlotte New Music Festival (USA), the Louisville New Music Festival (USA), Dogstar Orchestra (Los Angeles), and the Timucua Arts Foundation (USA).
As an engineer, composer, and performer, Chaz’s work has been released on Edition Wandelweiser Records (EWR 1502), Slubmusic (Michael Pisaro/Taku Sugimoto), New World Records (Michael Winter), Fleur du Son (Triopolis), Task Records (Devin Disanto), Sedimental Records (Ex Mus) and Delos Records (Sean Kennard).
Chaz is an Associate Professor of Digital Arts at Stetson University. Previously, Chaz was an Adjunct Professor and Audio Engineer at Grayson College, an Adjunct Professor at the Art Institute of Dallas, the Lead Engineer at the UNT College of Music Lab Recording Studio, and a founder and curator of the ex mus concert series.
Shortest Biography
Chaz Underriner (b. 1987 in Texas, USA) is a composer, intermedia artist and performer based in DeLand, Florida where he is an Associate Professor of Digital Arts at Stetson University. Chaz’s work explores the representation of reality in art, especially landscape, through the juxtaposition of video projections, audio recordings and live performers.
Chaz’s work has been programmed both nationally and internationally at festivals and venues such as Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Utrecht), the Moscow State Philharmonic Society (Russia), the International Computer Music Conference, the Impuls Festival (Austria), and Timucua Arts Foundation (Orlando, USA).
As an engineer, composer, and performer, Chaz’s work has been released on Edition Wandelweiser Records, Slubmusic, New World Records, Fleur du Son, Task Records, Sedimental Records, and Delos.
CFU Curriculum Vitae (updated Feb 2022)
CFU Works List (updated Feb 2022)