Darcy Copeland is a composer and artist-scholar. She thinks of composition as a process of worlding, and her research and creative practice examine how sound can model interdependence and processes of becoming in a fragile world. She is interested in the transformative nature of listening, and seeks to unveil the mysterious, ephemeral, and complex nature of sound. She thinks of her work as a living, organic, and relational body, and uses music as a way of making sense of herself and the world through means inaccessible through language.
A PhD candidate in Music Composition at Harvard University, where she studies with Chaya Czernowin and Hans Tutschku, Copeland’s research and creative practice examine how sound and musical world-building can model interdependence and empathy in a changing world. Her music has been performed internationally by ensembles including .abeceda ensemble, Duo XAMP, Ben Roidl-Ward, catinblack ensemble, collective lovemusic, Fabrik Quartet, Broken Frames Syndicate, Lamnth duo, Zone Expérimentale, Ensemble Dal Niente, ~Nois Saxophone Quartet, and line upon line percussion trio.
She holds degrees in composition from the University of Washington and Columbia College Chicago, and currently teaches at Harvard University, where she also directs the Harvard Group for New Music. Outside of her professional life, she is an attentive wanderer, enjoying birdwatching, baking, movies, and identifying varieties of moss on her walks.