About Hannah A. Barnes
Hannah A. Barnes (b. 1997) is a Montréal-based composer and conductor. Her work centres on crafting structured yet dynamic, multi-faceted musical worlds characterized by mercurial, offkilter, and seemingly incompatible materials. These works straddle tension and expression for both performers and listeners. Barnes' main concerns are (re)defining Modernism in the twenty-first century, investigating manifestations of complexity and polyphony, and addressing questions of syntax and semantics within a non-narrative musical language that encompasses both pitch- and noise-based materials. Having been described by a performer as composing “alien music,” she embraces the strange, unpredictable and mysterious in art of all kinds.
Hannah holds degrees in composition from DePaul University (MM w/Distinction '21, BM High Honours '19) with additional studies in conducting. She is currently a DMus student at McGill University, studying with Philippe Leroux.
Collaboration is central to Barnes' compositional practice. She has worked closely with myriad musicians and ensembles to develop new works. Recent projects include a trio for double-bell brass instruments for members of Ensemble Musikfabrik, a large ensemble work for McGill's Contemporary Music Ensemble, a work for Montréal-based Quatuor Memoire (string quartet + mezzo-soprano), a work for violin and electronics for violinist Jennifer Gersten, and a piece for violin for violinist Karl Jogi, composed in three days at the 2025 Darmstadt Summer Courses. Upcoming commissions include new works for Boston-based Lamnth (violin + cimbalom), and saxophonist Greg Bruce (feedback tenor saxophone).
Barnes' work for oboe and electronics, "Dis/inte/gration" was recorded by Kyle Bruckmann and included on his album of rivers, released March 2024 on New Focus Recordings. Her debut album, Negative Capability: Works by Hannah A. Barnes, was released in December 2024. Her work has been performed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Australia, and she was awarded an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer's Award honourable mention for her work "five images," composed for Ensemble Dal Niente.
Learn more about Hannah and her music at her website.