Hannah A. Barnes

Full Bio

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 twentyfirst 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.

Currently a DMus student at McGill University studying composition with Prof. Philippe Leroux, Hannah completed degrees in composition (MMus w/Distinction ’21, BMus High Honours ’19) from DePaul University, with additional studies in conducting. Collaboration is central to Barnes’s compositional practice. She has worked closely with soloists, including oboist Kyle Bruckmann, guitarist Jesse Langen, hornist Tarre Nelson, vocalist Joanna Mieleszko, percussionist Alexandre Garde, pianist Ian Pace, violinists Bailey Wantuch and Jennifer Gersten, duos Garden Unit and Flannau Duo, and the brass musicians of Ensemble Musikfabrik to develop new works. As composer-in-residence, she composed a large ensemble work for McGill’s Contemporary Music Ensemble in 2024. Upcoming commissions include new works for Boston-based Lamnth (violin + cimbalom), Montréal-based Quatuor Memoire (string quartet + mezzo-soprano), saxophonist Greg Bruce (feedback tenor saxophone), guitarist Jamie Monck and electric guitarist Matt Sargent.

Her work has been performed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Australia, in programs including the DePaul and Dal Niente Summer Residence for New Music (2020), the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (2021), the Yarn/Wire Summer Institute (2022), Omaha Under the Radar Festival (2022), the Darmstadt Summer Courses (2023, 2025), the Musikfabrik Virtual Brass Academy (2025), and Impuls Academy (2025) and at schools of music including DePaul University, McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, UC Davis, UC Berkeley (CNMAT), the New England Conservatory, the University of Arkansas, Florida State University, Benedictine College, and the City University of London.

Hannah’s work for oboe and electronics, “Dis/inte/gration” (2019, rev. 2020) was recorded by Kyle Bruckmann and included on his album of rivers, released March 2024. She released her debut portrait album, Negative Capability: Works by Hannah A. Barnes in December 2024, including performances by Ensemble Dal Niente, Kyle Flens, Jesse Langen, Garden Unit, and DePaul University’s Ensemble 20+. Her work has been acknowledged in the Chicago Reader and “Best of Bandcamp,” selected in calls for scores in the United States, Canada and Austria, played on impulsradio (Graz/Helsinki), and awarded an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer’s Awards honourable mention for her work “five images.”

Barnes founded the "rhythm is image" new music initiative after being struck by the inexplicable and insatiable desire to perform Stockhausen’s Mikrophonie I in 2019. She organizes, conducts, and performs in concerts, emphasizing experimental performance practice and advocating for “difficult” music. rhythm is image has performed in Chicago, Montréal, Omaha (Nebraska), and Fayetteville (Arkansas) as parts of concert series and festivals, including works by Grisey, Saunders, D. Bithell, Lucier, K. Suzuki, Jodlowski, Scelsi, Fujikura, Cage, as well as pieces by Barnes and those of her Chicago and Montréal peers.

Teaching is also important to Hannah; she has taught theory and aural skills to high schoolers at the Chicago Music Academy, music majors at DePaul University (as Lecturer of Music Theory from 2021-23), and various students at McGill University (as Lecturer of Music Theory, 2024). While at McGill, she served as president of Le Vivier InterUniversitaire and the McGill Association of Student Composers, and Vice President of the Music Graduate Student Society. She also was a Writing Fellow through the Graduate Writing Centre in 2024-25, developing and implementing initiatives to support Schulich School of Music graduate students with their written academic milestones.

Barnes lives in Montréal with her terrier, Kaylee, and maintains a strong connection to her roots in Chicago. Her compositional practice is fuelled by strong coffee, postmodern literature, the study of Irish mythology and tradition, and Pilates.

Short Bio (270 words)

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.

Holding 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 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), Montréal-based Quatuor Memoire (string quartet + mezzo-soprano), 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.