Luke Cissell

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Luke Cissell is a New York City based composer and multi-instrumentalist who comes from a musical background rich in folk, bluegrass, and classical traditions. "I can't wait to hear more," wrote NewMusicUSA's Frank J. Oteri of Cosmography (2013), Cissell's moody and homesick synth-bluegrass paean to his native corner of the universe, "...an unlikely hybrid that sounds like it couldn't possibly work but it somehow does." His experimental debut Noise in the Street (2009) was described as "daring" and "celestial" by Splice Today and Groovemine. In December 2014 he released a recording of his extended work for solo violin, Infinite Progress.
As a session musician Cissell has recorded for a wide variety artists, from Ingrid Michaelson to Philip Glass. In 2014 he toured China with the Manhattan Symphonie and appeared as a violinist in the feature film The Longest Week starring Jason Bateman and Olivia Wilde. He recently contributed fiddle and mandolin parts to Ed Helms's "Bunker, Bunker Burning Love" on the Levinson Brothers musical comedy album 2776 which raised money for OneKid OneWorld and featured an all-star cast (Aimee Mann, Yo La Tengo, Margaret Cho, Neko Case, Ashanti).
In edition to his recorded output, Cissell's written work includes two numbered string quartets, a piano trio, several shorter works for mixed ensemble, and a chamber opera based on Henry James's The Ambassadors. He was the recipient of the 2012 John Cage Memorial Random Composer Award.