Emily Wells

Fresh off the premiere of Emily Wells’ new work “This World is Too _____ For You”, commissioned by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series and masterfully arranged for strings, horn and percussion by Michi Wiancko, Wells is reimagining these and other new songs for a few select solo performances before taking them into the recording studio. She aims to learn more about the songs from live performance and engagement with familiar audiences.

“The new songs are the rub between desire for, and desire to strip oneself of all wanting” Wells says of the new material, which clamors around all the edges, and sometimes into the center of our collective uncertainties. “I grew up with hymns and I often find myself drawn to a form that seeks redemption, even for transgressions unknown… they are an offering, an oath.” Wells’ new video work will accompany the performances of which she says, “the video and the songs are mirrors of one another: human failing, desire, grace, the body, movement, muted gutting, and the natural world, beating against our windows, drunk with the answer.”

“Quietly transfixing” violinist, singer, producer and composer Emily Wells is known for her varied use of classical and modern instrumentation, deft approach to live sampling, and “dramatic, meticulous and gothic songs” (New York Times) that blend “traditionalism with electronic ambiance” (NPR).

Emily Wells is a performer, producer, singer, and composer known for her varied use of classical and modern instrumentation as well as her deft approach to live sampling. Classically trained as a violinist, she also performs using drums, synths and beat machines and has toured worldwide. Wells released her most recent full studio album “Promise” to critical acclaim on her label “Thesis & Instinct” January 2016 with a follow up EP “In The Hot” in March of 2017. This November she will premiere new works commissioned by Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series. Wells lives and works in New York City.