Senem Pirler (she/her) is an artist, sonic improviser, and educator. Pirler’s interdisciplinary work crosses over into sound engineering, sound art, composition, performance, video art, movement, and installation.
Born in Turkey, Pirler studied classical piano at Hacettepe State Conservatory and sound engineering and design at Istanbul Technical University/MIAM. Pirler earned her M.M. in Music Technology the Stephen F. Temmer Tonmeister Honors Track from NYU Steinhardt, and her Ph.D. in Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her dissertation’s title was Disruption, Dis/orientation, and Intra-action: Recipes for Creating a Queer Utopia in Audiovisual Space.
Pirler has exhibited and performed work at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center/EMPAC (NY), Roulette Intermedium (NY), The Kitchen (NYC), Carnegie Hall (NYC), Southbank Centre (London), Akademie der Künste (Berlin), Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA), Baryshnikov Arts Center (NY), Montalvo Arts Center (CA), Mount Tremper Arts (NY), and Collar Works (NY). Her work has been recognized by institutions such as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, Institute for Electronic Arts, PACT Zollverein, Signal Culture, the Hermitage, and EMS Stockholm.
Pirler has been awarded a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in the category of Music/Sound in 2022 and the Malcolm Morse Award to honor the work of Pauline Oliveros and Deep Listening in 2018.
Dr. Pirler joined the University of Chicago in the Fall of 2024 as an Assistant Professor of Composition in the Music Department in the Division of the Humanities. Prior to joining UChicago, Dr. Pirler was a faculty member in Music at Bennington College, overseeing the sound practices and e-music curriculum from 2018 to 2024.