Jul 28, 20212 min read

Women Composer Wednesday - Emer Kinsella

For this week's Women Composer Wednesday, we are featuring film/TV composer, arranger, and violinist, Emer Kinsella.

Known for creating poignant soundscapes, Emer Kinsella has been involved in critically-acclaimed films, television series and live performances. Having played violin since the age of two, her scores often combine introspective strings with electronic sounds and ambient vocals. In 2017, she won an award at Soundtrack Cologne’s European Talent Competition for Film Scoring and in 2020 won Best Score for ‘In Orbit’ at the South Film and Arts Festival in Chile, the Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest festival and the Venice Shorts film festival. She is also the first award recipient of the SESAC/New Music USA Reel Change program for diversity in film scoring.

Emer's credits include working with Johnny Klimek on the hit Netflix series "Sense8" (written by The Wachowskis); the drama thriller "Jungle" starring Daniel Radcliffe; as well as with composer Andrew Kawczynski on Netflix’s Go Karts and The Eight Hundred.

Emer scored the award winning film “In Orbit,” which screened at Outfest LA, Newport Beach, The Galway Film Fleadh and Cork film festivals among others. She recently completed the score to the LGBTQ Rom Com feature film ‘I Hate New Years’.

In addition to scoring film and television, Emer creates experiential concerts and in 2019 organized, curated and performed the Intrinsic Strings Concert which was sponsored by BMI, VER-PRG and Vresh. Featuring music by Emer and LA-based contemporary film and video game composers, the performers presented insight into how music can unite people and create community in large metropolitan areas.

Originally from Ireland, Emer studied violin performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Emer then received a scholarship to attend the MFA film scoring program at Columbia College Chicago. Now based in LA, Emer is also a prolific violinist and arranger and has contributed her talents to numerous projects.

Watch Emer's Women Composer Wednesday Q&A!

Emer has released three tracks with MPATH to date. She recently wrote "Discourse" for MPATH's Enigmatic Explorations collection, a series of eerie mystery and suspense tracks. Her other two tracks, "Particles" and "Wilderness", are included on the album, Transcendent Strings, which is a collection of intimate string-based tracks that are perfect for introspection, meditation, and contemplation.