Natasha Barrett

Natasha Barrett (March 1972, Norwich, England) is a British contemporary music composer specialising in electroacoustic art music. Her compositional aesthetics are derived from acousmatic issues. In addition to acousmatic concert music, she composes for instruments, live electronics, sound installations, multi-media works including digital video art, real-time computer music improvisation, has made soundscapes for exhibitions, and music for contemporary dance and theater. Her work has been influenced by spatialisation as a musical parameter, and the projection of 3-D sound-fields. Since 2020, she has expanded her repertoire to include works for large orchestra and electronics, as well as interactive real-time computer graphics. She currently lives in Norway.

Natasha Barrett began her studies in electroacoustic music while completing a master’s degree in analysis and composition under the guidance of Jonty Harrison at the University of Birmingham (UK). This study also gave her the opportunity to work with BEAST (Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre) which influenced her later work, and lead on to a doctoral degree in composition supervised by Denis Smalley, awarded in 1998 at City University (London, UK). Both degrees were funded by the Humanities section of the British Academy. In the same year, a grant from Norges forskningsråd (The Research Council of Norway) enabled her to work for one year as a resident composer at NoTAM (Norsk nettverk for Teknologi, Akustikk og Musikk / Norwegian network for Technology, Acoustics and Music) in Oslo (Norway). She is now a freelance composer, sound-artist and researcher, based in Oslo.

As of 2025 her work has received 35 international awards, including the Nordic Council Music Prize for 2006, the Giga-Hertz Prize, Germany (2008), the first prize at Musica Nova (Prague, Czech Republic, 2001), Noroit-Léonce Petitot (Arras, France, 1998), first prizes (1998 and 2001) and finalist (2008) in the Trivium section of the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition (France), Euphonie D'Or des Concours International de Musique Electroacoustique, Bourges 1992–2002, Jury and public first prizes in the 9th Prix international Noroit-Léonce Petitot, Arras, France (1998).

, finalist in the same competition in 1995, Musica Nova Electroacoustic Music Competition, Czech Republic (2001). Concurso Internacional de Música Eletroacústica de São Paulo (IV CIMESP, Brazil, 2001), Concours SCRIME (France, 2000), Festival Internacional de Nuevas Tecnologías, Arte y Comunicación Ciber@RT / Ciber@RT International Festival of New Technologies, Art and Communication (Spain, 2000), Concours Luigi Russolo (Italy, 1998, 1995), an honorary mention at Prix Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria, 1998), 9th International Rostrum for electoacoustic music (2002) and Edvardprisen (2004) Norway.

She receives commissions from festivals and performers throughout the world, and her work is available on numerous CD labels.

In addition to composing, she is joint director and performer in the spatial music performance group EAU (Electric Audio Unit) has worked as a researcher in 3-D music and movement at the Department for Musicology, University of Oslo (2014–2016) has worked as a 20% researcher in sound design at the Oslo School of Architecture (2011–2014) as associate professor in electroacoustic music and music technology at the Music Conservatory in Tromsø (2000) and has held a professorship at the Norwegian State Academy for Music (2016-2023), and several guest professorships in Scandinavia.

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