Kirin McElwain is a cellist and composer working in the realms of experimental, contemporary classical, and improvised music. Weaving together classical and Baroque influences with an affinity for sub-bass and harsh electronic textures, her music explores themes of desire, shame, perfection, and belonging.
Trained through the Master’s level as a classical cellist, Kirin has performed on various film and television scores (HBO, National Geographic, Gimlet Media, PBS, NPR Tiny Desk), with contemporary artists (Post Malone, Ioanna Gika, This Will Destroy You), and as part of mixed media installations (the MET, James Cohan Gallery, Neue Galerie) as well as traditional classical and contemporary classical concerts (Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, Kimmel Center, Roulette), in addition to many community-run venues.
Her self-released 2023 EP Viriditas made the end-of-year lists at Anxious Magazine and A Closer Listen. Her cello octet sightlines was co-commissioned by Boston Conservatory and Music From Salem and was premiered at Music from Salem, in addition to performances at Seully Hall (Boston Conservatory) and the MFA in Boston.
Kirin has been an artist-in-residence at EMS Stockholm and Westben Center for the Arts, a New Amsterdam Records Composers Lab Fellow, and her duo with vocalist Alex Koi is the recipient of a 2024 Young Arts grant for their upcoming collaborative LP Wake.
Kirin’s full-length solo debut Youth will be released by AKP Recordings in fall 2025.