Del Sol Featured Composer-
Keeril Makan

Keeril Makan
Working to create emotionally engaging musical experiences, American composer Keeril Makan combines an exploration of the rich detail inherent in sound with an unmistakably visceral energy. Drawing from diverse musical sources he synthesizes a music that, in its sheer intensity, thwarts assumptions of what is beautiful. After initial studies in violin and oboe, Keeril went on to receive degrees in composition and religion at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio. He is completing his Ph.D. in composition at the University of California, Berkeley where he studied composition with Edmund Campion and Jorge Liderman, and computer music at the Center for New Music and Audio Technology (CNMAT) with David Wessel. In addition to his studies in the U.S., Keeril spent a year in Helsinki, Finland at the Sibelius Academy on a Fulbright grant. Having been awarded the George Ladd Prix de Paris from the University of California, he also lived for two years in Paris, France, where he studied with Philippe Leroux. Keeril has received numerous commissions from ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Paul Dresher Electroacoustic Band, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and Del Sol String Quartet. He has also received major awards and commissions from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, ASCAP, Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard, Gerbode Foundation in San Francisco, Meet the Composer, and Carnegie Hall.