Justin Messina works with both acoustic and electronic means to create works that explore the expressive nature of sound. These works range from large orchestral compositions to electronically created sound installations. A longtime resident of Brooklyn, a recent summer was spent at Channel Islands National Park making field recordings of everything from sea caves to humming birds. The recordings will make up part of a large-scale audio installation exploring themes of time, place, memory, and history. His most recent album Shortwave Artifacts investigates the mysterious nature of radio. Made entirely of radio sounds and music for string ensemble, the album emerged naturally following a decade of working as a deejay and producer. His work in the world of popular electronic music led to collaborative performances with techno legends Carl Craig and Moritz von Oswald. His orchestral work Abandon, premiered at Carnegie Hall by the American Composers Orchestra, is an homage to the first generation of techno artists from the empty streets of Detroit. Active as a pianist at a young age, Justin received a bachelor’s degree in music from Indiana University in 2002. Following his time in the mid-west he completed a masters and a doctorate at the Juilliard School in 2009. He has been an artist in residence at MacDowell, Ucross, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, the Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology, and Art 342.
Justin Messina
Studios
Irving Fine
Justin Messina worked in the Irving Fine studio.
Youngstown Studio was given to MacDowell by friends of Miss Myra McKeown in Youngstown, OH, where she promoted both art and music. It was renamed Irving Fine Studio in 1972 in honor of Irving Fine, a distinguished composer, conductor, and teacher who was a MacDowell Fellow during the 1940s and 1950s. The simple interior of the studio…