Leila Bordreuil is a cellist and composer working in the realm of improvisation, noise music, and sound art. The New York Times has described her work as “steadily scathing music, favoring long and corrosive atonalities.”
Bordreuil’s cello playing focuses on the inherent sonic qualities of her instrument, paying careful attention to timbre and texture. She challenges conventional cello practice through extreme extended techniques and imaginative amplification methods, compelling us to question what is valued in instrumental performance and why. Her composed works frequently incorporate sound-spatialization by way of site-specific pieces and multi-channel installations.
At MacDowell, she completed the first draft of an hour-long string quartet, commissioned by Issue Project Room where Bordreuil was a 2016 artist-in-residence. The quartet was performed by Mivos quartet at the French Alliance's Crossing the Line festival.
Leila Bordreuil has collaborated with many artists such as Marina Rosenfeld, Eli Keszler, Nate Wooley, Bill Nace, Chris Corsano, SENYAWA, and Michael Foster to name a few. Her work has been showcased at The Whitney Museum, MoMA PS1, The Kitchen, The Stone, Issue Project Room, Café Oto (London), All Ears Festival (Oslo), Ausland (Berlin), Ftarri (Tokyo), and many basements across the U.S.
