Gretchen is an award-winning experimental performer, sound artist, improviser and composer for film and dance. Her recent soundtracks include Sundance and Berlinale features Free Chol Soo Lee and Midnight Traveler, as well as Bamboo and Barbed Wire: The Story of Minidoka, which premiered at the historic Egyptian Theatre in Gretchen’s hometown of Boise, Idaho. Cassettes and CDs on Full Spectrum and Edgetone Records number among her eclectic catalog of audio releases.
Growing up a science-fiction fan in the wild state of Idaho sparked Gretchen’s fascination with the tensions between nature and technology. Through embodied sonic practices such as soundmapping, field recording and soundwalks, she explores the enigmaticterritories of vibration, noise and musical perception.Years of living in Japan have shaped Gretchen’s approach to aesthetics. She has studied multiple instruments and genres of Japanese traditional music, and her extensive listening and sounding experiences give her a unique perspective on audiovisual media. Gretchen’s scholarly writing focuses on women’s creative engagements with vocal performance technologies in intercultural contexts.Gretchen holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies with an emphasis in Practice as Research from the University of California, Davis and an M.F.A. in Electronic Music & Recording Media from Mills College, along with certificates from the Sawai Koto Institute (Tokyo) and the Deep Listening Institute.