Kory Reeder
Evidence of Excellence in the Field
Sawyer Editions
I run the labels Sawyer Editions and Sawyer Spaces. Sawyer Editions is a small-batch label specializing in contemporary, experimental, and improvised music, especially of new and unreleased artists. Sawyer Spaces is an imprint of Sawyer Editions, focusing on art and place: the intersections of experimental music, field recordings, and soundscape. Both labels have received extensive press and outstanding reviews of releases in The Wire, Tempo, Bandcamp Daily, Night After Night, among many others
“Few imprints in contemporary music have made available the work of exciting, young composers with such commitment and taste as Kory Reeder’s Sawyer Editions.” - Peter Margasak (Bandcamp Daily)
Interview with Dallas Observer
List of releases
Feldman and Hume: Intermissions, music of Morton Feldman and Tobias Hume. January 10th, 2025.
Exhaustion/Proliferation, music performed by the Insub Meta Orchestra. January 10th, 2025.
Dissolution Seedling, Ben Richter performed by House on Fire. January 10th, 2025.
enclosures, portrait album of Kari Watson, January 10th, 2025.
green, compilation album of piano music performed by Ashlee Mack, January 10th, 2025.
now is the moment to learn hope, album by Antoine Beuger. November 15th, 2024.
Sometimes i dream of a place where you can whisper with the wind, album by Ángeles Rojas. November 15th, 2024.
Every 17, album by David Q. Nguyen
Rudimentares, album by Emmanoel Ximendes. November 15th, 2024.
pieces of everyday life, album by Ricardo Arias. November 15th, 2024.
Bodies of Water, album by Sarah Hennies. June 28th, 2024.
Ricercari for rainy days, album by Eden Lonsdale. June 28th, 2024.
Supports & Surfaces, album by Paolo Griffin. June 28th, 2024.
With love, album by Georgia Denham. June 28th, 2024.
Weathering, Ryan Seward. June 28th, 2024.
finding some stuff, album by Eva-Maria Houben. April 5th, 2024.
About 409 Million Glasses of Water, album by Noah Ophoven-Baldwin. April 5th, 2024.
Keys & Bells, album by Erin Demastes. April 5th, 2024.
Substantialis, album by Nicholas Maloney & Tony Panella. April 5th, 2024.
Liptovská Lúžna, album by mʊdʌki. April 5th, 2024.
()hole complex (per/fprmance/eration), portrait album by Ben Zucker. January 5th, 2024
Illuminations, portrait album by Matt Sargent. January 5th, 2024
Tracings, by Germain Sijstermans & the prague Quiet Music Collective, January 5th, 2024. Also Mixing/Mastering.
Without Persistent Environments, portrait album by Noah Jenkins. January 5th, 2024
Unspooling, Tim Feeney and Cassia Streb. November 3rd, 2023.
Bird Park Sessions, album by Julie Andreyev & the multispecies studio. November 3rd, 2023.
Fellowship of the Arid Plain, portrait album by Sarah Ruth. November 3rd, 2023.
on meeting again after a long absence, portrait album by Luke Martin. November 3rd, 2023.
Different Wind, portrait album by Andrew Weathers. November 3rd, 2023.
Muted Stones: A Tribute to Yadollah Roayee, portrait album by Bahar Royaee. June 23rd, 2023. Also mixing/mastering.
No grief without joy, portrait album by Lise Morrison. June 23rd, 2023.Also mixing/mastering.
cubes, portrait album of music by Nomi Epstein. June 23rd, 2023.Also mixing/mastering.
this place where i can sit with clarity, portrait album of Mia Windsor. June 23rd, 2023. Also mixing/mastering.
erosion and growth, portrait album of John Eagle. June 23rd, 2023.
Resonance Ecology, portrait album of Garrison Gerard. Release April 7th, 2023.
to be noise and dance, portrait album of Maria Alejandra Bulla. Release April 7th, 2023.
MÚSICA SACRA, portrait album of Sergio Cote Barco. Release April 7th, 2023.
Trails (2019-2022), portrait album of Kevin Good. Release April 7th, 2023.
a practice in taking up space, portrait album of Lottie Sadd. Release January 6th, 2023. Also mixing/mastering.
breathe into the forest, into the bird, into the song, portrait album of Ángeles Rojas. Release January 6th, 2023. Also mixing/mastering.
Six Studies, portrait album of James M. Creed. Release January 6th, 2023. Also mixing/mastering.
Spaces, portrait album of James Romig. Release January 6th, 2023.
Vessels: Spellbook in the House of Hearts, portrait album of Christopher Poovey, Release January 6th, 2023.
Something kept close : outdoor music, portrait album of Christine Burke. Release July 1st, 2022.
Amalgamations, portrait album of Sophie Stone. Release July 1st, 2022.
Empty spaces, portrait album of Lydia Winsor Bridamour. Release July 1st, 2022.
Sounds which grow richer as they decay, portrait album of Sylvia Lim. Release July 1st, 2022.
Abgeewigte linie, portrait album of Forrest Moody. Release July 1st, 2022.
[reckless invention], portrait album of Gabrielle Cerberville, release January 7th, 2022. Also performer, engineer, mixing/mastering.
Designs and Meditations, portrait album of Anthony Donofrio release January 7th, 2022. Also engineer, mixing/mastering.
Less Than You Remember, portrait album of Jack Langdon, released January 7th, 2022. Also mixing/mastering.
v e i l, portrait album of Darcy Copeland, released January 7th, 2022. Also mixing/mastering.
Reviews of Work
· Night after Night, “For the Record: January 10, 2025.” Full feature/interview but Steve Smith. Title: Interview: Kory Reeder. Published January 10th, 2025.
· Chamber Music Magazine. Chamber Music America, Full page feature. Interview by Steve Smith. Title: Time is of the Essence, covering my extended duration works Vespers, A Timeshare, and Messier. Summer Issue 2024.
· Tiger-D, KUZU, 92.9. Live broadcast interview by Sarah Ruth, covering my background and development as an artist from youth to today with broadcasts of selected compositions. Broadcasted live June 8th, 2024.
· sound pudding, full feature and interview. Interview by Adam Scott Neil. Title: A Doctorate in Music: Interview with Kory Reeder, covering my experience as a PhD student and emerging composer. Published February 7th, 2023.
· Prexludes, full feature and interview by Patrick Ellis Title: “There are a lot more of us than just us”: a conversation with Sawyer Editions, covering my work as owner of the Sawyer Editions label. Published March 18th, 2024.
· Dallas Observer, Multi-page feature and interview by Jonathan Patrick. Title: Denton Label Sawyer Editions Unearths the Future of Contemporary Classical, covering my work as owner of the Sawyer Editions label. Published April 4th, 2023.
· AIRIE Asks: Kory Reeder + Thom Wheeler Castillo. Published by AIRIE. Podcast interview with Thom Wheeler, covering acoustic ecology, soundscape composition, and my work in the Everglades National Park. Published July 22nd, 2021.
· Making Noise, Ep. 12 – Kory Reeder. Podcast interview and feature with Adam Kennaugh. Covering my work as a composer and my research in philosophy. Published January 4th. 2024
· r/Composer. Interview for the r/Composer forum on Reddit.com. Title: Music School, Academic Composition, Beyond The Concert Hall, covering my experiences, reflections, and advice for undergraduates considering gradate composition programs. Published July 8th, 2024.
Service to the Field
ICMC 2025 reviewer of Soundwalks and Installations
Digitization and online platforming of the Edition Wandelweiser Records complete catalog (2024-present)
Rosetta Art Collective (Kyoto, Japan) 2022 international call for scores guest adjudicator.
Society of Composers, Inc. 2021 National Conference Peer-Reviewer/Adjudication Panel.
Society of Composers, Inc., Assistant Editor of the News Letter, November 2020 – Present
SEAMUS National Conference 2021 Director of UNT Improv-hosted concert.
SEAMUS National Conference 2021 Peer-Reviewer/Adjudication Panel.
Reddit.com Summer 2020 - Interviewed as featured composer/resource for the forum r/composer, an online community of 84,000 amateur and professional composers.
LaTex regional student electroacoustic festival director and adjudication panel.
SEAMUS 2020 Peer-Reviewer/Adjudication Panel
CEMIcircles Peer-Reviewer/Adjudication Panel Fall, 2019.
CEMIcircles Peer-Reviewer/Adjudication Panel Spring, 2019.
Bowling Green New Music Ensemble Call for Scores Administrator, Fall, 2017.
New Music Gathering BGSU Student Composers’ Concert Administrator May, 2017.
Distinctions
2024
University of Nebraska at Kearney Gary Thomas Distinguished Music Alumnus Award recipient.
Everywhere the Truth Rushes In, Releases on kuyin (Sweden) June 14, 2024. Featured on Bandcamp’s best of Contemporary Classical Music, July 2024
Presser Graduate Music Award, $10,000, awarded to Júlia Coelho to record Kory Reeder’s Tempo For a Do Tempo (2023) evening-length work written for Júlia Coelho for voice and ensemble.
Shortlisted for 2025 ISC World Music Days – Stephen F Austin University/Texas representative.
2023
2023 ISCM World Music Days – Florida International Representative
2022
Fulbright Foundation, Estonia ETA semi-finalist.
2020
Round II Special Diploma, XIV Open Composition Competition named after Andrey Petrov, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Walls of Brocade Fields, for orchestra.
Fromm Foundation Fellow at the 2020 Composers Conference. Brandeis University
2019
Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, Honorable Mention, The Location of Lines, for orchestra.
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Morton Gould Young Composer Award – Finalist 2019, Lighter Shades, for ensemble.
2018
ACSM 116 Award – Finalist 2018 (Tokyo, Japan) EYES:OPEN, for fixed media.
Festival Stradella (Nepi, Italy) – Special Quality Mention 2018. Blue Color Field Tryptic, for piano trio.
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Morton Gould Young Composer Award – Finalist 2018, The Location of Lines, for orchestra.
Bowling Green State University 51st Annual Competition in Music Performance, Composition Division. The Location of Lines, for orchestra.
2017
Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, winner. Award for achievement in Original Composition music and Sound Effects for Incidental music for Hecuba. Written for Jack Garrison and University of Nebraska Theater.
Residencies
Artist in Residence at Tallgrass Residency Program, of the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission. Matfield Green, Kansas near the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. May 2025.
Artist in Residence at Jewel Cave National Monument, Custer County, SD. February 2025.
Artist in Residence at Homestead National Historical Park. Beatrice, NE. July 2023.
Artist in Residence in the Everglades. Everglades National Park, FL. June, 2021.
Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE. August, 2017.
Arts, Letters, and Numbers, Albany, NY. May-June, 2017.