Yvette Janine Jackson is a composer and sound artist whose compositions have been heralded as “immersive non-visual films” (The Guardian).  A Los Angeles native, Jackson was introduced to the world of tape splicing, analog synthesis, and computer music at the historic Columbia Computer Music Center in New York before designing sound for theatre in the San Francisco Bay Area where she was awarded the first Theatre Bay Area Eric Landisman Fellowship for Designers and the Dean Goodman Choice Award for Sound Design for The Shape of Things.  She blends these experiences into her own aesthetic of narrative soundscape composition dubbed “radio opera.” 

Jackson’s electroacoustic, chamber, and orchestral compositions have been commissioned internationally for concert, theatre, installation, and screen.  Jackson’s projects often draw from history to examine relevant social issues. Her album Freedom is described as “one of the most unique releases to chronicle the Black American experience” (The Wire).  She has composed for Elisa New’s PBS series Poetry in America and Barclay DeVeau’s The Cassandra Project short film trilogy. Recent projects include Hello, Tomorrow! for orchestra and electronics co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and American Composers Orchestra; T-Minus, A Radio Opera commissioned by the International Contemporary Ensemble; and Extant, an interactive composition for bass clarinet, cello, and game engine at ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany. Her permanent installations Underground (Codes) and Destination Freedom can be experienced at Wave Farm in Acra, New York, and the International African American Museum in Charleston. 

Jackson performs modular synthesizers as a solo artist and formed Radio Opera Workshop to perform her compositions, debuting at the Venice Music Biennale in 2022.  The collective has featured Tommy Babin, Amy Cimini, Tia Fuller, Joy Guidry, Judith Hamann, Dawn Norfleet, Jonathan Piper, Davindar Singh, Esperanza Spalding, Rajna Swaminathan, Malesha Jessie Taylor, and Taiga Ultan.