Executive Director

Dr. Yuanyuan (Kay) He is a composer and video artist with roots in China.  Her works often explore and intertwine various forms of media to create unique audiovisual experiences that engage the audience. Many of her works involve collaborations with choreographers, dancers, video artists, audio technicians, and stage lighting and design artists. As a multimedia composer, she is very active in the music community. Kay serves as the Creative Director for Electronic Music Midwest (EMM), which is an annual music festival dedicated to programming a wide variety of electroacoustic music and providing high-quality electronic media performances. She is also the founder and Director of the TURN UP Multimedia Festival, which promotes Equality, Culture-Connecting, and Interdisciplinary Collaboration and encourages partnership between different fields, cultures, and genders. She is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona, where she teaches composition, electro-acoustic music, and orchestration. ​
 
During her career, Kay has won many awards and been selected for many performances in the U.S. and abroad. Kay earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and her Master of Music degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin where she studied under Dr. Russell Pinkston and Dr. Yevgeniy Sharlat.  

​website: www.kayhecomposer.com