Dorit Chrysler, born Dorit Kreisler, is a renowned Austrian born

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, thereminist and sound artist. She has written music for films, TV and video art featured in museum collections such as the Guggenheim and MoMA. Dorit co-founded the New York Theremin Society and developed a curriculum for Learning How To Play The Theremin when establishing the first international school of theremin "KidCoolThereminSchool". She has performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and is featured on the soundtrack of the HBO documentary Going Clear. Dorit has written the soundtrack for "M - A City Hunts a Murderer" by David Schalko and is the founder of "Dame Electric Festival." She has curated Theremin100, a compilation featuring 50 international Theremin Artists to commemorate the Centennial of the Theremin in 2020. Her works have been commissioned for MoMA, Steirische Herbst, the Venice Biennale etc. Promoting the use of theremin in contemporary music styles, she has collaborated with Trentemøller,

Lene Lovich Lili-Marlene Premilovich (born March 30, 1949), known professionally as Lene Lovich ( ), is an American-British singer. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Sin ...

, Cluster, Philippe Quesne, Carsten Nicolai, Elliott Sharp, Jesper Just and many more. She has performed at Lincoln Center, Palais Tokyo, the Louisiana Museum, Coachella, Roskilde Festival, Konzerthaus in Vienna and

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

Biography

Chrysler was born in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and spent her youth in Austria. She sang with the children's choir of the Opera Graz as a child, and studied Musicology at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. Chrysler moved to New York, where she worked as a musician, founding the band Halcion. She has collaborated with artists including

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical music, contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, author, and visual artist. A central figure in the Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimenta ...

, Swans, Anders Trentemoeller, ADULT., Max Romero, Cluster, Chicks on Speed, and Baby Dee. She has performed and recorded as a solo artist since 2000. During this time she discovered the theremin. She has since performed worldwide, including Brazil, Australia, Japan, China and Russia. In 2005, Chrysler and Suzanne Fiol co-founded the New York Theremin Society. Chrysler's musical style consists of electronic pop music, cinematic and experimental compositions. Wall Street Journal hailed her a "Futuristic

Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, long based in the United States. In the German-speaking and classical music world, she is be ...

". ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

'' magazine described her as the love child of

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

and

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

, "with

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin ( ; 14 December 1946 – 16 July 2023) was a British and French actress, singer, and designer. She had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. A native of London, Birkin began her career as an actress, ...

as the nanny and

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

as the wayward Girl Scout leader." Her music has been used in TV, movies and video art, including "Riget" by

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (né Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series ''Secret Summer'', von Trier's career has spanned more than five decad ...

and "A Vicious Undertow" by Jesper Just. She is the producer and curator of the 10 piece Theremin Orchestra at

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Av ...

in Los Angeles, CA. Recipient of permanent residency at Pioneer Works, Center for Art & Innovation and a grant of the Knightsbridge Foundation.

Discography

* ''Schlager on Parade'' - Plastiktray (2000) * ''Best of Dorit Chrysler'' - Plag Dich Nicht (2004) * ''Tiny Thrills'' - Plag Dich Nicht (2005) * Dorit Chrysler / Mico / Monotekktoni / Iris - ''4 Women No Cry, Vol. 2'' - Monika Enterprise (2006) * ''Sea of Negligence'' - Prurience Factory (2011) * ''Avalanche'' - In My Room (2012) * ''Chinatown Evil / Sci-Fi'' - Bubutz Records (2012) * ''A Happy Place'' - Self released (2019) * ''Theremin 100'' - NY Theremin Society (2020)

References

External links

Designer Theremin
a video of Chrysler performing, ''New York Times'' Video, October 23, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chrysler, Dorit 1966 births Living people Austrian electronic musicians Musicians from Graz Theremin players Women in electronic music