BIO
Ellis Ludwig-Leone (b. 1989) writes music distinguished by its narrative sweep and attention to subtle shifts in emotional valence. Lauded for his “knack for simultaneously expressing beauty and crisis” (The New Yorker), his work combines lush, naturalistic textures with moments of thorny complexity to walk the line between wonder and dread.
Since coming to international attention as the creative force behind the celebrated indie band San Fermin—with whom he has released five records, three EPs, and two live albums while touring extensively—Ludwig-Leone has composed numerous works for the concert hall and stage. His music has been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, and New York City Ballet, and has been recorded for Sony Classical, New Amsterdam, and Better Company Records. He is a recipient of residencies from MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, and in 2024 was selected as the recipient of the Ellis-Beauregard Composer Award.
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The 2025-26 season saw the premiere of The Woods, an immersive concert experience conceived with director and choreographer Troy Schumacher (New York City Ballet). The extended, sold out run of shows at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn exploded Ludwig-Leone’s music across an enveloping set designed by Jason Ardizzone-West (Lady Gaga, Redwood), with costumes by fashion designer Elena Velez. Other 2025-26 highlights include: In This House for soloist Sheku Kanneh-Mason with Philadelphia Orchestra (World Premiere) and BBC Concert Orchestra (UK Premiere); North Woods, a 20-minute orchestral work commissioned by the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation for Bangor Symphony Orchestra (World Premiere); Ellis Ludwig-Leone: Composer Portrait, a series of concerts of Ludwig-Leone’s chamber music at November Music Festival in the Netherlands; Natural History, a ballet choreographed by Troy Schumacher for BalletCollective; and God is in the Living Room, a musical installation featuring Ludwig-Leone’s collected works for harp, commissioned by ArtPrize for its 2025 festival in Grand Rapids.
The Night Falls, a dance-driven opera with music by Ludwig-Leone, a libretto by Ludwig-Leone and Karen Russell (Swamplandia!), and direction and choreography by Troy Schumacher, premiered at PEAK Performances at Montclair State University in February 2023. Praised for Ludwig-Leone’s “ingenious, gorgeous score” (The New Yorker), The Night Falls was named one of The New York Times’ Best Dance Performances of 2023.
Ludwig-Leone has released two albums of chamber music via his label, Better Company Records: Past Life/Lifeline, an EP of new works for Lavinia Meijer, Nadia Sirota, and Sandbox Percussion; and False We Hope, a song cycle and string quartet written for Attacca Quartet and vocalist Eliza Bagg. Described as “a thought provoking journey across a strange and extraordinary soundscape” (OperaWire), False We Hope has since had performances at Big Ears Festival, Birds of Paradise Festival, Við Djúpið Music Festival, November Music Festival, and more.
Together with his bandmate Allen Tate, Ludwig-Leone is a founding partner of Better Company Records, a Brooklyn-based label with an eclectic roster and an emphasis on collaboration. Headquartered out of Better Company Studios in Fort Greene, the label has seen over 200 releases from more than 50 artists since it was founded in 2020.
Ludwig-Leone has composed for a wide range of ensembles and soloists, including ACME, ADAM Quartet, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Attacca Quartet, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, The Crossing, Decoda, Grand Rapids Ballet, Het Gelders Orkest, Indianapolis Symphony, International Contemporary Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Metropolis Ensemble, NOW Ensemble, The Knights, Orchester im Treppenhaus, Sandbox Percussion, yarn/wire, vocalist Eliza Bagg, harpist Lavinia Meijer, violist Nadia Sirota, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and pianist Simone Dinnerstein.
He works frequently with choreographer Troy Schumacher, and their work has been commissioned and premiered by the New York City Ballet. Ludwig-Leone has composed eight ballets for Schumacher’s dance company BalletCollective, including collaborations with visual artist David Salle, architect James Ramsey, photographer Paul Maffi, and poets Carey McHugh and Cynthia Zarin.
In 2020, Ludwig-Leone worked with playwright Tony Kushner and director Ellie Heyman on The Great Work Begins, a livestream benefit performance of scenes from Angels in America, in support of amfAR's Fund to Fight Covid-19. The hybrid theater/film piece, featuring Glenn Close as Roy Cohn and an original score by Ludwig-Leone, was named by The New York Times as one of the Best Theater Works of 2020.
Ludwig-Leone has a longstanding relationship with the Við Djúpið Music Festival in Ísafjördur, Iceland, where he runs a weeklong artist residency during the summer solstice, as well as a workshop for aspiring songwriters.
Upon graduating from Yale University in 2011, he was a musical assistant to composer Nico Muhly, assisting on scores and recordings. Born in Rhode Island and raised in rural Massachusetts, he lives in Brooklyn.