Cerulean S. Payne-Passmore, PhD, (they/them) is a composer, performer, and electronic musician from Philadelphia, PA. Their compositional practice focuses on collaborative improvisation, augmenting acoustic sound with electronics, and making what seems strange sound beautiful, often returning to themes of grief, the climate crisis, and genderqueer expression. They recently received a PhD in music composition from the University of Pennsylvania as a Benjamin Franklin Fellow and have a Master’s of Music Composition from University of Oregon and a BA from the New College of Florida. In their time at the University of Pennsylvania, they studied with Tyshawn Sorey and studied with Robert Kyr and David Crumb at the University of Oregon. They have worked with numerous performers and ensembles including the Yarn/Wire, TAK, and the Daedalus Quartet. Recently, they have collaborated to create new works with cellist Tom Kraines, bassoonist Dana Jessen, flutist Chelsea Meynig, and choreographer Madeline Shuron. Cerulean is currently on the faculty of Temple University and Wildflower Composers and has taught courses at University of the Arts and the All-City Orchestra Summer Academy. In their spare time, Cerulean enjoys reading speculative fiction, exploring new places, and hanging out with their foster cat, Storm.