Overview
Coral Douglas (b. 1999, she/they) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist, focusing on semiotics, perception, and communication.
As a composer, Douglas' focus lies within complex textures and multifaceted expressivity, owing much of their musical ideas to the shared space between psychology and music. Her compositions often seek to reinvent traditional linear models through structural innovation. Coral places high value on composer-performer collaboration as an extension of their perspective-based philosophy.
Coral’s music has been played by ensembles and soloists such as loadbang, the Rhythm Method, the Trace Chamber Society, flutist Alina Windell, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Douglas has had her music performed in spaces such as the Vienna Summer Music Festival, the Washington State University Festival of Contemporary Art Music, the MMRC/MARC Festival at the University of Kansas, Walden's Creative Musicians Retreat, and the Flyover Concert Series. Douglas is the recipient of the 2022 Ida M. Vreeland Award in Music. In 2020, Coral was also awarded the John R. Hines Award for her Symphony No. 1.
Beyond composition, Coral is active as a photographer, songwriter, and visual artist. She has served as a youth choral conductor and private lesson teacher, and she firmly believes in the necessity of accessible, diverse music education.
Coral is currently pursuing a D.M.A. in Composition from Cornell University. Coral holds an M.M in Music Composition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a B.M. in Composition and Audio Engineering from LaGrange College. Coral has received instruction from Lee Johnson, Greg Simon, Marcos Balter, Oliver Weber, and Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin.