Elizabeth Kennedy Bayer is currently seeking her master’s degree in music composition at Arizona State University. Her diploma was last seen hiding somewhere in Papago Park. It is a big park, but Elizabeth expects her professors to find it by May 2010. Elizabeth enjoys bike rides, the organic Guatemalan coffee at 3Roots Coffee Shop, Veganaise on top of almost anything, beer, cool weather and her dog, Fig. She has studied voice with Dr. Robert Best (Baylor University), flute with Helen Ann Shanley (Baylor University), and composition with Scott McAllister (Baylor University), Roshanne Etezady (ASU), Rodney Rogers (ASU) and Glen Hackbarth (ASU). Her music has been performed by the Baylor Percussion Ensemble, soprano Joanie Brittingham, soprano Allison Stanford and guitarist Oren Fader and flutist Elizabeth Janzen of the Fireworks Ensemble.

Elizabeth writes for voice, choir, small chamber ensembles, medium chamber emsembles, jazz band, orchestra, limited electronic mediums, string quartet, percussion ensemble… and the like. She writes most of her own text and draws much of her inspiration from poetry, bad dreams and indie pop song lyrics.

Some other inspirations, depending on the day, may range from Joanna Newsom, The Books, John Zorn, Martin Bresnick, David Lang, John Adams, the string quartets of Philip Glass, Amanda Palmer/Dresden Dolls, Ben Folds, Booooooom.com, Sondheim, Hot Chip, Laurie Anderson, the popular drinking show 3 Sheets, The Polyphonic Spree, Luciano Berio to Saturday Night Live.

Elizabeth’s pipe dreams include, but are not limited to, driving around the country visiting music festivals in an old van powered by used vegetable oil and writing an indie pop CD in which the text would not contain the word “you” and calling the album “Without You”.