Cheryl E. Leonard

Cheryl Leonard is a San Francisco-based composer, performer, field recordist, and instrument builder whose works investigate sounds, structures, and objects from the natural world. Her projects cultivate stones, wood, water, ice, sand, shells, feathers, and bones as musical instruments, and often feature one-of-a-kind sculptural instruments and field recordings from remote locales. Leonard is fascinated by the subtle textures and intricacies of sounds, especially very quiet phenomena. She uses microphones to uncover and explore micro-aural worlds within her sound sources, and develops compositions that highlight the unique voices she discovers. Structurally and thematically, her creations often reflect on natural phenomena and processes. Her recent work focuses on environmental issues, especially climate change in the polar regions and California and the extinction of species.

Read more on Cheryl’s bio page

Latest News

Performance March 15 at Beauty Supply Arts in Oakland 

Soundscapes of the Seashore – story map highlighting sounds from Point Reyes National Seashore

Littoral featured in The Best Field Recordings on Bandcamp: January 2024

Uncanny Landscapes Podcast: Cheryl E. Leonard  interview by Justin Hopper

Check out upcoming concerts and exhibitions on the events page

Projects