Molly Pease

Molly Pease is an eclectic LA-based vocal artist and composer whose singing has been described as “sonically mesmerizing” (LA Weekly) and “amazing” (LADC), and whose compositions defy genre.

Molly is noted for original interpretation whether an arrangement of neo-soul artist Moses Sumney’s ballad “Doomed” or the premier vocal performance of Pulitzer-prize winner Du Yun’s “Movement of Rosa” in the critically acclaimed experimental opera Sweet Land, produced by The Industry and directed by Macarthur Fellow Yuval Sharon in February 2020.

As a performer-composer, Molly uses improvisation and extended vocal sounds, merging music, movement and visuals in solo projects and inter-disciplinary collaborations. Her newest album Inner Astronomy, for example, is a multi-disciplinary project incorporating her father’s poetry and drawings with original music, fashion design and collage. For Score for the Near Future, Molly collaborated with sculptor Jimena Sarno, with original music she recorded for a two-month installation at 18th Street Arts Center, and performed live in the space to culminate the project in December 2019.

Molly was a resident artist with Barcelona-based Cel del Nord in November 2020, focusing on work centered around women and the supernatural. She is currently working with librettist collaborator Divya Maus on a new opera exploring myths and truths about women called Hysteria, which was selected for Overtone Industries’ Original Vision development program and April 2021 showcase.

Other recent projects include the July 2020 Fridge Magnet series she organized with C3LA: Contemporary Choral Collective of Los Angeles and for which she was a composer and performer. The concerts provided a live-hybrid concert experience, combining pre-recorded choral music with live sound and video triggering and layered vocal effects.

Molly’s 2018 experimental rock album ACKLAND was pegged as “not of this world” (Emerging Indie Bands). Her original song Transform was recorded by critically acclaimed vocalist Alicia Olatuja and featured on the album Intuition: From the Minds of Women, released in 2019. Molly’s music has been performed at Blue Note Tokyo, The Jazz Bakery, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and Monk Space, among others. She was a 2019 composer fellow at N.E.O. Voice Festival.

Molly’s vocal work spans a range of styles including folk, jazz, classical, opera, experimental, contemporary, and improvisational music. Most recently, she performed as a background vocalist with Björk on her 2022 Cornucopia tour at Shrine Auditorium in LA and Chase Center in San Francisco. Recent solo performances include LA LGBT Center’s star-studded KTLA telethon “Love in Action” in September 2020, a Walt Disney Concert Hall show with Merrill Garbus’ Tune-Yards in January 2020, The Grand Groundbreaking Event with WildUp in February 2019, and David Rosenboom’s Battle Hymn for Insurgent Arts at REDCAT in 2018. Molly is a member of art-pop collective Hello Forever which just released debut album Whatever it is on UK label Rough Trade. The band recently opened for Mt. Joy’s 2021 US tour. Other notable ensemble performances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with conductor Gustavo Dudamel, LA Philharmonic and LA Master Chorale in May 2022, UCLA’ s Tune-In Festival with Kronos Quartet in November 2020, “Riceboy Sleeps” with Sigur Rós stars Jonsi and Alex at Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles in October 2019, and weekly choral and solo performances at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Molly is also part of experimental vocal sextet HEX, the featured ensemble for the 2021 Hear Now Festival. In addition to The Industry’s Sweet Land, experimental theatre credits include The Conference of the Birds with HEX and Resonance Collective in March 2022, hell prepared with theatre dybbuk in August 2019, Katy Cruel with Overtone Industries in June 2019, and Gifts of the Spirit with Ron Athey in 2018.

Molly recorded vocals for Hulu’s Castle Rock in 2019 and performed for three episodes of CBS’ Strange Angel in 2018. Other studio recordings include Sing About It, Tonality’s social justice-focused album on which she is the title track’s soloist, composer Catherine Lamb’s Pulse/Shade, and two two Downbeat Award-winning albums with the American River College Vocal Jazz Ensemble.

Molly has over 12 years of music teaching experience including at Sacramento Teagarden Jazz Camp where she coaches young vocalists every summer. She has also taught at Pasadena Music Conservatory, Rhodes School of Music, and West Coast Music Academy. Molly currently teaches from her home voice studio in Los Angeles, CA and offers online and in-person lessons.

Molly completed her MFA in Jazz Studies at California Institute of the Arts in 2017, and received her BFA at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York.