drɔ-ˈki ˈow-ɾʊ
Composer | Technologist | Researcher | Educator
| Described as “lyrical, distant, [and] eerie” (EarRelevant), “spatially nuanced” (MIT Press), and “unsettling [yet] interesting” (Cycling ‘74), Droki Ouro’s music longs for the allure of balance and introspection. Droki’s compositions include solo, chamber, and large ensemble music, stereo, multi-channel, and ambisonic fixed media, and intersectional collaborations. Ouro’s recent works engage with musical expectation and temporality an apparatus for composition. Current projects include BLAST virtuosic pianist Matthew E. Driver and the Blast Ensemble, parts two and three for The Universal Design of Composer Equity, a no-input mixer sampler (.nki), an instrument-specific saturator (VST3/AU), and developing FiCRO - a five-point sensor array translating the acoustic resonance of a piano into live control values for Max MSP.
Droki’s composition honors include fellowships with Arraymusic and ensemble vim, commissions from the Mellon Foundation, MUSIQA, and Westminster Concert Series (Hear & Now), residencies with Arraymusic, Arts Letters & Numbers, Westminster University, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and prizes from Ars Electronica Forum Wallis, Ensemble Ibis, Foundation for Modern Music’s International Avalon Competition, MAP Composition Competition, National Federation of Music, N.Scorpion, New York International Music Competition, and the University of Miami. Ouro’s work has been performed by the Array Ensemble, Braeburn Brass Quintet, Deco Saxophone Quartet, Domino Ensemble, E^2, ensemble vim, Robert Black, Lindsay Garritson, Kimi Kawashima, Mirim Kim, and Jacob Mason, and is featured with several record labels including Navona Records, Petrichor Records, and RMN Music. Ouro’s music has also been performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Cube Fest, Diffrazioni, Festival DME, ICMC, International Electroacoustic Music Exhibition, NYCEMF, SEAMUS, and Studio 300, among others.
Droki’s research interests are driven primarily by composer advocacy. Their main project entitled Recent Trends in Composition Calls and Competitions distills inequities of the composition competition ecosystem through a statistical analysis of over five-hundred surveyed opportunities. Recent Trends has been presented at numerous events including the Atlantic Music Festival, New Music Gathering, Northwestern University New Music Conference (NUNC!), and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), and for several forums at Duke University, Montana State University, and Ohio University, among others. At the conclusion of their doctoral studies, Droki was presented with the University of Miami’s Diversity Advocate Award for Recent Trends. Droki is writing the second and third parts to the 2025 resource Universal Design for Composer Equity, published by the American Composers Forum.
Droki co-founded the Mississippi Valley Orchestra’s Composer Fellowship, served as the Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity for the Millennium Composers Initiative for three years, and previously held teaching positions at the University of Miami, Ohio University, Hocking College, and Eastern Music Camp. Before succumbing to temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), Droki was a freelance trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie Tribute Band, Phoenix Brass Quintet, and RVA Big Band. Ouro also co-founded the Largemouth Brass Band and played in the 2017 off-Broadway showing of Guys and Dolls. Ouro directs the modular laptop ensemble JoULE, improvises with no-input mixers, modular synthesizers, and vocoders, curates an online multimedia series called New Music Cafe, develops software in Max MSP/RNBO and Kontakt, and creates sensor arrays with microcontrollers. Ouro also provides affordable composition lessons and consulting opportunities.
Originally from the Washington D.C. area, Droki holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Music in Composition from Ohio University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Droki has studied composition with Lansing McLoskey, Juraj Kojs, Tania Leon, George Lewis, Robert McClure, Allison Cameron, Bruce Russell, and Maria Schneider. Droki is currently an Associate Professor/Director of Music Technology where they teach courses in film, video game, intermedia, electroacoustic, and concert composition, audio engineering, computer music programming, digital art, instrument modeling, live production, sound design, spatial audio, studio recording, and synthesis.
During their undergraduate degree, they were a library ghostwriter for two AAA video game companies and co-opted Droki Ouro and Todroki as pseudonyms. Since 2023, they have continued as Droki Ouro in their creative and research pursuits, but otherwise go by their civilian name. Droki is a father, foodie, birder, and wannabe tea sommelier.
