JL Marlor

JL Marlor (she/they) is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist, composer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and educator whose work blurs the boundaries between the personal and political, the collective and individual, and the classical and contemporary. Known for their narrative-driven chamber music, opera, and vocal works, JL’s music draws deeply from Slavic women’s vocal traditions, riot grrrl punk, plainchant, and American protest music. Their work has been performed by ensembles such as JACK Quartet, Wet Ink Ensemble, and LoftOpera, and commissioned by Washington National Opera, American Opera Projects, Spark Duo, Chromic Duo, the DaCamera Singers, and many others.
 

In January 2024, JL will debut her fourth opera, Cry, Wolf (librettist, Clare Fuyuko Bierman,) at the Kennedy Center with the Washington National Opera. This work delves into the lives of three young men descending into toxic internet ideologies, exploring how love, friendship, and genuine care are manipulated within ideological rabbit holes. Drawing inspiration from JL’s DIY punk roots, Cry, Wolf incorporates visceral musical language, including wolf howls and a punk rock drum kit setup, and examines community, danger, and the precarious balance between vulnerability and power. JL's fifth opera, Undone (librettist: Melisa Tien)  a commission from American Opera Project's Composers and the Voice program, will premiere in May 2025.
 

A graduate of Smith College, where she studied with Kate Soper, and Mannes School of Music, where she earned her master’s degree in composition and theory under David T. Little, JL’s work consistently centers themes of social consciousness, radical transformation, and gender equity. Her orchestral piece Saltwater Lung, which focuses on restorative justice, radical femininity, and intersections with the climate crisis, earned the Martinu Prize in 2023 and will have it's premiere in February of 2025. In 2021, she was named a Toulmin Creator in collaboration with National Sawdust for her work empowering young women at El Puente, a grassroots youth-led community committed to justice and activism. Through songwriting and composition workshops, she helped participants create original works as pathways to empowerment and activism.
 

Beyond her classical compositions, JL fronts the indie rock band Tenderheart Bitches, hailed as "arriving on the indie rock scene with something serious to say" (The Wild Honeypie) and included in Them’s list of best new songs by queer artists. Their debut EP High Kicks channels themes of rage, catharsis, and radical femininity, echoing JL’s punk-inspired ethos. JL is also credited as a songwriter and arranger for Seonjae Kim’s riot grrrl adaptation of Antigone, Riot Antigone, which premiered at La MaMa and had its off-Broadway run at Ars Nova.
 

An enthusiastic educator, JL is deeply committed to fostering creativity and equity through teaching. She is a lead teaching artist with the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers Program, The Symphony of Westchester’s Songcatchers program, and a founding member of the American Composers Orchestra’s Sonic Spark Lab. For over five years, she has worked with young musicians across New York City, teaching at LaGuardia High School, The Juilliard School, Harlem School of the Arts, Talent Unlimited High School, and other institutions. Her educational initiatives emphasize community-building, adaptability, and creative agency. With a career that intertwines composition, performance, and education, JL continues to redefine what it means to create music that is both deeply personal and profoundly communal.
 

I9 sun // V/V rising // Tritone moon