Paul Chavez: Composer/ instrumentalist and sound designer
Paul Chávez is a Chicano composer, instrumentalist, and sound designer whose work centers on the sculpting of sonic textures and spatial experiences. His compositions often involve the manipulation of found sounds, field recordings, and custom-built instruments, resulting in soundscapes that are immersive, atmospheric, and deeply responsive to physical environments.
Over the past two decades, Chávez has worked extensively at the intersection of art, performance, and technology. In addition to composing and designing sound for dance and theater, he is a professional audiovisual system and user experience designer for international engineering firm Arup. His multidisciplinary approach allows him to move fluidly between commercial and cultural sectors, bringing a sensitivity to both artistic intent and human-centered design.
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “deliriously original,” Chávez’s work has been presented at venues such as the Los Angeles Music Center, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Architecture and Design Museum, the Los Angeles Design Festival, Regen Projects, New York Live Arts, the Grec Festival in Barcelona, REDCAT, and Dublin’s Project Arts Centre.
He has collaborated with an array of artists across disciplines, including choreographers Oguri, Roxanne Steinberg, and Sarah Elgart; visual and media artists Carole Kim, Carolina Caycedo, and Architecture Office; and performance artists such as Morleigh Steinberg and Melinda Ring. These collaborations reflect Chávez’s ongoing commitment to innovation through dialogue between sound, movement, space, and visual form.
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition, College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, Studied under composers John Carbon, Hagar Kadima, and installation artist Ann Hamilton.
Graduate Studies, School of Architecture and Urban Design, University of California, Los Angeles
Projects
SELECTED PAST WORKS
November 2024 - LUMINEX 3.0 - Technical direction, video and sound design for multi-artist outdoor video installations in downtown Los Angeles South Park neighborhood (with Arup)
September 2024 - Hatsu-kaze (First Autumn Breeze) - Improvisational Music for new dance by Oguri and Roxanne at Electric Lodge, Venice, CA
September 2024 - Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice - Sound design for Cannupa Hanska Luger's installation at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
September 2023 - Sound design for a podcast on historic soccer player Eddie Hamel
June 2023 - dance comes out of time - Music for new dance by Oguri at Electric Lodge, Venice, CA
Spring 2023 - The Decision Party - Music collaboration with video artists Carole Kim and multiple musicians for Cal Arts' 50th anniversary at Cal Arts, Santa Clarita, CA
Fall 2022 - New Exhibit - Media design, exhibit by artist Carolina Caycedo
Fall 2022 - New Exhibit - Media design, exhibit by Architecture Office for the 2022 Swiss Art Awards
September 2021 - Quilt City - Technical advisory, video installation by Andrew Kovacs at Frequency: A Festival of Light, Sound & Digital Culture at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA (with Arup)
September 2021 - Fabricating Swissness - Sound Design for exhibit by Architecture Office (Nicole McIntosh, Jonathan Louie) at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021, Seoul, South Korea (with Arup)
May 2021 - Time Space Existence - Soundtrack for video on Winterich Studio's public glass art installation Retu(r)ned Oak in Oakland shown at the European Cultural Centre's Biennale for architecture and sculpture, Venice, IT
April 2021 - LUMINEX 2.0 - Technical advisory, video and sound design for multi-artist outdoor video installations in downtown Los Angeles South Park neighborhood (with Arup)
February 2021 - Care Report - Sound design and show control for Carolina Caycedo installation and performance at OxyArts, Glendale, CA (with Arup)
November 2020 - On Memory II: Scaling the Palace Guest performance with DILATE Ensemble: Carole Kim (video), Gloria Damijan (extended toy pianos, percussion), Scott L. Miller (electronics), Luisa Muhr (vocals), Jon Raskin (sax, concertina, electronics, recycled materials), Montalvo Scratch Space Series (streaming)
October 2020 - On Memory - Sound design for video by Carole Kim and writing by Scott O'Connor, Streamed premier via Dublab 21st Birthday Marathon
June 2020 - Open Work - Music for dance by Roxanne Steinberg recipient of a City of LA (COLA) artist grant. With Zenji Oguri (synthesizer), Streaming Performance on Vimeo
Summer 2019 - The Seed Will Search - Sound design for performance with Carole Kim (video), Carmina Escobar (voice), Jie Ma (pipa), Kozue Matsumoto (koto), Oguri (dance), Roxanne Steinberg (dance), Descanso Gardens, La Cañada, CA
Summer 2019 - Shine a Light - Music and sound design for Artist-In-Residence Carole Kim, Descanso Gardens, La Cañada, CA
June 2019 - Big Will - Sound Design with Zenji Oguri for installation by Architecture Office for the Los Angeles Design Festival, The Row, Los Angeles, CA
February 2019 - Façade of Time - Music and Sound Design with Douglas Lee and Erik Blank for performance by Oguri & Roxanne Steinberg with additional music and vocals by Carmina Escobar, Venice, CA
August 2018 - The Shape of Memory - Music collaboration with Nels Cline for dance by choreographer Sarah Elgart, Jacob's Pillow, Becket, MA
March 2018 - ... like foaming water ... - Music for dance choreographed by Oguri, Electric Lodge, Venice, CA
July 2017 - The distance is beautiful. La distance la plus courte entre deux points n’est pas une ligne droite - A collaboration with Oguri and French artist Lola Gonzalez, Grand Park, Los Angeles, CA
November 2016 - Caddy! Caddy! Caddy! William Faulkner Dance Project, music for Lighting Shadow, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
July 2016 - Return to Absence, music for Arcane Collective, Grec Festival, Hiroshima Theater, Barcelona, Spain
April 2016 - Return to Absence, music for Arcane Collective, New York Live Arts, New York, NY
March 2015 - DubLab’s Sleepless at the Music Center, immersive sound installation for video artist Carole Kim, Los Angeles, CA
November 2014 - Ledge, surround sound design for video installation by Ryan Trecartin and Lizzie Fitch, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA
October 2014 - Know What, music for Roxanne Steinberg, The Flea, New York, NY
September 2014 - Follow, music for Sarah Elgart, SB Courthouse for Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, CA
August 2014 - The Singing Head, music with Mark Dresser and Carmina Escobar for video artist Carole Kim, REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA
May 2014 - Return to Absence, music for Arcane Collective, Project Arts Centre, Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin, Ireland
May 2014 - (Memory of) Snow Machine, Sound consultation for Melinda Ring, The Kitchen, NY
February 2014 - Know What, music for Roxanne Steinberg, Four Women Dancing, Miles Playhouse, Santa Monica, CA
February 2014 - Mark Dresser Concert, Sound design collaboration with Moses Hacmon and Mark Dresser for concert at UC San Diego, San Diego, CA
January/March 2014 - Return to Absence, showcasing excerpts of new Arcane Collective work at Electric Lodge, Venice, CA and APAP NYC at ARCANE Loft Tribeca, NY
December 2013 - Cold Dream Colour - BodyVox, music with The Edge for a dance by the Arcane Collective, Portland, OR
May 2013 - Cold Dream Colour - Guggenheim Museum Works & Process, music with The Edge for a dance by the Arcane Collective, New York, NY
May 2012 - Cold Dream Colour - REDCAT Theater, music with The Edge for a dance by the Arcane Collective, Los Angeles, CA
September 2012 - Chart of Landing, Music for choreographer/Dancer Oguri, Claremont College, Claremont, CA
August 2011 - RETHINK LA - Listening to LA sound installation for exhibit at the Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles, CA
September 2011 - Fall Water (Evening In 100 Acres) - Site specific dance score for dance work by Oguri at the Indianapolis Art Museum, IN
2011 - Flyaway, SIte specific dance score for Choreographer/Director Sarah Elgart at the Van Nuys Flyaway, Van Nuys, CA
2010 - Cold Dream Colour, Pavilion Theatre, music with The Edge for a dance by the Arcane Collective, Dublin, Ireland (review, review)
2010 - LA Beyond Cars Installation, Jewel Box - sound design and music for installation by the RailLA organization promoting the development of rail systems in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2008 - SALT, music for Arrogant Elbow choreographer Sarah Elgart, Venice CA
2008 Mapping Idyllwild, site specific works, music for choreographer Stephan Koplowitz and his company Task Force, Idyllwild, CA
2007 - Caddy! Caddy! Caddy!, The William Faulkner Dance Project, Redcat Theater at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, music for choreographer/dancer Oguri and his company Honeysuckle, Los Angeles. Also performed at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Toby Theatre in 2009 and workshopped at the Electric Lodge.
2006 - Drift, Materials and Applications Installation “here there be Monsters”, music for choreographer/dancer Sarah Elgart, Silverlake, CA
Publications & Writing
• Give Us The Power! - BREO Part 4 — Enabling Planet-centric Action (2022)
• Sensory Buildings - BREO Part 3 — Giving Buildings a Voice (and a Face and a Nose) (2022)
• How People Make a Building Smarter - BREO Part 2 (2022)
• The Smartest Building BREO Part 1 — Creating a more Extroverted Building (2022)
• Did The Father of the Mac Predict Miro? (2022)
• A Design Framework for Digital Buildings (2020)
• Involuntary Magicians in These Unanswered Questions (2018)
• In Pursuit of the Intuitive User Interface (2016)
• Designing Idea Machines (2014)
• Masters of Sight and Sound (2013)
• My Own Private Conference Room (2009)
Press & Reviews
• “Whether bending backwards as if channeling Paul Chavez’ otherworldly sounding music... dancer Roxanne Steinberg proved a master of the body.” – Victoria Looseleaf, Fjord Review
• “They stride purposefully... the friction of its legs against the ground producing a sustained drone that complements Paul Chavez's rich soundscape.” – Michael Seaver, Irish Times
• “The soundscore by Feltlike with Paul Chavez and The Edge was sympathetic to the tonal changes onstage...” – Michael Seaver, Irish Times
• “Accompanied by Paul Chavez's deliriously original score (performed live), Oguri pierced the heart of Southern family darkness...” – Victoria Looseleaf, LA Times
Contact
📧 paulchavezdesigns@gmail.com
🌐 https://waterrock.org@pmcwaterrock