Biography
Andy Lloyd Josten (b. 1999) is a multi-media composer from Rapid City, South Dakota and Missoula, Montana. His projects have included music for film, dance, podcast, and visual art, in addition to traditional concerts with electronic, orchestral, choral, chamber, and solo performance. His music has been described as “iconic,” “emotionally salient,” and “deeply connected to place.”
The natural world is at the heart of Andy's work, shaped by a deep commitment to environmentalism, conservation, and sustainability. His compositions fuse landscape, memory, and emotional connection, drawing on ecological and geophysical data sonification and parameter mapping to forge direct links between living systems and sound. At its core, his music seeks to bring audiences into closer relationship with the environment.
With a passion for multi-disciplinary collaboration, his works have been featured in the Life in the Land documentary series at the International Wildlife Film Festival and the UM School of Theater and Dance’s Dance in Concert series. His music has been performed by multi-GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Estelí Gomez, Chatter PDX, and pianist Thomas Kotcheff.
Name pronunciation: Josten (JOE-stin)
Photo by Athena Delene
Andy earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition from the University of Montana, and he is currently completing his Master’s in the same field at the University of Oregon. His primary teachers have included Robert Kyr, Bryan Curt Kostors, David Crumb, and Jon Bellona.
Andy currently lives in Eugene, Oregon where he lives with his wife Taylor and his dog Shark. He enjoys backpacking, skiing, birding, photography, running, reading, and board games.
To keep up with Andy’s current projects, connect with him on the following platforms!
CV and Artistic Resume
Photos by Taylor Hill
“If music grounded in tone is a means of sending messages to the world, then music grounded in noise is a means of receiving messages from the world.”
John Luther Adams, The Place Where You Go to Listen: In Search of an Ecology of Sound
Photo by Andy Lloyd Josten