Composer | Harpist | Improviser
American-Canadian Grace Scheele is a contemporary harpist, composer, theatre artist, and improviser currently based outside of Toronto, Ontario. Through her creative work she explores the intersections between psychopathology, repetition, gender identity, nationality, and lived experience.
As a soloist Grace interweaves electronics, structured improvisation, and sampling to develop narrative-focused works: reimagining the pedal harp as an electroacoustic instrument. Recently, she composed and performed her film score of Dylan Meitro and Sydney Nicole Herauf's short film How Do Clowns Say I Love You for a live audience during Toronto International Film Festival's 2020 Next Wave Film Festival.
An active performer, improviser, and interdisciplinary collaborator, she has performed in a variety of venues, festivals, and concert series across Canada and abroad. Highlights include premiering an online audiovisual improvisation performance during ImprovFest 2020, making her American debut at Oh My Ears' New Music Festival where she premiered a new work for harp and electronics in Phoenix, Arizona, and performing live improvisations at Music Gallery, Numus Concerts, Soundstreams, Kultrún World Music Festival, Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound, and the Aga Khan Museum's Moon Landing Festival.
She has premiered over 35 solo and chamber compositions for pedal and lever harp. An active proponent of new music, she offers sliding-scale harp composition and engraving consultation.
As a theatre artist, she has worked in a myriad of roles within stage managing and directing. Recently, she was the assistant director for Toronto, 1989, a one-act play written by Aveleigh Keller and directed by Zehra Nawab, originally planned to showcase at Page 1 Theatre's 6th Annual OutFest in May 2020 which has been cancelled due to COVID-19.
Winner of Numus Concert's 2017 Emerging Curator Competition, Grace is a founding member of HARP+, an award-winning electroacoustic improvisation trio with percussionist Dave Klassen and violist Arie van de Ven.
A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honour's Bachelors of Music, she performed with the Improvisation Concerts Ensemble, directed by Dr. Kathryn Ladano. She has performed in masterclasses by Sarah Bullen and Floraleda Sacchi. Grace holds an Associates of Arts Degree from Franklin University Switzerland in Sorengo, Switzerland.