What Is Noise is an award-winning ensemble that has performed extensively throughout the United States since 2014, when the ensemble made its Carnegie Hall debut as part of their “American Stories” concert tour. This tour included performances in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and New York.

As a non-profit organization, What Is Noise seeks to build community through music by performing culturally relevant concerts that connect audiences with musicians and composers. The ensemble is renowned for championing the works of young composers and providing opportunities for emerging artists. They have collaborated with esteemed composers such as Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Lansing McLoskey, David T. Little, Rob Smith, Daniel Whitworth, Roger Zare, Don Freund, Edward Knight, Tania Leon, Katherine Hoover, and Jennifer Higdon, among others. According to composer Don Freund, What Is Noise has “the kind of energy and ability to project ideas that really captivates an audience.”

The ensemble has recorded two albums for international commercial release: their debut album “Equivocal Duration” on Centaur Records in 2019, and their forthcoming sophomore album “Temporal Echoes,” expected in 2025.

Currently, What Is Noise is the ensemble-in-residence at Furman University for 2023-2026. They were previously in residence at The Parish School in Texas from 2020-2021, featured artists-in-residence with the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County in Maryland for 2018-2019, guest artist-in-residence for the 2016 Young Composers Competition at Webster University in St. Louis, MO, and ensemble-in-residence at the 2015 Taneycomo Festival Orchestra in Branson, MO.

The ensemble has performed at a variety of prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Florida State University Biennial Festival of New Music, Berklee College of Music, Boston Arts Academy, Longy School of Music at Bard College, University of Houston, University of Akron, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina at Asheville, George Mason University, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Missouri, and Hope College, among others.

Formed in 2013, the ensemble’s name is inspired by an idea expressed by Jacques Attali in his book "Noise: The Political Economy of Music," which suggests that music has lost some of its inherent social value as it has increasingly become a commodity. Attali emphasizes the intrinsic importance of the connection between composers and performers with their shared community. What Is Noise aims to build community through meaningful connections made with the music of our time in live performance and educational outreach.

Board of Directors:
Joshua Burel, President
Anastasia Christofakis, Vice President
Justin Page, Treasurer
Cholong Park, Secretary
Keith Hendricks
Lindsey Goodman
Lina Serpil Rotchadl
Dila Serpil
Bob Evans