Cassie Kinoshi is a Mercury Prize-nominated (2019) and Ivors Academy Award-winning (2018) London-based composer, arranger and alto-saxophonist. As an artist, she performs in her own band seed. as well as being a key member of KOKOROKO and Nérija (as both performer and co-writer). She is a composition graduate of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and is passionate about working as an educator and workshop leader.
‘Driftglass’, her debut album with seed. (formally known as SEED Ensemble) was a Hyundai Mercury Prize nomination and nominee of the Jazz FM Awards ‘Album of the Year’ 2020, at which Cassie was awarded the ‘Breakthrough Act of The Year’ prize in 2019.
Cassie is an in-demand composer for ballet and theatre with production credits including National Theatre (Top Girls), BalletBoyz (Bradley 4:18 and YES), The Old Vic (as part of the Old Vic 12 2016-17) and Battersea Arts Centre (SuperBlackMan).
For Autumn 2021, Cassie was Artist in Residence at King’s Place for their London Unwrapped festival. Her residency includes the world premiere of ‘Three Suns Suite’, a new commission for Aurora Orchestra, the world premiere of echo Cassie’s immersive film installation made in collaboration with visual artist Anne Verehij featuring music from Chineke! Orchestra. Cassie has also curated Synthesis, a night of forward-reaching artists from London featuring Lunch Money Life, Joviale and un.procedure, a new trio led by Piera Onacko with Cassie and electronic artist Nathan England-Jones.
In 2021, Cassie’s new piece ‘Solaristic Precepts’ commissioned by London Sinfonietta was premiered as part of the project ‘London Third Stream’ alongside new commissions by Shabaka Hutchings, Laura Jurd and Elliot Galvin for the EFG London Jazz Festival. For ‘Solaristic Precepts’, Cassie drew inspiration from the philosophical approaches to music and life by the formidable musician, composer and thinker Sun Ra. Kinoshi also led the She is Jazz initiative for Serious’ EFG London Jazz Festival and has released the soundtrack to Bradley 4:18 (originally commissioned by BalletBoyz as part of 2020 production ‘Deluxe’ and broadcast on BBC 4 / iPlayer and due to tour nationally in March 2022) on her own label BeatPrint Records.
She was Mercury Musical Developments’ and Musical Theatre Network’s Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer Scheme recipient at Dundee Rep Theatre and was a part of the London Symphony Orchestra Panufnik Scheme 2018-19.