A note from Michelle

The RPS Isserlis Scholarship is supporting me to attend the 2025 Darmstadt Summer Course, where I will be honing my practice in contemporary and experimental music. Over the course of two weeks, I will be working on extended techniques; premiering a new piece written for me by composer Jellal Koay; working on new chamber music; and presenting an improvisation workshop based on Zadar’s Sea Organ, in addition to attending workshops, lectures, and concerts to help deepen my practice. 

The Darmstadt Summer Course is known as an international platform for contemporary and experimental music. The opportunity to study and work here for two weeks is immensely helpful for me wanting to pivot more of my practice into these spaces and to confidently bring my projects and collaborations to life.

Biography

Michelle Hromin is a Croatian-American multidisciplinary artist based in London, specializing in contemporary and experimental clarinet performance and writing. 

As an in-demand clarinettist, she has toured across North America and Asia as a member of the Colin Currie Group and at the 2023 BBC Proms. She has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Barbican Centre, Tokyo Opera City, Iklectik, and worked with groups such as eighth blackbird, Ensemble Modern, English National Opera, London Concert Orchestra, Barefoot Opera, London Mozart Players, Fifth House Ensemble, Lisa Bielawa’s Broadcast from Here series, and International Contemporary Ensemble. 

An advocate for new and experimental music, Michelle made her solo debut at Cafe OTO in January 2024. She has commissioned and performed dozens of new works, including as a 2022 Fellow with Bang on a Can and as 2023 eighth black Creative Lab Fellow. Her performance project Kalendar: 12 Miniatures for 2021 brought awareness to her Croatian heritage through improv-based clarinet works informed by the months of the Slavic calendar. The two-volume EP was self-released on Bandcamp. She has also worked with composers on the London Symphony Orchestra Soundhub Scheme, and touring new commissions with UPROAR Wales. She is currently working on her solo album, Present Tense, of works for clarinets and pedals, due to be released in 2026.

Michelle is the Artistic Director of Standard Issue, a new music collective aiming to explore the archetypal boundaries within music and its culture. She performs, curates, and commissions new works with the group to promote experimental music accessibility and inclusivity. Standard Issue was recently featured as part of BBC Radio 3's New Music Show, and was Sound and Music's 2024 In the Making Ensemble In Residence.