Yaz Lancaster is a transdisciplinary artist residing in Lenapehoking (NYC). Their work as a performer, composer, poet/writer, and collaborator is grounded in queer, DIY, and liberatory frameworks. It utilizes fragmentation and collage; relational aesthetics; improvisatory forms; and experimental electroacoustic composition. Through independent study, Yaz spends time thinking about the cultivation of care and intimacy, Marxist/collectivist praxis, and digital (sub)cultures. They prioritize accessibility in all tenets of their practice.

As a violinist, vocalist, & steel-pannist, they’ve had the opportunity to perform at National Sawdust, Roulette Intermedium, MASS MoCA, Swiss Institute, Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, Public Records, Music Gallery (Toronto), and The Poetry Project; and to work with notable artists including Andy Akiho, Dorothy Carlos, Ted Hearne, Leilhua Lanzilotti, George Lewis, Jacolby Satterwhite, and Wadada Leo Smith. Additionally, Yaz has a vast discography encompassing ongoing collaboration with indie-rock artist Miss Grit and their “Follow the Cyborg” record (appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, LP credits, and Remix EP credits), contributing violin & vocals to experimental Kenyan artist Nyokabi Kariuki’s “FEELING BODY,” and violin features on both genre-defying “FINAL SKIN” by 2022 Gaudeamus winner BAKUDI SCREAM & “Derramar | Querer | Borrar” by NJ screamo quartet Massa Nera. Yaz is currently a member of post-genre duo laydøwn with Canadian guitarist-producer Andrew Noseworthy. Their solo debut record AmethYst was released on people | places | records in April 2023 and weaves between commissioned and self-written works for violin, voice, and electronics.

Recently Yaz’s music has been commissioned by ensembles like A Far Cry, Bearthoven, Beth Morrison Projects, BRKFST Dance, Contemporaneous, and JACK Quartet. In 2023, they created digital opera PAPER TIGER with film director Sean Pecknold, vocalists Eliza Bagg (Lisel) + Miss Grit, pianist Mary Prescott, and lead dancer Meg Doheny, produced by Opera Philadelphia. Upcoming collaborations include a 2023-2024 residency with Brooklyn Youth Chorus, electroacoustic sinfonietta for International Contemporary Ensemble, site-specific work with Hub New Music and the Black Mountain College Museum and Art Center, and their first symphonic premiere with the Minnesota Philharmonic.

Yaz holds degrees in violin & poetry from New York University. They are currently co-manager of people | places | records, an organizer with abolitionist music collective Sound Off: Music for Bail, and a freelance (music) writer with bylines in I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, Which Sinfonia, and Musicworks. Yaz lives on indigenous Lenape land, known today as Harlem (NYC) with their little dog Nori. They enjoy powerlifting, horror anime/manga, chess knights, and summers down South.

*Notes for presenters:
- Yaz identifies as transgender & non-binary only. Do not include them in archives/programming detailing “women” or “females.” 
- Their birth year can be listed as (199x).