Bonnie Han Jones

Biography

Bonnie Han Jones is a Korean-American improvising musician, poet, and educator whose work stands at the vibrant intersection of electronic sound, text, and interdisciplinary art. Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised on a dairy farm in New Jersey, her unique background breathes life into a deeply personal sonic language.

Over the last two decades, she has established herself as a core figure in the international avant-garde and experimental music scenes. Her practice focuses on the fluid nature of electronic noise—often utilizing circuit bending, custom electronics, and field recordings—and how it interacts with spoken or found text. This exploration invites audiences to reconsider how we read, perceive, and interact with sound in our modern digital era. Jones’s career as an active improvising artist spans back to 1999.

Since then, she has released an impressive catalog of solo and collaborative works, including acclaimed releases like Green Just As I Could See with Andrea Neumann on Erstwhile Records, and AS:IS alongside Christine Abdelnour. Beyond her solo endeavors, her collaborative spirit has led her to work with diverse writers, filmmakers, and musicians across the globe.

Her dedication to community and equity in tech-focused arts led her to co-found TECHNE in 2010 with Suzanne Thorpe, an organization that develops anti-racist, feminist workshops centered on electronic music improvisation and collective collaboration. A widely respected academic and mentor, Jones holds an MFA from the Milton Avery School of the Arts at Bard College and a PhD in Music and Multimedia Composition from Brown University. Her artistic excellence has been recognized with a prestigious Fulbright Award, and she has participated in notable residencies at institutions such as Elektronmusikstudion EMS in Stockholm and STEIM in Amsterdam.

Recently appointed as an Assistant Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she continues to inspire the next generation of sound practitioners. For musicians, improvisers, and fans of challenging, texture-rich jazz, Bonnie Han Jones offers an immersive listening experience that bridges the physical and the digital, making her one of the most compelling voices on the Catalytic Sound roster today.