CAREY, Elena

Elena Carey is an American pianist, singer and composer associated with experimental and electronic music. She was a member of Gamelan Son of Lion, a New York-based ensemble devoted to traditional Javanese music and new compositions for gamelan instruments.
Carey’s documented composition D.N.A. uses the four nitrogenous bases of DNA as its structural principle. Written for gamelan ensemble, the work reflects the experimental procedures of the period, combining a predetermined conceptual scheme with elements realized by the performers. It was recorded by Gamelan Son of Lion and released by Folkways Records on the album Gamelan in the New World in 1979. The recording identifies Carey both as the composer and as a member of the performing ensemble.
Biographical information about her subsequent career and other compositions is currently very limited.