Biography
Joanna Brouk (February 20, 1949 – April 28, 2017) was an American electronic composer, author, and playwright active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. The surname "Brouk" is an alternative spelling of the Dutch name "Broek," related to the English word "brook."
Brouk earned a B.A. in Creative Writing and Electronic Music from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. in Electronic Music from Mills College, where she studied under Robert Ashley and Terry Riley. Influenced by the rhythms of poetry, the human voice, and natural sounds, she began creating music.
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She worked in radio production and composed music for documentaries and other programs. Brouk self-released several recordings on cassette through her own label, Hummingbird Productions. Her first release, "Healing Music," featured the flute of Maggi Payne. Her 1981 recording "Sounds of the Sea" incorporated field recordings of nature, vocals, and manipulated electronic and acoustic instruments. Her music was recognized within New Age circles but received limited mainstream attention. In 2016, The Numero Group released "Hearing Music," a collection of archival recordings and selections from her cassette releases. In early April 2017, she made her European debut at Festival Variations in Nantes, France.
In 1985, Brouk ceased composing and recording music after moving to San Diego, California, where she married, had a son, and practiced transcendental meditation. Under the name Joanne Brouk, she wrote historical fiction and plays and produced Internet content. She died on April 28, 2017, at the age of 68.
Studio albums
Healing Music (1980)
The Space Between (1980)
Sounds of the Sea (1981)
Golden Swan (1983)
The Healing Touch (1986)
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.