Ellen Fullman, born in 1957 in Memphis, Tennessee, is an American composer and instrument builder. She studied sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute before moving to New York in the early 1980s. In 1981, Fullman developed the Long String Instrument, a 70-foot metallic string device played with rosin-coated fingers. Her debut album, The Long String Instrument, was released by Apollo Records in 1985. Other notable albums include Body Music (1993), Change of Direction (1998), Ort (2004), Fluctuations (2008), and The Air Around Her (2018). Fullman has also collaborated with notable figures such as Pauline Oliveros and the Kronos Quartet. She has received numerous awards, including a McKnight Visiting Composer Residency from American Composers Forum (2010) and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award (2015). Her work has been featured in various festivals and museums worldwide, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Pompidou Center.
