Sean ivy

Sean ivy (they/he)  is a composer, theatre artist and music teacher from New Jersey. They specialize in musicals, songwriting, collaborative composition and music direction. They wrote the music, book and lyrics for Rita, the Cleaning Lady: A New Musical and produced its world-premiere workshop performance at Mason Gross with Thinkery & Verse. 

At the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, they music directed, arranged music, and performed for the critically-acclaimed transnational drama Bride of the Gulf, which was created for the Fringe by Thinkery & Verse. They also performed/music directed/composed for the 2019 Thinkery & Verse production Thou Shalt Not and was a member of the creative team for ReThink Theatrical’s 2021 production of Anansi’s Story Festival. 

They participated in the 2017 NYMF Musical Songwriting Workshop, where they studied with Anna Jacobs and participated in a masterclass with Brian Lowdermilk. They also participated in the 2019 coLAB Arts 48 Hour Musicals, where they wrote the music and lyrics to the 15-minute musical One 2A Nother, about gun safety and red flag laws, in collaboration with the advocacy group Moms Demand Action. At Rutgers, Sean had the opportunity to collaborate with the Mason Gross dance department on their yearly BFA Senior Solo/Duet concerts and also created instrumental chamber pieces with Split the Lark New Music Ensemble and Helix! New Music Ensemble.

As a performer, Sean traveled to the International Choral Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany with the Rutgers University Kirkpatrick Choir, where they performed with choirs from around the world and earned fifth place. Sean also performed at Lincoln Center, the ACDA choral festival and New Brunswick, NJ with KC. In 2017, they performed as an opera chorus singer with the Princeton Festival in their production of Fidelio. He has also performed in many plays and musicals, including Urinetown (Lockstock), Fun Home (keyboard/MD), Cats (Coricopat), and shows with Thinkery & Verse and ReThink Theatrical.

Sean is also an accomplished music teacher and director. They have taught lessons to ages 6-60, and they holds their PK-12 New York and New Jersey teaching licenses in music. Sean currently teaches elementary music for the New York City Department of Education.

Sean holds a BM in Music Composition and Vocal Music Education from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.