Elis Czerniak started composing as a late teen during his piano and guitar studies and then went on to play the cello and clarinet. He studied composition with an eclectic range of teachers including Donnacha Dennehy, Sean Reed, Jonathan Cole, Simon Holt and Mark Anthony Turnage, undertaking degrees at Trinity College Dublin and the Royal College of Music, London. He is now back at Trinity College studying for his PhD under the guidance of Evangelia Rigaki.
He has had a number of pieces performed by student and professional ensembles throughout Ireland and London, including Crash Ensemble, Dublin Laptop Orchestra, Mercury Quartet, RCM Symphony Orchestra and the ConTempo Quartet, as well as working with artists and sculptors, creating sound pieces for various installations throughout the UK. Composers such as Nono, Scelsi and Feldman have a great influence on his compositional style, banishing both procedure and structure whilst focusing on the instability and fragility found within pure sound. He has also been performing on the international circuit, touring with his bands 'Alarmist' and 'Halves' whose debut album was nominated for the Choice Music Prize 2010 for best album of the year. He is also a member of both the ICC and AIC.
