About Pamelia Kurstin
Born 1976. Pamelia Kurstin is an American pianist, cellist, composer and musician.
Pamelia Stickney (formerly known as Pamelia Kurstin) is an American theremin player. She has performed and recorded with many artists including David Byrne, Marisa Monte, Yoko Ono, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, David Garland, Seb Rochford, Otto Lechner and Simone Dinnerstein, and was instrumental to the final design of Robert Moog's Etherwave Pro Theremin, for which she was the primary test musician. Kurstin has made various film, television and radio appearances, most notably on Saturday Night Live. and in the 2004 documentary Moog.
Stickney has also presented talks at events such as TED. Her background as a jazz musician on the upright bass has led to develop a "walking bass" theremin technique. She was based in New York until 2005; she now lives in Vienna, Austria.
Stickney was first introduced to the theremin during production of the album Into the Oh in 1999 by Luaka Bop duo Geggy Tah – singer/writer Tommy Jordan and keyboardist Greg Kurstin. She recorded Gymnopedie in 2000 as a member of the theremin/keyboard duo called "The Kurstins" with her then-husband, Greg. Her first solo album Thinking Out Loud was released in 2007 on John Zorn's Tzadik label. In 2011 the London-based label Slowfoot released Ouch Evil Slow Hop, a collaboration between Pamelia and Seb Rochford.
In 2013, Stickney formed Blueblut with Mark Holub and Chris Janka. The Vienna-based trio released their first album hurts so gut on Bandcamp in 2014.
Discography Albums 2007: Thinking Out Loud 2013: Promotional Copy 2017: Transcendental Dissonance Collaborations 2020: Vulneraries Vol. 5 (with David and Kenji Garland, credited to The Garlands with Pamelia Stickney) 2011: Ouch Evil Slow Hop (with Sebastian Rochford) 2011: Tunisia (with Pat Mastelotto) 2011: Besides Feldman (with Patrick Pulsinger, Hilary Jeffery, and Rozemarie Heggen) 2000: First Visit (with Gerry Gibbs and the Third Trio from the Sun, featuring Gerry Gibbs and Greg Kurstin) Blueblut 2014: hurts so gut 2016: buttbutt
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Pamelia Kurstin's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Pamelia Kurstin's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Pamelia Kurstin?
American musician
When was Pamelia Kurstin born?
Pamelia Kurstin was born on 28 May 1976 in California.
What is Pamelia Kurstin's occupation?
Pamelia Kurstin is a pianist, cellist, composer and musician.
What nationality is Pamelia Kurstin?
Pamelia Kurstin is American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Pamelia Kurstin. https://biography.guide/pamelia-kurstin/
MLA: "Pamelia Kurstin." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/pamelia-kurstin/.
Chicago: "Pamelia Kurstin." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/pamelia-kurstin/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-21 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:00 UTC