Sylvia Pengilly studied music composition and education, receiving her Doctorate in composition from the Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati in 1979. She taught at Loyola University in New Orleans, and was the Director of the Electronic Music Composition there until her retirement in 1995. Since then, Pengilly has been concentrating on her own artistic practice, giving lectures and demonstrations and performing her compositions, which often include not only sound, but video, dance and graphics. Pengilly currently resides in California.