Alex Shapiro facts for kids
Alex Shapiro (born January 11, 1962, in New York City) is an American composer. She also works to support other creators. Her music mixes different styles like minimalism, jazz, and electronic dance music. She writes pieces for concerts using both traditional instruments and electronic sounds.
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Alex Shapiro's Early Life and Education
Alex Shapiro grew up in New York City. She started composing music when she was 9 years old. At 15, she began taking formal music lessons. She studied electronic music and composition at the Mannes School of Music summer program.
Later, she attended the Aspen Music Festival and School. She also went to the Juilliard Pre-College Division, a special program for young musicians. She graduated from high school in 1980.
In college, Alex Shapiro studied at the Manhattan School of Music. Her main composition teacher was Ursula Mamlok. She also learned from other famous composers like John Corigliano. In 1983, she left college to write music for a documentary film in Los Angeles.
Alex Shapiro lived in Los Angeles for 24 years. Since 2007, she has lived on San Juan Island in Washington State.
Her Musical Career
Alex Shapiro first wrote music for TV shows and movies. In the late 1990s, she decided to focus on writing music for concerts. She has created over 200 pieces. These include works for large groups, choirs, and solo performers. She has also written jazz songs and pop tunes.
She is well-known for her nearly 30 pieces for wind band. Many of these pieces use both live instruments and electronic sounds. She often includes unusual items in her music. For example, she has used printer paper, metal bowls of water, rocks, ping pong balls, and balloons. Her pieces like "Paper Cut" (2010) and "Rock Music" (2016) show this.
Shapiro also uses recorded sounds and sound design in her works. Pieces like "Beneath" (2010) and "Trains of Thought" (2017) are examples. She is seen as a leader in bringing technology to wind band music. She also uses "webhearsals," which are online practice sessions with musicians. Many studies have been written about her music. Conductor Aaron Noe said, "Composer Alex Shapiro's music is cutting edge. She is a master at blending live performance and electronic performance."
Shapiro also writes unique pieces for student bands. Her 2010 work "Paper Cut" was for band, a pre-recorded track, and printer paper. In 2021, she wrote "Count to Ten" and "Kitchen Sync." These pieces teach students complex rhythms in fun ways. "Rock Music" is a piece with no melody or rhythm. "Pop Music" uses a 12-tone row, which is a specific way of organizing notes.
Alex Shapiro did not start writing for wind band until 2007. This was when the U.S. Army TRADOC Band asked her to compose "Homecoming." Before that, she mainly wrote for smaller groups. A journalist named Kyle Gann wrote that Shapiro "can write any kind of music she wants, and she writes only what she wants." He also noted her strong connection to nature.
Her music is on over 40 commercially released albums. Two albums are completely dedicated to her works: Notes From the Kelp (2007) and Arcana (2020). Both were released on Innova Recordings.
Public Appearances
Besides composing, Alex Shapiro is a speaker and writer. She has given talks at many national music conferences. These include The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic and the Texas Music Educators Association convention. She has also spoken at events for The Recording Academy and Chamber Music America.
Shapiro has been a composer-in-residence at many universities and festivals. This means she visits these places, and they often hold concerts featuring her music. Some of these include Capital University, Washington State University, and University of Wyoming.
Advocacy Work
Helping Musicians
Alex Shapiro is very active in the music community. Since 2014, she has been on the Board of Directors for ASCAP. ASCAP helps composers get paid for their music. She is the first woman elected to this position since ASCAP started in 1914. She also helps lead The ASCAP Foundation.
She helped create the ASCAP Composer Career Workshop. This workshop teaches composers important business skills. She has given many presentations at universities like Yale and the University of Southern California.
Shapiro is also on the boards of The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the Music Publishers Association of the United States. She represents her own publishing company, Activist Music LLC. She also advises United Sound and NAfME.
She has helped with programs like The MacDowell Colony and New Music USA. She was also a mentor for the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. Since 2017, she has sponsored The Alex Shapiro Prize for Wind Band for The International Alliance for Women in Music.
In 2021, she was honored by Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, two music organizations. She also received the 2021 Tau Beta Sigma's Outstanding Service to Music Award.
Helping During the Pandemic
In 2020, Alex Shapiro joined a committee to help musicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped write a report with ideas for keeping university music programs going.
She also created an online lesson plan called "Putting the E- in Ensemble." This plan helped students continue music classes from home. Shapiro also helped start The Creative Repertoire Initiative. This group helps create flexible music for wind bands and schools.
Helping with Technology
Alex Shapiro has worked to help artists with digital rights. In 2009, she spoke to the Federal Communications Commission about internet access and copyright. She has also discussed how new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) affect artists. She often talks about technology's importance in the music industry.
Helping Beyond Music
In 2008, Shapiro joined the board of Friday Harbor Laboratories at the University of Washington.
From 1990 to 1996, she was on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC). The ACLU works to protect people's rights. She helped organize volunteers to support civil liberties and access to healthcare. She received three awards from the ACLU for her activism.
In 2018, she received the Local Hero Award from The Friday Harbor Film Festival.
Published Writings
Between 2003 and 2018, Alex Shapiro wrote 11 essays for the online magazine NewMusicBox. These essays were about music and the music business.
She wrote a chapter called "Releasing A Student's Inner Composer" in the 2013 book Musicianship: Composing in Band and Orchestra.
Two of her pieces for wind band, "Paper Cut" and "Tight Squeeze," are featured in the book series "Teaching Music Through Performance in Band."
Shapiro also co-authored the 2020 book The Horizon Leans Forward.... She wrote the chapter "Reaching Out and Bringing Women In."
Her detailed article, "The e-Frontier: Music, Multimedia, Education, and Audiences in the Digital World," appeared in WASBE World magazine in 2014.
From 2006 to 2016, she wrote regularly on her blog, "Notes from the Kelp."
Film Appearances
Alex Shapiro appears in three films by Michael Stillwater: Shining Night, In Search of the Great Song (which also includes her music), and Beyond the Fear of Singing.
Additional Interests
Alex Shapiro enjoys wildlife and landscape photography. Her photos have been shown at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. They were also displayed at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art.
From 1983 to 1994, she was interested in herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians. She cared for many different types of snakes, frogs, and lizards.
Selected Discography
- From a Deep Blue Sky, work included: Train of Thought. Tonsehen Records, 2023.
- Suspended, work included: Suspended. Mark Custom Records, 2022
- Arcana, works included: Spark; Slowly, Searching; Arcana; Piano Suite No. 1, The Resonance of Childhood; Intermezzo; Chord History; Luvina; Sonata for Piano. Innova Recordings, 2020.
- Double or Nothing, work included: Deep. Mark Custom Records, 2018.
- Everything Beautiful, works included: Liquid Compass; Tight Squeeze. Mark Custom Records, 2016.
- 250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven, work included: Chord History. Obst Records, 2016.
- Atmospheres, work included: Water Crossing. Taukay Edizioni Musicali, 2015.
- Excelsior, work included: Perpetual Spark. Cedille Records, 2013.
- The Dreams Of Birds, work included: Intermezzo. Delos Records, 2012.
- An Robert Schumann, work included: Slowly, searching. Obst Records, 2010.
- Delicate Balance, work included: Water Crossing. Aucourant Records, 2010.
- Below: Music for Low Flutes, work included: Below. Move Records, 2009.
- Notes From The Kelp, works included: Slipping; Bioplasm; Current Events; For My Father; At the Abyss; Phos Hilaron; Music for Two Big Instruments; Deep. Innova Recordings, 2007.
- Solo Rumores, work Included: Luvina. Quindecim Recordings, 2007.
- Saxtronic Soundscape, work included: Desert Tide. Centaur Records, 2007.
- Trumpet Colors, work included: Elegy. Crystal Records, 2007.
- Californian Concert: Music of European Immigrants and Their American Contemporaries, work included: For My Father. Oehms Classics, 2006.
- Music for Hammers and Sticks, work included: At the Abyss. Innova Recordings, 2005.
- Coast to Coast, work included: Music for Two Big Instruments. Baer Tracks Records, 2005.
- Beck and Call, works included: Of Breath and Touch; Deep. Crystal Records, 2005.
- New American Piano Music, work included: Sonata for Piano. Innova Recordings, 2001.
- Clariphonia - Music Of The 20th Century On Clarinet, work included: Trio For Violin, Clarinet And Piano. Cambria Records, 2000.
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