Alice Shields facts for kids

Alice Shields (born February 18, 1943) is an American composer of classical music. She is known for being one of the first people to create electronic music. She is also famous for her operas, which often mix different cultures.

Her music is inspired by music and drama from places like India (Bharata Natyam dance) and Japan (Noh Theater). Many groups and festivals have performed her work, including the New York City Opera and the Venice Biennale.

Discovering Alice Shields

Alice Shields is a talented composer who has explored many different kinds of music. She combines traditional sounds with new electronic ones. Her work often tells stories and brings together ideas from various cultures.

Her Journey in Music

Alice Shields has had a long and interesting journey in the world of music. She has learned a lot and shared her knowledge with others.

Learning and Teaching

Alice Shields studied at Columbia University. She earned three degrees there, including a special doctorate in music composition. She learned from famous composers like Vladimir Ussachevsky and Otto Luening. She also helped lead the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, which was a big deal for electronic music.

Besides composing, Alice also taught. She was a professor of psychology at New York University. She often gave talks about how music affects our minds and feelings.

A Performer's Path

Before becoming a full-time composer, Alice Shields was a professional opera singer. She performed in many well-known operas with companies like the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. She even won an award for young opera singers called the George London award.

In the 1990s, she spent a lot of time studying and performing South Indian Bharata Natyam dance-drama. She sang and performed rhythmic chants for the Swati Bhise Bharata Natyam Dance Company. This experience deeply influenced her music.

Since 2016, Alice has also been studying Noh theater from Japan. She works with a Noh performer named Mayo Miwa. They create pieces that use ideas from traditional Noh Theater.

Alice Shields' music is published by the American Composers Alliance. You can also find her recordings on many different music labels.

Her Amazing Compositions

Alice Shields has created a wide variety of musical works. She writes operas, pieces for instruments with electronics, and music just for electronics.

Operas: Stories Through Music

Operas are like plays where the story is told mostly through singing. Alice Shields has written many operas, often with unique themes and influences.

• JACK DUNNE'S’ REVENGE (1966): This opera is based on old English writings and medieval plays.
• ODYSSEY 2 (1970): This opera uses ideas from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and Japanese Noh Theater style.
• SHAMAN (1987): This opera is inspired by Native American shamanism, which involves spiritual practices.
• APOCALYPSE (1994): This opera combines ancient Greek, Gaelic, and Sanskrit texts. It also includes dance in the Bharata Natyam style.
• CRISEYDE (2010): This opera is a new version of Chaucer's famous story, Troilus and Criseyde. It's sung in Middle English or a modern English version.
• ZHAOJÜN – The Woman Who Saved the World (2018): This opera is inspired by ancient Chinese poetry. It tells the story of Zhaojün, who travels to the 21st century to help save the world.

Music with Electronics

Alice Shields also writes music that combines live instruments or voices with electronic sounds. These electronic sounds are often pre-recorded or created using computers.

• El's Aria (1982): This piece is for a soprano singer, a flute, and pre-recorded electronic sounds.
• Rhapsody for Piano and Tape (Hommage to Brahms) (1983): In this piece, a live pianist plays along with electronic piano sounds. These electronic sounds are based on music by the famous composer Brahms.
• Mioritza — Requiem for Rachel Corrie (2004): This piece is for a solo trombone and electronic sounds. It includes a poem written by Alice Shields.
• Kyrielle (2005): This work is for a solo violin and electronic sounds. It is based on old Gregorian chants.

Vocal and Instrumental Pieces

She has also composed many pieces for voices and traditional instruments without electronics.

• Two Amerindian Poems (1965): This piece is for two voices singing without any instruments. It uses Native American poems.
• Sow (as in“pig”) (1966): This is a cantata, which is a type of vocal composition. It is based on medieval English plays.
• Neruda Songs (1981): These songs are for a soprano singer and a cello. They are based on poems by Pablo Neruda.
• The Wind in the Pines (2018): This piece is for a soprano, flutes, a harp, and percussion. It is based on the Japanese Noh play Matsukaze.

Electronic Soundscapes

Alice Shields is a pioneer in electronic music. She has created many pieces using only electronic sounds, often for films or radio plays.

• Electronic Cues for Sam Shepard’s Radio Plays (1966): She created electronic background music for radio plays.
• Incredible Voyage (1967): This was the first full-length electronic music score for a TV documentary. It was for a CBS-TV show narrated by Walter Cronkite. The show used a tiny camera to film inside the human body.
• Farewell to a Hill (1975): This piece uses sounds of bells, ducks, and electronic noises. It was one of the first recordings of electronic music in a special "quadraphonic" sound.
• The Transformation of Ani (1970): This piece features Alice Shields' own voice chanting and singing from the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.
• White Heron Dance (2017): This electronic music piece can also have a video and a live Noh Theater dancer. It is based on a Japanese ritual and explores the idea of connecting with nature's sounds.

Her Music on Recordings

Many of Alice Shields' works have been released on various albums. This allows people all over the world to listen to her unique compositions. Some of her notable recordings include Farewell to a Hill, Apocalypse – An Electronic Opera, and White Heron Dance.

Music for Films and TV

Alice Shields has also composed music for films and television shows.

• Incredible Voyage (1967): As mentioned, this was a groundbreaking electronic score for a CBS-TV documentary.
• Line of Apogee (1968): She helped compose the electronic score for this film.
• Bicycle Music (1977): This electronic score was for a film about sculptor Helene Brandt. It used sounds from Brandt's sculptures, which were made from bicycles.
• White Heron Dance (2017): This piece was created with a video that included computer animation. It was for an experimental dance collaboration.
• Cycle of Apples (2019): This film, a collaboration with Maha Al-Saati, features several of Alice Shields' opera pieces.