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The instrumental and electroacoustic music of composer Alexandra Gardner combines explorations into the rich details of acoustic sound with a visceral percussive energy to create dynamic sonic landscapes. Drawing inspiration from sources ranging from mythology and contemporary poetry to her training as a percussionist, Gardner is building new audiences for contemporary music with an expressive sound and a flair for the imaginative and unexpected.
Gardner's compositions have been featured at festivals and venues throughout
the U.S. and internationally, including performances at the Aspen Music Festival,
The Warsaw Autumn Festival, MATA Festival of New Music,
Centro de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Look and Listen Festival,
Conservatory of Amsterdam, Mobtown Modern, The Library
of Congress, The Third Practice Festival and The Kennedy Center. Her music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles
and musicians such as Percussions de Barcelona, SOLI Chamber Ensemble, bass
clarinetist Harry Sparnaay, saxophonist Brian Sacawa, Contemporary Music Forum/Verge Ensemble,
pianist Kathleen Supové, Ne(x)tworks and The Seattle Chamber Players. She has written a great deal of music
for modern dance, and has worked with choreographers
Deborah Riley, Sharon Mansur, Daniel Burkholder and Gesel Mason.
A native of Washington, DC, Gardner studied music composition at Vassar College, the California Institute of the Arts, and The Peabody Conservatory of Music.
Among Gardner's honors and awards are recognitions from Meet
the Composer, ASCAP, The American Music Center, American Composers Forum, the
Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Maryland State Arts Council, Vassar College, The
Netherland-America Foundation, the Open
Meadows Foundation, the Prix
Ton Bruynel and the Smithsonian Institution.
She has been a composer-in-residence
at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, Liz
Lerman Dance Exchange and The MacDowell Colony. From 2002-2004 she was a Visiting
Composer at the IUA/Phonos Foundation in Barcelona, Spain. In 2006 Innova Recordings
released Gardner's CD Luminoso, a series of six compositions for solo instrument
with electronics. She was a 2008 recipient of a DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities
Individual Artist Fellowship.
Upcoming projects include commissions for the Swiss ensemble compagnie ch.AU, Hybrid Groove Project and pianist Jenny Lin.
For more information visit www.alexandragardner.net
Or visit Alexandra's blog, Building Noises!
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