Composer Alex Shapiro aligns note after note with the hope that at least a few of them will actually sound good next to each other. Her persistence at this activity, as well as non-fiction music writing, arts advocacy, public speaking, wildlife photography, and the shameless instigation of insufferable puns on Facebook, has led to a happy life. Ever-boastful of her terminal degree of a high school diploma (an impressive feat, having failed 8th grade algebra), Alex lives in the middle of nowhere on a small rock between the coasts of Washington State and British Columbia, and draws from a broad musical palette that giddily ignores genre. Her acoustic and electroacoustic works are published by her company Activist Music LLC, have won almost no awards, are performed and broadcast daily, have rarely been reviewed, and can be found on over forty commercial releases from record labels around the world. No musician or audience member has yet to contact Alex to request their money back. Emphasis on, "yet."

In addition to lavish customer refund policies, Ms. Shapiro is noted for her seamless melding of live and recorded sounds, and for her innovative uses of multimedia in performance and music education. A widely published advocate on topics ranging from technology, copyright, diversity, music education, and the music business, and a likable person from whom you can learn details about python breeding, Alex is the Symphonic and Concert writer member of the Board of Directors of ASCAP, and serves on the Board of Directors of the ASCAP Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the Music Publishers Association of the United States. Alex's music as well as her other, sometimes unusual pursuits, can be experienced on her website, www.alexshapiro.org.

Alex Shapiro (b. New York City, 1962) aligns note after note with the hope that at least a few of them will sound good next to each other. Her persistence at this activity, as well as non-fiction music writing, public speaking, arts advocacy volunteerism, wildlife photography, and the shameless instigation of insufferable puns on Facebook, has led to a happy life. Drawing from a broad musical palette that giddily ignores genre, Alex's acoustic and electroacoustic works for small chamber groups and large ensembles are performed and broadcast daily, and can be found on over forty commercial releases from record labels around the world. Shapiro is known for her seamless melding of live and recorded sounds that often include striking visual and physical elements, and for her innovative uses of technology throughout the composing, rehearsing, and performance of her music.

Ms. Shapiro is the Symphonic & Concert writer member on the Board of Directors of ASCAP, and a board member of the ASCAP Foundation. She also serves as a board member of The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the Music Publishers Association of the United States, representing her company Activist Music LLC. Alex is a former board member of other U.S. non-profit organizations including The American Music Center, the American Composers Forum of Los Angeles, The MacDowell Colony, and The Society of Composers & Lyricists.

Educated at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music as a student of Ursula Mamlok and John Corigliano, Shapiro moved from Manhattan to Los Angeles in 1983, beginning her career composing for commercial media before switching her focus to the concert music world in the late 90s. In 2007 Alex traded the traffic and wildfires of Malibu for the puddle jumpers and wildlife of Washington State's remote San Juan Island. From her home on the water's edge, Alex procrastinates on her next piece by pointing her camera at anything with paws, claws, hooves, tentacles or fins. The resulting, award-winning photos are often part of Shapiro's multimedia electroacoustic works and her website, www.alexshapiro.org, where just as on her blog, www.notesfromthekelp.com, and Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AlexShapiro, Alex's music and images can be experienced separately, and together.

Alex Shapiro (born New York City, 1962) composes genre-blind acoustic and electroacoustic concert works that are heard daily in performances and broadcasts and can be found on over forty commercially released recordings from around the world. Sought after for her seamless melding of live and recorded sounds and multimedia, Alex is acclaimed for advancing the repertoire of the wind band field.

Renowned as a lively public speaker and a widely published author, Shapiro has been a presenter at countless national music conferences and university residencies. She is a frequent webcast guest, noted for engaging discussions on the music business, diversity and equity, copyright, technology, and activism.

Ms. Shapiro holds the Symphonic & Concert writer member seat on the Board of Directors of ASCAP and is an officer of the ASCAP Foundation. A former Director on many U.S. arts boards, Alex also serves on the boards of the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the Music Publishers Association of the United States, representing her company Activist Music LLC.

Educated at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, Alex moved from Manhattan to Los Angeles in 1983, and in 2007 relocated to Washington State's remote San Juan Island. An award-winning amateur photographer, Alex's images and music can be experienced on her blog, www.notesfromthekelp.com and her website, www.alexshapiro.org.

Composer Alex Shapiro has built an unconventional life interweaving her dynamic musical career with avid pursuits of wildlife photography, non-fiction writing, and a devotion to advocacy for the arts, marine sciences, and social justice. Alex's genre-blind acoustic and electroacoustic works are heard daily in concerts and broadcasts and can be found on over forty commercially released recordings from around the world.

Renowned as a lively public speaker and a widely published author, Alex has been a presenter at countless national music conferences and university residencies. She is a frequent webcast guest, noted for engaging discussions on the music business, diversity and equity, copyright, technology, and activism.

Born in New York City in 1962, Alex's primary composition studies were at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. While still a student, she was hired to score a film in Los Angeles and left school to move west in 1983. The first 15 years of Alex's career were spent composing for commercial media until she shifted her focus to the professional chamber music world in the late 1990s. Alex's business and technology skills coincided with the onset of the internet, and helped her globally promote her music and encourage peers to do the same.

A 2008 commission for wind band has since led to Alex's acclaim for changing the landscape of the field with adventurous electroacoustic pieces for all performance levels. With her longtime professional background as a composer and engineer in pop, jazz, film, and concert music, Alex is sought after for her seamless melding of live and recorded sounds for performances which often include striking visual and physical elements.

Ms. Shapiro holds the Symphonic & Concert writer member seat on the Board of Directors of ASCAP and is an officer of the ASCAP Foundation. A former Director on many national arts boards, Alex also currently serves on the boards of the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the Music Publishers Association of the United States, representing her company Activist Music LLC.

Significantly active in issues beyond music, in the 1990s Shapiro was Vice President of the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and balanced her composing deadlines with regular appearances as a spokesperson for women's rights. Alex joined the board of the University of Washington's distinguished Friday Harbor Laboratories marine research center in 2008. Among the works in Alex's diverse catalog are those with social and environmental messages, often accompanied by her award-winning images.

Alex relocated to Washington State's remote San Juan Island in 2007, after 21 years in Manhattan and another 24 in Los Angeles. Her holistic approach to a happy life in the arts in which music, nature, technology, multimedia, and business acumen join with her commitment to the wellbeing of others, can be experienced through social media and her website, www.alexshapiro.org.

Composer Alex Shapiro has built an unconventional life interweaving her dynamic musical career with avid pursuits of wildlife photography, non-fiction writing, and a devotion to advocacy for the arts, marine sciences, and social justice. Alex's genre-blind acoustic and electroacoustic works are heard daily in concerts and broadcasts and can be found on over forty commercially released recordings from around the world.

Renowned as a lively public speaker and a widely published author, Alex has been a presenter at countless national music conferences and university residencies. She is a frequent webcast guest, noted for engaging discussions on the music business, diversity and equity, copyright, technology, and activism.

Born in New York City in 1962, at age 15 Alex began composition and electronic music studies during summer classes at Mannes College of Music, followed by two summers as the youngest composer at the Aspen Music Festival and School. After her 1980 graduation from The Juilliard School Pre-College Division, Alex studied composition with Ursula Mamlok and John Corigliano at Manhattan School of Music while scoring low-budget projects for local cable television. With her teachers' encouragement she left a year before completing her Bachelor's degree when hired to score a documentary in Hollywood. Alex established her first multitrack studio in Los Angeles in 1983, launching what became fifteen years composing for commercial visual media.

In the late 1990s Alex shifted her focus to the professional chamber music world, inspired after scoring a feature film with a live orchestra rather than synthesizers. Her business and technology skills coincided with the onset of the internet, and helped her globally promote her music and encourage peers to do the same.

A 2008 commission for wind band has since led to Alex's acclaim for changing the landscape of the field with adventurous electroacoustic pieces for all performance levels. With her longtime professional background as a composer and engineer in pop, jazz, film, and concert music, Alex is sought after for her seamless melding of live and recorded sounds for performances which often include striking visual and physical elements.

Ms. Shapiro holds the Symphonic & Concert writer member seat on the Board of Directors of ASCAP and is also an officer of the ASCAP Foundation. She is a board member of the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Music Publishers Association of the United States, representing her company Activist Music LLC. Alex has also served on national boards including the American Music Center, American Composers Forum of Los Angeles, The MacDowell Colony, and the preeminent film music organization, The Society of Composers & Lyricists, of which she was Vice President.

Significantly active in issues beyond music, in the 1990s Shapiro was Vice President of the Board of Directors of the 30,000 member American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and balanced her composing deadlines with regular appearances as a spokesperson on women's rights. Alex joined the board of the University of Washington's distinguished Friday Harbor Laboratories marine research center in 2008. A certified sailor who has lived at the water's edge most of her life, among the works in Alex's diverse catalog are those with social and environmental messages, often accompanied by her award-winning images.

Alex relocated to Washington State's remote San Juan Island in 2007, after 21 years in Manhattan and another 24 in Los Angeles. Her holistic approach to a happy life in the arts in which music, nature, technology, multimedia, and business acumen join with her commitment to the wellbeing of others, can be experienced through social media and her website, www.alexshapiro.org.