Much of the year 2020 is epitomized by the concept of being deprived of breath. From the lung-destroying effects of COVID-19, to the murderous strangulations of police brutality. From the searing, choking walls of wildfire smoke, to the smothering treason of politicians attempting to asphyxiate democracy.
It was tempting to title this piece, "2020". But the pandemic, the systemic racism, the climate changes, and the abuses of power that churned malevolently as I composed this music, although heightened by a collective awareness, are neither new, nor approaching any resolution.
As quarantine has led millions of people to repeat the same day over and over, a simple theme of twelve notes repeats nine times, painfully slowly, always in the same order. A piano, rather than a wind instrument from which a deadly virus might be spread, offers up one pensive note at a time, paired with an atmospheric soundscape. As people attempt to stay connected to others through the internet, the combination of isolation and technology are a familiar theme.
The static bleakness begins in grayness, becoming only more grim as time passes. Three quarters through, the orchestration gradually fills with sounds made from humans, not computers. The electronic track stops. The technology stops. All we hear are live musicians as the conductor, formerly tethered to unrelenting demands of a metronomic click track, is finally able to allow the ensemble to breathe freely. Phrases climb upward from uncertainty, but of course there is no resolution. There can never be a resolution, because humans are not capable of it. But there can be hope, and breath.
Alex Shapiro
San Juan Island, WA
September 2020
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PROGRAM NOTE for download 
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MUSICAL ANALYSIS for download
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PROGRAM BIO for Alex Shapiro
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BREATHE was commissioned by the Colorado Mesa University Wind Symphony, Calvin Hofer, conductor, with the generous support of Karen Combs and Lynn Wegener.
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A recording made with the live premiere performance by Colorado Mesa University Wind Symphony, Calvin Hofer, conductor, April 27, 2021. |
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MP3: | |
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THE PERUSAL CONDUCTOR SCORE
(email Alex for code access)
PERUSAL ONLY; not for performance or duplication. |
.pdf file of the TRANSPOSED CONDUCTOR SCORE
9 x 12; 26 pages including cover and notes.
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BREATHE happens to be a 12-tone piece (horizontally, only).
Fun factoid: Composer David Ocker has noted:
The name "ARNOLD SCHOENBERG" is an anagram for,
"HER LONG BAND SCORE".
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Zoom, Skype, etc. are wonderful tools for affordably bringing Alex into your rehearsal without having to book a plane flight! She has a great time coaching students, and the difference between their musicianship at the beginning of the rehearsal and by the time it ends, is often remarkable.
Alex can tell the ensemble about how the piece they're playing was created and engage them in conversation, and even show them how her digital project studio works! It's also easy to arrange to have her say hello to the audience during a concert, via a custom video. Webhearsals connect musicians to the real person-- and the stories-- behind the notes on the music stands.
The
best way to reach Alex Shapiro is
through email,
by clicking here
You
can also leave a voice message (or even a fax, if anyone faxes anymore) at:
(270) 916-0093.
To see some examples of webhearsals, and the view Alex loves to share from her desk, click here.
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A December 2012 Skypehearsal with Alex in her studio on San Juan Island, and band director Mary Bauer and Mt. Mansfield Union High School in Vermont, rehearsing PAPER CUT.
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Alex has written an extensive two-part article about electroacoustic band music and the uses of multimedia in the concert world. The essay, titled The e-Frontier: Music, Multimedia, Education, and Audiences in the Digital World echoes the presentations she has given at the 2013 Midwest Clinic, the 2014 TMEA convention, and countless other seminars, and appears in the June and September 2014 issues of the magazine of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, WASBE World. The pdf is offered here with the very kind permission of the organization.
Click here for the full .pdf file 
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Alex loves writing for band! You can listen to any of her other pieces by clicking here |
The
VERY best way to reach Alex is
through email, by clicking here |
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You
can also leave a voice message or a fax at:
(270) 916-0093, and she'll return your call. |
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