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Alex Shapiro, composer email

 

Articles, chapters, interviews, and appearances

 

 

Alex Shapiro loves to write! And, speak. And, shoot nature photographs. And, of course, compose... and all of these activities are quite interconnected! Take a scroll down through some of her published thoughts...



...and to read the thought of the moment, peruse her offerings on FaceBook, and visit her archived pixel-sonic blog, Notes from the Kelp, and join Alex, and a lot of wildlife, on their rural island.

 

blog link

 

Alex Shapiro

 

 

CLICK TO SEE:

 
 

 

Articles and interviews

 

Chamber Music

 

Alex is the featured artist in Kyle Gann's wonderful American Composer series that appears in the May/June 2008 issue of Chamber Music magazine. Read what Gann has to say about Alex's unusual background and appoach to her work.


Click here to open the .pdf read

American Composer

 

 

 

A peek into what makes Alex tick (and, tock) can be gleaned from this wonderful May 2023 profile piece that Amanda Cook wrote for I Care If You Listen. To read, click on the image at right.

 

Click here to open the .pdf read

 

ICIYL

 

 

 

Greg Sandow is the author of an insightful blog on the future of classical music, and invited Alex to be a guest blogger in March 2013. Click here to see what she has to say on the subject of artists and the significance of social media, in her essay titled, E-ing There.

Read E-ing There online read

 

 

Click here to open the .pdf read

 

Sandow

read

read

 

Prior to Alex's participation as Composer-in-Residence for Capital University's 2023 NOW Music Festival, she gave a revealing interview for its Capital Stories series.


Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

The second edition of Spain's wind band publication Estudios Bandisticos features a lengthy interview that Alex gave to Camila Fernández over breakfast in December 2017 at Lincoln Center in New York City.


To read what Alex had to say in this wide-ranging conversation, click here. read

 

Article

read

 

Shortly after the release of Alex's 2020 Innova Recordings release ARCANA, an album recorded by Adam Marks of Alex's complete solo piano works, Alex gave an interview to a British blog called Meet the Artist, in which she discusses a broad range of topics, and which includes a video of Adam performing a track from the album.


Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

 

 

An island path. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

NewMusicBox

 

 

NewMusicBox is the online magazine and blog for the national advocacy organization New Music USA. It is also the publication for which Alex has written the most articles, and each is linked below.

 

 

read

 

NewMusicBox's September 2018 posts include an article Alex wrote titled Dissing the Competition, that exposes the myriad problems with some pay-to-enter composer compeitions and lists many better ways emerging writers can spend their money.


Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 
 

 

Alex's challenging thoughts on the new digital paradigm, the internet, free speech and the meaning of net neutrality to all artists, were published in three January 2010 essays for the online magazine NewMusicBox.

 
 

Read The Economy of Exposure:
Publicity as Payment?
here
read


Click here to open the .pdf read

read
 

Read What I Learned About My Tiny Business
From Paramount Pictures
here
read


Click here to open the .pdf read

read
 

Read As Important as the Printing Press:
Net Neutrality and Artists' Freedom
here
read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

read

 

 

 

NewMusicBox offers an excellent platform for debate between colleagues, and upon reading an essay in which author R. Andrew Lee proclaimed that art and entrepreneuship cannot coexist, Alex penned this response, You're An Artist AND An Entrepreneur,
published August 2014.


Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

read
read

 

Alex was asked to contribute her thoughts to NewMusicBox's April 2016 series about music and money, and delivered a piece titled Let's Make a List, that many college professors are already making required reading for their composition students. In it, Alex offers a detailed road map to point music-makers toward the many revenue streams that can be generated from their copyrights.

Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

When NewMusicBox editor Frank J. Oteri asked Alex to write an article about artists and website promotion techniques, Alex was happy to do so. But beginning work on the essay, she realized that there are three distinctly nonmusical concepts behind anyone's ability to promote their work: a sense of self worth, an abundant attitude, and a connection to the joy of what they do. Thus, a larger article was borne, and published November 2007. Here is the first part:

All the Things You Are: Five Suggestions
for Composing Your Happiness.



Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

read
read

 

Here is the second part of Alex's writing for NewMusicBox about the significance of the internet for composers, and how they can use their web presence to create income.

Making an Asset Out of Your eSelf,
appears in the April 2008 issue.

 

Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

 

Upon her return from the enormous National Performing Arts Convention in Denver, Alex summarized her observations about the experience in her June 2008 NewMusicBox article, The Impact of NPAC.

Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 


read
read

 

 

Alex was asked to contribute her thoughts to the September 2003 issue of NewMusicBox, addressing the topic of musical monikers such as neo-romanticism. Read what she had to say about today's concert music, the meaningless terms that attempt to categorize it, and why there's never been a better time to be a composer, in her response to, Would You Describe Yourself as a Neo-Romantic? Why (Not)?.


Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

 

How do you take a relatively dull subject and make it bearable as well as informative? Find out when you read Alex's explanation of DBAs for composers in her October 2005 NewMusicBox article, DBA: Three Good Notes, Three Necessary Initials.


Click here to read it online read

 

Click here to open the .pdf read

 


read

 

 

 

island schooner. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

 

Sheet Music Plus features Alex and her career in a wide-ranging piece for its September 2019 Take Note blog. Read about the connection between music, activism, multimedia, and yes, even Beethoven, by clicking the icon at right, or here. read

 

Minnesota Public Radio's Your Classical division created a Top Ten list of wind band composers, to expand the public's knowledge of the genre. Alex [randomly!] came in at #2 after Sousa. You can peruse the list by clicking the icon at right, or here. read

 

 

Sheet Music PlusTake Note

 

MPR Your Classical

 

 

On Molly Sheridan's creative blog Mind the Gap, Alex Shapiro was one a few invited new music web denizen to weigh in on the premises in the book The Whuffie Factor, by Tara Hunt. Alex opened the conversation with a post that codifies her thoughts on artists and the professional relationships they create with new social network technology: Selling Everything, 2.0--The Jig Goes Public, published July 2009.


Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

Mind the Gap


 

The following year, Molly Sheridan once again invited the blogizens back for a discussion titled Creative Rights & Artists, and Alex had a lot to say on the topic (as always!). That thread was published in July 2010.

Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 
 

 

Alex openly discusses a broad range of topics in her ten-page autobiographical lead article, Compose, Communicate and Connect for the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music, Spring 2005 issue. The article was reprinted with permission in two parts for the Autumn 2005 and Winter 2006 issues of the American Composers Forum magazine, Sounding Board.

Alex shares her ideas about...



• numerous ways to conquer writer's block
• collaborating with instrumentalists
• composing for self, musicians & listeners
• the topic of gender
• community involvement
• business tools and techniques
• her first 21 years in New York City

 

 

 

Click here to open the
Sounding Board .pdf
read

 

Sounding Board cover

 

 

Click here to open the .pdf of the
longer version for IAWM:
read



IAWM Journal cover

 

 

 

 

An island atoll. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

Sounding Board

Alex's detailed description about composing a middle school electro-acoustic wind band piece for her BandQuest commission is the cover of the July/August 2010 issue of Sounding Board, the magazine of the American Composers Forum. Click to read, Shredding With the 7th Grade!

Click here to open the .pdf read

Sounding Board

 

Alex's feature article about composing a wind band piece for the U.S. Army is the cover of the July 2008 issue of Sounding Board, the magazine of the American Composers Forum. The twist to the story: the Commander found Alex on... MySpace!

Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

21st Century Music

 

Musician and librarian Tom Moore interviewed Alex for an in-depth view of her life and work, in the October 2010 issue of 21st Century Music. Click below to read her thoughts on passion, motivation and how hitting the wrong notes while playing Beethoven might turn a kid into a composer.

Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

Alex has a lot to say about the connection between living an emotional life and composing emotional music in her March 2008 interview for the online magazine Tokafi read



Click here to read it online read

 

Click here to open the .pdf read

 

Tokafi

 

 

 

Alex's direct opinions on life and music can be enjoyed in an August 2006 interview for Tokafi titled, 15 Questions to Alex Shapiro.read

Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

You can read the October 2011 interview Alex gave to the terrific organization, Composers & Schools in Concert, to get a sense of her enthusiasm about professional musicians working with young students.

Click here to open the file read

 

 

CSIC

In 2012, CSIC commissioned Alex to embark on a new electroacoustic work for high school band: TIGHT SQUEEZE. You can click here to read the March 2013 interview CSIC did with Alex and conductor Miller Asbill read

Click here to open the file read

 


 

CMA

 

Blogging: How to Build an Audience Without Leaving Home



Alex Shapiro, Jerry Bowles, editor of the new music blog Sequenza 21, and Drew McManus, author of Adaptistration.com, gave a panel presentation about blogging at the January 2006 National Chamber Music America Conference in New York City. Here's the handout guide they created, to assist anyone launching a blog.



Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aerial view of Alex's home. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

 

Adaptistration

 

Orchestra consultant Drew McManus invited several colleagues to share their ideas about bringing pals to the symphony for Take A Friend To Orchestra month. In Alex's April 2006 essay for McManus' well trodden blog, Adaptistration, absolutely nothing is sacred! Enjoy her unorthodox take on the subject, along with the subsequent comments and return volley she offered... fasten your seat belt.



Alex's and many other TAFTO essays were made available in physical, bound form in the 2006 book, Take a Friend to the Orchestra, and can be enjoyed online by visiting this index. read



Click here to read it online read


Click here to open the .pdf read

 

 

 

TAFTO  

 

WASBE World

 

 

Alex has written an extensive two-part article on the subject of her clinic presentations on new media in the band world. The essay, titled The e-Frontier: Music, Multimedia, Education, and Audiences in the Digital World, appears in the June and September 2014 issues of the magazine of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, WASBE World.



CLICK HERE to read the full pdf of the article, offered with the kind permission of WASBE. read

 

 

WASBE World

 

   

Vegetarian Times

Here's a short Q & A that The Vegetarian Times did with Alex for their July 2008 magazine. No animals were harmed in the making of this interview.

Click here to open the .pdf read

New Music Forum

See what Alex divulges in her biographical interview for the August 2002 issue of New Music Forum magazine about musical passion, musical business, and musical codependency.

Click here to open the .pdf read

Islands Sounder

Read what Alex had to say about attracting audiences to new music, in her September 2008 essay, The Joy of Discovery, for the Orcas Island newspaper Islands Sounder.

Click here to open the .pdf read

My Auditions

Read Alex's chat on the networking website forum, My Auditions where she was the August 2006 featured guest.

Click here to open the .pdf read

   

 

 

 

Bald Eagle. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

Book chapters

 

 

Alex is one of six co-authors of the new book, The Horizon Leans Forward...Stories of Courage, Strength, and Triumph of Underrepresented Communities in the Wind Band Field, released by GIA Publications December 2020.

 


Edited by conductor Erik Kar Jun Leung (Oregon State University), the book includes Ms. Shapiro's chapter, Reaching Out and Bringing Women In, along with those from composer Jodie Blackshaw and conductors Alfred L. Watkins, Robert Taylor (University of British Columbia), Courtney Snyder (University of Michigan), and Erik Leung, each of whom address perspectives of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA2S+ composers and conductors of the past and present.

 


Additionally, the publication includes a notable annotated bibliography of works by underrepresented composers.

 


To read more about the book and to order a hard copy,
click HERE:
Order book from GIA

 


To order the digital copy, click HERE: Order digital book from Amazon

 

 

GIA Publications

GIA Publications

 

Alex gets excited about educating the musicians and listeners of the future, through her music and her writings. Two of her electroacoustic wind band pieces for high school musicians, TIGHT SQUEEZE, and PAPER CUT, are featured in the book/CD series, Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, Volume 10, edited by Eugene Migliaro Corporon and released by GIA Publications December 2014.



Alex is the author of a chapter in the 2013 GIA Publications book titled, Musicianship: Composing in Band and Orchestra, edited by Clint Randles and David Stringham. Her offering is called Releasing a Student's Inner Composer, and explores myriad ways to encourage young creativity-- by sharing the same methods she uses in her own work.



Both books can be obtained through the PURCHASE page of this website.



Click on Alex, below, to watch a short, 1:40 video about her chapter in the book:

 

Teaching Music Through Performance
 

 

Alex Shapiro describes her chapter

Here's Alex describing the chapter she wrote for
Musicianship: Composing in Band and Orchestra.

 

 

Bello-Shapiro interview

 

In 2021 as part of the completion of his DMA in conducting at Northwestern University, former U.S. Air Force Band Principal Euphonium player Joseph Bello wrote a lecture/recital research document titled, RECOGNIZING UNDERREPRESENTED COMPOSERS IN THE WIND BAND COMMUNITY: FOSTERING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI).



The paper concludes with two lengthy interviews: one with Erik Leung, the author and editor of The Horizon Leans Forward..., and another with one of the book's other five authors, Alex Shapiro. In her conversation with Mr. Bello Alex touched on a broad spectrum of DEI issues which you can read by clicking HERE. Bello interview To read Bello's entire, informative report, please email Joseph Bello.

 

 

 

 

Fog over the bay. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

Video interviews

 

 

2020-2021 quickly became Zoom-dependent years in which Alex, surrounded by the glowing gear of her studio and already a longtime online video regular, appeared in countless webinars, panel discussions and interviews. Click below to listen to conversations ranging from diversity and inclusion, to education, to adaptable music, to technology, and to... her own works!

 

 


 

 

A recent interview

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 2021

 

Conductor and composer Michael Shapiro (no relation) produces a webcast titled INTERPLAY featuring some of today's most active composers, performers, and conductors. In May 2021 he spoke with Alex about her newest creations-- including her new wind symphony, SUSPENDED, and about the past, present and future of electroacoustic writing.

 



 

 

A recent lecture

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2022

 

During Alex Shapiro's April 2022 residency as the Commissioned Composer at University of Wisconsin River Falls, she gave an extended talk to the music students and faculty. Topics included:

Kindness, graciousness and empathy;

A personal overview of 45 years of music technology, from 1977 to the present;

How technology has changed the music world for the better: artistically, financially, and in equity, by providing access to those who formerly had none;

The newest tech: AI, bots, immersive VR, and multimedia;

General advice to composers:

Web presence and skill sets for self sufficiency: coding, music prep, engineering;
How to get tasks done when everything seems daunting;
How to create composing time;
And a LOT more. Click below to join the class!


 



 

 

Selected 2020-2022 WEBINARS and PANELS:

 

 

Alex's Music and Composing Process:

 

 

   
watch
watch
Beyond The Notes Music Festival,
hosted by conductor and educator Chris Gleason
May 2020

Virginia Winds Academy:
Alex talks to Middle School musicians
January 2021

 

watch

 

watch

CBDNA Webinar Series:
Impact and Activism:
Multimedia and the Wind Band World
June 2020

NAfME: Exploring the Creating Process
with Three Composers
June 2020

 

watch

 

watch

WASBE Worldwide Winds series:
Alex Shapiro with Emily Moss
January 2021

Maestro Moments with Wind Conductor:
Alex Shapiro with Aaron Noe
April 2021

 

watch

 

watch

Music Ed Mentor Podcast:
Alex Shapiro with Adam Kennaugh
August 2021

Stoney Creek High School
Q&A
March 2020

 

watch

 

watch

University of Washington Wind Ensemble:
Interview with Alex Shapiro
September 2021

Ashland High School Band
Q&A
April 2021

 

watch

 

watch

Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra:
Conversation with Alex Shapiro
March 2022

Through the Eyes of the Composer:
Alex Shapiro with Paul Crider
May 2022

   

 

Sunset. Photo by Alex Shapiro.



 

 

 

Adaptable Music:

 

 

 

 
watch
watch
Music for All: What Now & How:
Delivering Solutions for Instrumental
Music Education during COVID-19
May 2020

Spencer Arias: What is Adaptable Repertoire?
With Creative Repertoire Initiative
September 2020

 

watch

 

watch

ACB Connects! Session #3:
Discussing Adaptable Music with the
Creative Repertoire Initiative
September 2020

NAfME Webinar:
Creative Repertoire Initiative
August 2020

 

 

 

Diversity and Inclusion:

 

 

 
watch
watch
The Recording Academy Conversations:
The Institute for Composer Diversity
October 2020

Hey Band! Network:
Institute of Composer Diversity
August 2020

 

watch

 

watch

Inclusive Programming
Composer Collaboration
May 2020

WASBE Worldwide Winds series:
Alex Shapiro with Emily Moss
January 2021

 

watch

 

watch

GIA Publications:
Authors of The Horizon Leans Forward
discuss the book
February 2021

Graduate Wind Conductors Assn.:
Authors of The Horizon Leans Forward
discuss the book
March 2021

 

watch

 
Social Emotional Learning Through Music:
Episode 11, Authors of
"The Horizon Leans Forward"
May 2021

 
   

 

Cormorants at the ferry landing. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 



mv

 

Social Emotional Learning:

 

 

 

 

watch

 

watch

Teaching Social Emotional Learning Through Music:
Episode 1: Composing With Heart, Part 1
July 2020

Teaching Social Emotional Learning Through Music:
Episode 1: Composing With Heart, Part 2
August 2020

 

watch

 
Embedding SEL in Instrumental Music
December 2021

 
   

 

 

New technology:

 

 

 

 

watch

 

watch

ASCAP Lab and NYC Media Lab Summit
October 2021

Alex talking about blogging with John Clare:
Composing Thoughts
February 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Island fox. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some 2020 interviews

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 2020

 

As the COVID-19 pandemic grew, Australian conductor Ingrid Martin, the host of Conducting Artistry, interviewed Alex to discuss practicing performance skills in quarantine, being in the moment, finding peace in a fearful time, and choosing to look after each other.

 

 


 


 

 

April 2020

 

The vibrant and forward-thinking conductor Kristin Tjornehoj invited Alex to talk with her students and colleagues. Here's an excerpt in which Alex shares her thoughts about what lies ahead for musicians.

 


watch


 

April 2020

 

Alex was a guest of conductor Gregory X. Whitmore, and spoke to the members of the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble about her approach to composition.

 

 

 


 


 

May 2020

 

During conductor Aaron Noe's Wind Conductor webcast, Alex Shapiro shared insights on the new technologies with which everyone's suddenly becoming acquainted, and how these tools provide an opportunity for a positive influence in the wind band world.

 

 

 


 


September 2020

 

Alex Shapiro discusses diversity, equity and inclusion issues in the music field, with music education students at Rutgers University, with faculty hosts Todd Nichols and Kraig Williams.

 

00:00: Historical context: technology advances assisting diversity

05:15: Raising awareness

07:45: Effecting change

17:40: Addressing bias

21:30: Making choices and expanding repertoire; sharing resources

31:05: What defines "good music"?

41:20: Composing and activism


 


 

November 2020

 

Conductor Bjorn Bus and WMC Kerkrade invited Alex to give a short overview of her life since the pandemic began, for the Music Talks series.

 

 

 


 


 

 

In March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic grew, the arts advocacy organization Composers Now invited Alex and other artists to offer a few words of hope.

 

 

 

 

 

Island view. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few earlier highlights:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2013

 

SoundNotion.tv is a weekly online video podcast series for, and by, music-makers, and Alex was the guest for their April 14, 2013 episode. Click here to stream or download Alex's concepts of how all composers can use the 21st Century tools available to them no matter where they live, as well as her thoughts on issues of self worth that artists of all genders face, on this podcast titled Out There hear




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alex on SoundNotion

  Stream Out There:
  hear

 

 

 

ASCAP Expo interview

April 2010
The ASCAP EXPO

approach to composing

May 2010
BandQuest

Advice for conference attendees

April 2010
Conferences

2008 and 2009 excerpts

2008, 2009
Conferences

 

 

     


 

October 2009

 

Ms. Shapiro was the sole artist testifying on an FCC panel hearing in 2009 about broadband access. Her career has become representative of the way the internet and digital technology have given anyone with a computer the ability to create a global presence. Alex's speech starts just after the 44 minute mark in the linked video.



Click HERE to read the transcript
of Alex's testimony.
read

 

 

 

FCC hearing

 

 

 

Also on the panel were:

Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of Motion Picture Association of America;

Frederick Huntsberry, COO of Paramount Pictures;

Michael Bracy, policy director of Future of Music Coalition;

Chuck Slocum, assistant executive director of the Writers Guild of America;

Mike Carroll, Professor of Law, American University;

Gigi Sohn, attorney and founder of Public Knowledge;

Patrick Ross, executive director of Copyright Alliance;

and Kathy Garmezy, assistant executive director of the Directors Guild of America.

 

The following week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski quoted Alex's testimony in his keynote address at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit in D.C.

 

FCC video


 

Shapiro at FCC
C-SPAN broadcast of Alex testifying at the FCC
in Washington, D.C., September 2009.


 

Excerpt from the prepared remarks of Chairman Julius Genachowski
Federal Communications Commission
Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit
Washington, D.C., October 5, 2009


"Now, why is the adoption of fair rules of the road -- Net Neutrality rules -- so important? Well, the artists, songwriters, and independent producers in the music industry know better than most. For example, at a recent public workshop held at the FCC we heard Alex Shapiro who discussed how the Internet allows her to manage her career even from rural Washington State.


Let me read from her testimony: "My name is Alex Shapiro, and I'm a composer. My use of the Internet has significantly shaped the evolution of my career, and has allowed me to reach audiences around the world, obtain commissions, and sell recordings and scores -- all from a fairly isolated outpost on a bridge-less island in Washington State."


Her point is an essential one. You don't have to be Bruce Springsteen to reach your audience on the Internet. You can be an independent artist on an island -- whether literal or musical -- and reach everyone who has an Internet connection."

 


 

 

 

For many more video interviews,
visit Alex's YouTube channel!
Click here
YouTube

 

YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

San Juan Island shoreline. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

Documentary interviews

 

 

In a segment filmed at her San Juan Island home, Alex is featured speaking about composer Morten Lauridsen at the opening of a beautiful film about his life and music, titled Shining Night. Winner of Best Documentary at the 2012 Washington, D.C. Independent Film Festival, the film was directed by Michael Stillwater, and has been screening at festivals in the U.S. and Europe in conjunction with the release of the DVD. You can enjoy a trailer of the film here. trailer



Alex also appears in a longer segment at the opening Stillwater's 2015 documentary, In Search of the Great Song, which is the winner of the award for Best Documentary from the 2016 Moondance International Film Festival in Boulder, CO. Alex speaks about the many inspirations for her music that are found in the natural world surrounding her, as BELOW, in which she features a Humpback whale song, plays as the underscore.



In Michael Stillwater's third film, Beyond the Fear of Singing, Alex talks about non-musicians freely embracing the freedom of expression.



You can enjoy previews of all three beautiful documentaries here. films

 

 

Shining Night

In Search of the Great Song

Beyond the Fear of Singing

Composer Ursula Mamlok remained dear friends with Alex since she was her teacher at Manhattan School of Music in the early '80s. When Ms. Mamlok arrived from Berlin to New York City June 2012 to attend a concert of her oboe concerto, a German crew working on a documentary titled Movements, about Mamlok's life and music, came along, and filmed a conversation between Ursula and Alex at MSM for the project. The film, directed by Anne Berrini, premiered in Berlin and New York in 2013, coinciding with Mamlok's 90th birthday celebration. A trailer for the documentary (and a few seconds of Alex at the start) can be found here. trailer

 

Ursula Mamlok


Alex Shapiro

Since 2008, Alex has been an active member of the Advancement Board for University of Washington's renowned marine research facility, The Friday Harbor Laboratories. Here's an excerpt from a short video that the UW's College of the Environment came to Alex's home to shoot, in which she discusses the relationship between immersive learning in music, and in science.

 

Alex Shapiro discussing marine science research

 

 

 

 

Alex, immersed. Photo by Dan Shelley.

 

 

 

 

Radio and podcast interviews

 

 

December 2024

 

Is there a sonic hole in your day that would benefit from the cheery background patter of three musicians gabbing? And if those three musicians didn't just talk about music, but also about everything from the Manhattan island scene in the 70s, the San Juan Island scene in the 2020s, and a very slithery scene somewhere in Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s, would that entertain you? Well, it entertained Alex and the wonderful podcast hosts of Beyond Artless Phil Ostrander and Peter Haberman! Fill that sonic hole in your day and join them by clicking HERE! Listen

 

Beyond Artless podcast

   
Download
Beyond Artless podcast
   

 

 

 

 

October 2023

 

Alex's most recent guest appearance was on Jason Nitsch's new podcast Composer Chat. Sit back and laugh along with two people who take their work, but not much else, seriously! Click HERE to listen! Listen

 

Composer Chat with Jason Nitsch

   
Download
listen to Alex describe ASCAP
   

 

 

 

 

October 2022

 

Alex was very happy to be a guest on for the podcast Enhance Life With Music on October 11, 2022. Host Mindy Peterson invited Alex, who has held the sole Symphonic & Concert writer seat on the Board of Directors of ASCAP since 2014, to explain to listeners exactly what the non-profit organization does. The resulting 38 minute conversation is an illuminating look into ASCAP's history as the oldest performing rights society in the U.S., and its many remarkable programs including career resources, civic and social initiatives, technology, wellness, and legislative advocacy. Click HERE to listen! Listen

 

Enhance Life With Music podcast

Alex speaking at the 2016 ASCAP EXPO.

   
Download
listen to Alex describe ASCAP
   

 

 

 

 

April 2022

 

Gregory Houston's first podcast in his brand new series, The Houston Experiment, is an in-depth conversation with Alex about composer entrepreneurship and in particular, her [many] forthright (!!!) opinions about pay-to-play competitions, inspired by her 2018 article for New Music USA, Dissing the Competition.

 

The Houston Experiment podcast

  Download  
Part 1
listen to Part 1
Part 2
listen to Part 2

 

 

 

 

February 2022

 

 

January 2022

 

Cameron Elliott launched a podcast in 2022 titled, Ear to the Podium: Listening for what's next in music education, and Alex was happy to be among his first guests. In the 20 minute segment, they discuss how composers' work has been affected by COVID, and what lessons we should take with us in music education moving forward. Click the icon to listen.

 

 

Ear the the Podium podcast

 

 


The Association of Concert Bands President Gail Brechting and band director and podcast host Keith Kelly are joined by Alex Shapiro and conductor Kaitlin Bove in the ACB hosted podcast, It's A Band Thing!, for a spirited discussion about community bands and societal issues. Click the icon to listen.

 

 

It's A Band Thing! podcast

 

 

April 2021

 

"Those of us that have these very complicated internal lives as artists, we're so lucky; because we carry our world with us all of the time." Alex discusses many topics with host Adam Kennaugh on episode 22 of his Making Noise podcast! Click the icon to listen.

 

Making Noise podcast

 


 

July 2021

 

Host Elisa Janson Jones writes about Episode 92 of Music Ed Mentor Podcast, "Alex is a composer by trade, but so much more than that. She's taken wind band music to a new level with the incorporation of recorded sounds and electronica. She is an environmental activist, thought leader, and mentor. She's a creator in every sense of the word.

 

 

 

Music Ed Mentor Podcast, with Elisa Janson Jones

In this episode we talk about life, finding meaning, living with passion, the Creative Repertoire Initiative, and how you can change your perspectives about this whole new digital realm that we've discovered.".

Click the icon to tune in!

 

 

 

July 2021

 

Join Kappa Kappa Psi editor & host, Ryan Smith, for a spirited conversation between Alex Shapiro, composer of the NIB commissioned symphony SUSPENDED, and conductor Dr. Cynthia Johnston Turner, at the Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma National Convention 2021 in Grand Rapids, MI.

 

Kappa Kappa Psi podcasts

Kappa Kappa Psi podcasts


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Part 2
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Part 3
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island rainbow. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

June 2021

 

Alex Shapiro joined host Robby Burns of Music Ed Tech Talk to discuss getting young students to compose, the importance of composing repertoire for young musicians, writing electro-acoustic music, her "Putting the E in E-nsemble" curriculum, future tech, her amazing studio space, and overcoming blocks in the creative process. Click the icon to listen.

 

 

 

Music Ed Tech Talk, with Robby Burns

 


 

 

March 2021

 

If you had a longing for lounge-chill funk timpani or want to understand the finer theory of whale-tempered tuning, now's your chance! Plus a legally indemnifying disclaimer: no flutists were harmed in the making of the wild effects you'll hear in one of the six eclectic works from Alex's diverse catalog that you'll hear on this revealing episode of Relevant Tones. Should anyone want a quick tour of the chaos that swirls in her head, Seth Boustead has generously provided the portal! Click the icon to listen.

 

 

Relevant Tones, with Seth Boustead

 

March 2021

 

Alex enjoyed a VERY spirited conversation with The Band Room Podcast's cohosts conductor Dylan Maddix and composer Cait Nishimura about why she loves the band community, how her environment influences her work, and how she overcomes creative blocks and anxiety, as well as her thoughts about adaptable music and the future of music publishing.

 

 

The Band Room Podcast

Additionally, the Band Room Podcast features a bonus episode for its subscribers-- and in the case of Alex's, if you toss a latte's worth of Patreon dollars to the series you'll be rewarded with what is undoubtedly one of the most unusual, if truly bizarre, composer hobby stories— information that until now, Alex had never shared in a public format!

 

The Band Room Podcast


 

October 2020

 

Composer Sergio Barer invited Alex to discuss two of her large ensemble electroacoustic works, ASCENT and TIGHT SQUEEZE, on his Let's Talk About Music! podcast. Click the icon to listen.

 

Let's Talk About Music with Sergio Barer

 

 

 

March 2020

 

Beloved band director Charlie Menghini launched a new podcast series of conversations with composers, conductors, and educators, Band Talk with Charlie Menghini and Friends, and Alex was the first of his guests for Episode 2. Enjoy their lengthy chat!

 

Band Talk with Charlie Menghini

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September 2018

 

In a long and wide-ranging conversation with Britt Burns for The Indie Classical Podcast, Alex discusses general musical and career ideas along with four of her recent works in different genres: PAPER CUT, TRAINS OF THOUGHT, REMEMBRANCE, and ARCANA PLANET.

 

The Indie Classical Podcast

Full Episode (2:00:00)
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May 2017

 

Alex returned to Music Publishing Podcast to join co-hosts composer/vocalist Dennis Tobenski and mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen for a lively discussion about the wide range of creative commissioning techniques available to performers and composers.

 

Music Publishing Podcast

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February 2017 and 2020

 

Composers Datebook is a daily two-minute syndicated radio program produced by American Public Media in association with the American Composers Forum. The series highlights moments in music history of the past and the present, and its February 11, 2017 and 2020 segments feature Alex Shapiro and the anniversary of the premiere of her sonata for tuba and piano titled Music for Two Big Instruments. You can listen to the amusing description by clicking here and then clicking the "play" arrow at the top of the page listen

 

Composers Datebook-Shapiro
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Gull toes. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

March 2018

 

Alex really enjoyed talking with Mark J. Connor as a guest on his popular podcast, Everything Band. Covering everything from career to clarinet-playing gerbils (!), it was a far-ranging chat!

 

Everything Band

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April 2016

Alex was the inaugural guest for Dennis Tobenski's new series, Music Publishing Podcast. Despite some technical issues with a Hangout connection that apparently had Alex reaching for her snorkel, she and Dennis had an excellent conversation about the business of being a busy composer. You can stream it in the background while doing something mindless above the mean tide line!

Music Publishing Podcast

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February 2017

 

Alex was interviewed by host and composer Anthony Lanman on his podcast series, 1 Track, for a conversation about her electroacoustic music. Juxtaposing two related works that share the same accompaniment track (BELOW, for contrabass flute, and BENEATH, for symphonic wind band), Alex A/B'ed identical sections of each piece, allowing the listening audience to experience the power of different orchestrations in eliciting different emotion.

 

1 Track

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March 2018

 

At the December 2017 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Alex spoke with Sean Smith, the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Illinois and the producer of its One More Time podcast series. The show focuses on women in the band world and features Alex describing how she came up with the idea for PAPER CUT (and proving that women are just as equally capable as men at suffering from writer's block!)

 

One More Time

The link to the full 42 minute show, beginning with interviews with Carol Berthold, Dr. Courtney Snyder, Dr. Andrea Brown, Prof. Paula Crider, and Dr. Emily Threinen, is below, along with a link to Alex's 7 minute segment.

 

Full Episode
listen
Alex's segment
hear Part 2

 

 

 

March 2016

 

Composer and podcast series creator and host Garrett Hope came to Alex's home on San Juan Island on January 25, 2016, and they embarked on a very thorough and energetic conversation about the business and heart matters that define a music career. The duo covered so much ground that Garrett split it into two episodes. For those looking for very direct how-to information, as well as encouragement for their own composing lives, this interview may inspire you!

 

The Portfolio Composer

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Part 1
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Part 2
hear Part 2

 

 

 

 

July 2012

 

Swedish Radio

 

On July 9, 2012, Swedish Radio began streaming an interview hour that Alex shared with composer and conductor Victoria Bond, hosted by Birgitta Tollan. The interviews took place in New York City, and feature a balance of audio excerpts and conversation. Click at right to enjoy the show, which starts off with an excerpt from her wind symphony IMMERSION. Alex's portion begins 25 minutes in, and you'll be able to practice your Swedish, too!

 


Stream
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February 2012

 

Alex was the in-studio guest on Marvin Rosen's radio show broadcast from Princeton University, Classical Discoveries. Want some backgorund sound while you're doing other things? Click at right, and hear the entire MP3 stream of their exceptionally wide-spanning, lively two-and-a-half hour conversation, including seven of Alex's diverse works. Here's what Marvin has to say about it on his blog, Marvin the Cat.


 

Rosen and Shapiro

 

DEEP
UNABASHEDLY MORE
IMMERSION
SLIPPING
ELEGY
CHAKRA SUITE
BELOW


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January 2008

 

Alex taped an animated interview in New York City with violinist and host John Clare, for his WITF-FM radio show Composing Thoughts which aired April 27, 2008. Enjoy the results from the combination of great questions, laughter and single malt scotch. Tune in to 25 minutes of fun!

 

Composing Thoughts
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May 2014

 

The Morning Show

 

Alex and conductor James Ripley were guests on The Morning Show with Gregory Berg on Wisconsin's public radio station WGTD-FM on May 9, 2014. They covered a lot of ground, and some ocean, too, as they delved into the making of Alex's electroacoustic band piece LIQUID COMPASS, commissioned by Ripley and Carthage College, and the world of composing. The broadcast starts at 2:25 in, and continues for 45 minutes. Click the icon to enjoy an animated conversation!

 


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island reflection. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

Behind the Beat

 

 

December 2007

 

Hear Alex Shapiro's comments on several tracks from Notes from the Kelp, in response to questions from the producer of Behind the Beat, Steven Rosenfeld. The interview is featured on the ASCAP Audio Portraits series.

 

  Stream Download
About the CD (2:52)
hear hear
The Making of Slipping (3:04)
hear hear
The Making of Bioplasm (3:11)
hear hear
The Making of Deep (2:57)
hear hear
 

 

 

 

 

Second Life

Watch watch

 

February 2008

 

Tired of your first life? Well, the virtual world is a reality for musicians, and Music Academy Online is a big part of the growing trend. Alex discussed her musical life on the Second Life Cable Network television show, which you can watch here. It's worth having a look, just to see the dress they put on Alex's avatar, Asha.

 

 

 

American MusicMakers

 

February 2006

 

Alex's life and music were the subject of a one-hour radio show for a series called American MusicMakers with Theme and Variations host Will Everett. Airing on public radio stations across the U.S., Alex's show kicked off the monthly series and featured excerpts of five of her recent chamber works and one in its entirety, along with a lengthy interview Will recorded during his walk with her on the beach at her Malibu home.


The conversation covers a wide range of topics from the personal to the global, and wraps up in Alex's project studio with a spontaneous guitar performance, and one of her cats improvising on vocals at the end!

 

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Measure for Measure

 

August 2006

 

Hear Alex Shapiro's live interview about composers and modern society, in Philip Blackburn's new podcast series for the American Composers Forum, Measure for Measure.

 

Stream Part 1
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Download Part 1
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Stream Part 2
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Download Part 2
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The Audition Booth

 

October 2007

 

On Martin Perlich's radio show The Audition Booth, Alex talks about the making of her CD, Notes from the Kelp. The live in-studio interview offers insights on many issues, including what's involved with producing an album this diverse in today's market.

 

Stream
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Kalvos and Damian

 

 

 

July 2004

 

Alex had a great time as the guest composer on Kalvos & Damian's New Music Bazaar radio show, broadcast live from beautiful Vermont, with local composer pal Laura Koplewitz along for the ride as a co-interviewer. It's always dangerous when someone who's known you since you were 16 has the mic.

 

The two-hour show featured complete recordings of five of Alex's works, along with a lot of laughter and conversation covering everything from suggested composer hygiene to chocolate covered cricket clusters. Oh, and they talked about music, too!


The hosts call it one of their funniest shows ever, and you can either stream the whole thing, or enjoy it in a condensed form (the five music selections are truncated here, thus shamelessly encouraging CD sales if you like what you hear).

 

 
  Stream Download
Part 1:  Thelma and Louise do Vermont, jingles, biology and music hear hear
Part 2:  Composer trade secrets and chocolate covered cricket clusters hear hear
Part 3:  Self-publishing and the battle of the brain hemispheres hear hear

To hear the entire, fun-filled Kalvos & Damian show, click here! listen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bald Eagle. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

Connect with Alex

 

 

Want to read more of Alex's musings?
Click for essays on:

 

In 2022 Alex was invited to join the distinguished roster of Conn-Selmer Education clinicians. Her first master class for the company's thoughtfully curated Rehearse and Renew series started off the quarter, followed in April 2022 when Alex had the pleasure of being hosted by Dr. Paula Crider as they walked the audience through Alex's latest symphony, SUSPENDED during her interview for Conn-Selmer's Concert Artistry series. You can read more HERE.

 


Alex is also pleased to be a clinician for Music for All, and has participated in several of their field-expanding webinars.

 


You don't have to be a faculty member to care deeply about education and get involved! In 2022 Alex began serving as the Northwest Division representative on the Council for Music Composition of the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME).

 

Conn-Selmer bio

 

Conn-Selmer series-Shapiro and Crider


Music for All

 

Conn-Selmer Series

 

 

 



Watch conductor Paula Crider and Alex discuss and play excerpts from SUSPENDED, Alex's second symphony for wind band and electronics, in this lively 2022 webinar they did for Conn Selmer.

 

 

 

Want to read Alex's musings
that are far more personal
than everything offered above?

 

Along with photos and music?

 

blog link

 

For ten years beginning in 2006, Alex published a personal, pixelsonic blog called Notes from the Kelp, that has developed a following of thousands of readers each month. She pairs snapshots from her daily life by the sea with audio clips of fitting pieces of her music, and welcomes comments.

 

Alex doesn't only write about music or nature; she penned an especially pointed photo-essay titled, Cuba, Not Yet Libre upon her return from Cuba in June 2012 as an arts ambassador for The MacDowell Colony, on whose Board she served.

 

Alex also uses her blog for humor, as anyone who's ever cracked open a doubled-yolked egg can relate to in, The Yolk's On Me. Join her in Kelpville, and see where her music really comes from! Enter another world, here blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cuba blog

 

 

egg blog

 

 

 

Get online with Alex! Photo by Alex Shapiro.

 

 

 

 

 

Interact! Become one of Alex's online friends
and share your world with her.

 

 

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