Alexandra Gardner | Building Noises

Holy Moly. Hi! Has it seriously been nine months? It’s turrrrble, so much radio silence. Believe it or not, I have actually been writing all this time! In fact, I’ve probably written more words in the past nine months than in the last nine years (rest assured that I am just as surprised as you [...]

Last week in New York was one big concert frenzy, and I had a blast! Notable things included: Goose bumps! A clear signal that something very excellent is in progress. I experienced more than one episode of these as a result of: Roomful of Teeth at the Ecstatic Music Festival. They delivered an utterly delightful, [...]

First of all, last week’s concert at Roulette was, to quote an enthusiastic listener, “absolutely bloody amazing!” Seriously. All of the musicians gave 150%, and I think the choice to follow three pieces for solo instrument and electronics with an acoustic ensemble work provided just the right sort of juxtaposition, or….palette-cleansing? Particularly notable was Logan [...]

A special treat just arrived in my email inbox! A recording of Two by Eight from my friends Compagnie CH.AU (I assure you I have no idea how to pronounce the name either), from a June performance in Vevey, Switzerland. You can listen to it here. They pretty much nailed the whole “Quirky gypsy wedding [...]

Some notes and papers from the production of Now or Never for flute, clarinet, electric guitar, piano and double bass. You can read a program note here, as well as an essay on this photo ritual here. Now or Never is written for the wonderful NOW Ensemble, who are on tour as we speak, and [...]

Above are a few pages of sketches and notes from the making of Mint Conditioner for double bass and electronics – signed, sealed and delivered (several weeks ago) to exceedingly awesome bassist Logan Coale. True to the title, this piece starts out a tangled ball of knots, and by the end rinses out smooth and [...]

Shortly after I had completed my piece Tourmaline for saxophone and computer sound, I showed a recording engineer buddy the Pro Tools session that contained all the recorded elements, along with the score, and explained how the recorded part is represented in the score, how the performer plays along, and how if all goes as [...]

Updates are rolling in backwards! Chronological time is overrated… I wanted to alert you to some videos from last month’s concert in Baltimore. The combination of fantastic performances, an enthusiastic, open-eared audience, and a venue that has really good feng shui (Baltimore people, if you haven’t been to The Metro Gallery, you must stop in [...]

This holiday season I am feeling positively festive! Hmmmm, I wonder why. Do you think this sort of thing could be the cause? Maybe compounded by this joyful event? Oh wait! I know what else it is! I CAN GET HITCHED NOW!!! Okay, almost. Still exciting! Whatever the reason, it’s kinda nice to revel in [...]

Cornelius Dufallo is a wonderful violinist and composer, as well as one of the biggest champions of new music around. I first heard him perform his music a couple years ago on the concert series Music With a View, and I was struck by the combination of intensity and patience in that beautiful, slowly unfolding [...]