about
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 and collaborations with cutting-edge musicians and artists, 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.
Upcoming projects include commissions for pianist Jenny Lin, NOW Ensemble, and bassist Logan Coale.
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.
Gardner is a graduate of Vassar College, and The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. She has studied with Annea lockwood, Richard Wilson, Morton Subotnick, Ronald Caltabiano, Augusta Read Thomas, Bernard Rands, John Harbison, Pauline Oliveros and Chen Yi.