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56th Commissioned Composer Concert is April 21


April 6, 2022 -- The University of Wisconsin-River Falls will welcome featured composer Alex Shapiro to Abbott Concert Hall on Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. for the university’s 56th Commissioned Composer concert. The concert is free and open to the public.
 
Alex ShapiroShapiro is on campus April 19-21 for a three-day residency. She will also present a convocation in 129 Kleinpell Fine Arts on April 21 at 3 p.m. where she will discuss her new composition. 

Shapiro is known for her genre-blind acoustic and electroacoustic works. Published by her company Activist Music LLC, Shapiro’s music is heard daily in concerts and broadcasts across the U.S. and internationally and can be found on over 30 commercially released recordings.

Shapiro began her career scoring for commercial visual media and later established herself in the professional chamber music world. Since composing her first wind band work in 2007, she has become noted for adventurous electroacoustic pieces for the field at all performance levels and is sought after for her seamless melding of live and recorded sounds, often including striking visual and physical elements. Shapiro uses technology in each aspect of a commission, from the creation of the music to "webhearsals" in which she coaches thousands of musicians around the world, to customized multimedia material delivery webpages, and the public reach of the finished piece through social media. Visit her website at www.alexshapiro.org.

Educated at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, Shapiro is an enthusiastic leader in the new music community and advocates for other artists through speaking appearances, articles, and volunteerism. She has been a repeat clinician at countless conferences and university residencies, speaking about creative uses of technology in concert performance. She also has many published writings.

Each year, UW-River Falls commissions a composer to write a piece of music for the student body. The composer also makes a campus visit to interact with the students and take part in the premiere performance of that work. 
 
UWRF Professor Emeritus Conrad De Jong began the Commissioned Composer Project in 1967. It is the longest-standing program of its kind in the United States and places a national spotlight on the UW-River Falls Music Department.

For more information, email patti.cudd@uwrf.edu.

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