“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 Shapiro aligns note after note with the hope that at least a few of them will sound good next to each other. Her persistence at this activity, as well as non-fiction music writing, arts advocacy, public speaking, wildlife photography, and the shameless instigation of insufferable puns on Facebook, has led to a happy life. Ever-boastful of her terminal degree of a high school diploma (an impressive feat, having failed 8th grade algebra), Alex lives in the middle of nowhere on a small rock between the coasts of Washington State and British Columbia, and draws from a broad musical palette that giddily ignores genre. Her acoustic and electroacoustic works are published by her company Activist Music LLC, have won almost no awards, are performed and broadcast daily, have rarely been reviewed, and can be found on over thirty commercial releases from record labels around the world. No musician or audience member has yet to contact Alex to request their money back. Emphasis on, "yet." Alex is the Symphonic and Concert writer member of the Board of Directors of ASCAP, and her music and life outlook can be experienced on her website, www.alexshapiro.org.
I’ve always been really interested in Alex and everything she does. After listening to her on several podcasts and following her music, I’ve learned so much about the business side of composing, connecting with other musicians, and more personal things as well such as stepping away from composing and finding pleasure in daily life. She understands the importance of pursuing our need as artists to create, while at the same time finding the balance of a healthy and joyous life - Alex likes to kayak, take photos of wildlife, go camping, and do many other outdoor activities. She explains the importance of connecting with others and being authentic with your work, while advocating the need to be properly compensated for that work. She also goes into detail about her process and several projects she has worked on; one of the riskiest moments in her career; emotional highs, and lows; getting mileage out of your work, and so much more on episode 22 of the Making Noise Podcast.
I hope you enjoy it!
Follow Alex’s Work: www.alexshapiro.org
A helpful link for our colleagues looking to expand the scope of their programming is this one
https://www.alexshapiro.org/ProgrammingResources.html
Follow her socials
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/alexshapiro
INSTAGRAM @alex_shapiro_composer
TWITTER @alex_shapiro
Watch the podcast on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBaiw-p9pO12oAGlV1BUkPNk6K-62igrJ
Listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeartradio, and my website
where you can listen to music, purchase scores, and learn how to commission a new piece for your ensemble.