about
The music of composer Alexandra Gardner combines explorations into the rich details of sound with a visceral percussive energy to create dynamic sonic landscapes. Drawing inspiration from a wide variety of sources such as mythology and contemporary poetry, her training as a percussionist, and collaborations with innovative musicians, 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, Beijing Modern Festival, 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, cellist Joshua Roman, saxophonist Brian Sacawa, NOW Ensemble, pianist Kathleen Supové, Ne(x)tworks and The Seattle Chamber Players.
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.
In addition to her work as a composer, Gardner is active as a digital media specialist and arts advocate. She is associate editor of NewMusicBox, a program of New Music USA.
Gardner attended The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, California Institute of the Arts, and Vassar College. She currently resides in Baltimore, MD.