Susan Alexjander
Susan Alexjander | |
|---|---|
 2011 | |
| Website | Our Sound Universe |
Susan Alexjanderis an American sound artist, musical composer and teacher living and working inPortland, Oregon.Finding inspiration in the natural world and in science, she is fascinated by the vibrational frequencies of natural phenomena, ranging widely from the microscopic (elements, DNA) to the macroscopic (body rhythms, water, stars, time). She has created amicrotonal systembased on the frequencies ofDNA,transforming natural vibrational patterns into sounds to create music. She has collaborated with both scientists and artists, and her compositions have been performed both nationally and internationally.
Education
[edit]Alexjander received a B.A. in English Literature, with teaching credentials, in 1966. She received a master's degree in Theory and Composition fromSan Jose State University,California in 1982. Although her initial musical training was classical, she became interested in thegamelanand explored Indian classical music, studying and performing withLou Harrison.[1]
Teaching
[edit]Alexjander has taught at San Jose State and Goddard College[2]and has been an adjunct faculty member of Union Institute inSacramento, California.She also presents workshops on the physics and metaphysics of sound. She is the Director ofScience & The Arts,founded inAptos, Californiato investigate the frequencies of the universe and their musical properties.[3]
Compositions and collaborations
[edit]| External media | |
|---|---|
| Audio | |
 Episode 136: Good Vibrations,Science History Institute,2011 | |
| Video | |
 Susan Alexjander, Aqua Symposium,Documentary by Joe Good | |
| Fluid,Dance performance, choreographed by Lavinia Magliocco, composed by Susan Alexjander, 2012 | |
| Eikos,Paloma Griffin, violin; Susan Alexjander, synthesizer; Lavinia Magliocco, dance |
In one of her earliest collaborations, with biologistDavid W. Deamerfrom theUniversity of California,Alexjander created music based on movements of the atoms and molecules that make up human DNA. An infrared spectrophotometer was used to measure the wavelength of infrared light absorbed by sections of DNA and to identify frequencies for each DNA molecule. The ratios of the light frequencies were then converted into perceptible ratios of sound frequencies, often involving microtonal changes, to create "strange, beautiful music".[4]The resulting albumSequencia,a pioneering experiment in sound creation, was recorded onEarth Day,1990.[3]Its tuning system, a type ofJust intonation,[5]is based on the molecular frequencies of the four bases of DNA:adenine,guanine,cytosineandthymine.[6][7]It includes 60 tones over a range of two-and-a-half octaves, around a spontaneous "tonal center". Alexjander's compositions in this tonal system are influenced by the microtonal nature of Indian classical music.[5]
"The magic of 'mapping' frequencies from one medium to another allows us to hear inner, unheard sounds... Everything is talking to everything else!"[8]
Other collaborations include:
- film soundtracks for video installationsInto Being - The River(2003),Zero Waiting(2005)[9]andFragile Memories(2015) with filmmakerDiana Hobson[10]
- Music forRebecca Kamen's installationDivining Nature: An Elemental Garden(2010)[11]
- Eikos(2012) for violin, synthesizer and dancerLavinia Magliocco[12][13]
- Traces of the Cosmos(2012) withJan Madill(painter)[14]
- Coming On The Backs of Whales,soundtrack forOceanwith a room-sized cloth sculpture byThais Mazur[15]and cinema photography byLisa Denning[16][17]
- Crazy Janeperformances with Cascadia Composers[8][18][19][20]
- Continuum(2015) multimedia installation, in collaboration with sculptor Rebecca Kamen, featuringPortal: Black Holes/White Holes(2015) andNeuroCantos.InPortalAlexjander creates a soundscape using sonic frequencies to represent a pair of orbiting black holes, in honor of the 100th anniversary ofAlbert Einstein’s discovery ofgeneral relativity[21]InNeuroCantos,Alexjander combines sounds based on neurons firing, with the words of poetSteven J. Fowlerand scientistSantiago Ramón y Cajal.[22]
Awards
[edit]- Fellowship,Alden B. DowCreativity Center,Midland, Michigan,to explore the geometry of the mineral kingdom as musical data[3]
- Composer's Residency at Leighton Studios inBanff, Alberta,Canada[3]
References
[edit]- ^"Susan Alexjander, CV"(PDF).Our Sound Universe.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^Alexjander, Susan."Entering the Great Sound Current and Riding the Wave ( Keynote speech given at Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont at Health Arts & Sciences Graduation, July, 2001)".The Wellness Goods Water News.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^abcdAlexjander, Susan."Microcosmic Music - A New Level of Intensity".All things healing.Retrieved3 February2016.
- ^Whitehouse, David (November 26, 1998)."Listen to your DNA".BBC News.Retrieved2 February2016.
- ^abJensen, Marc (Spring 2004)."Just Intonation and the Frequencies of DNA: the Music of Susan Alexjander"(PDF).1/1: The Journal of the Just Intonation Network.11(4): 9–11.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^Greenia, Mark (2001).Energy dynamics: conscious human evolution: axioms and resources for personal growth, balance, and the evolution of your body's energy systems.Bloomington, Ind.: Unlimited Pub. pp. 29–30.ISBN978-1588320087.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^"Sequencia (CD) The Music of DNA".Sound Remedies.Retrieved3 February2016.
- ^ab"Susan Alexjander".Oregon ComposersWatch Directory.Retrieved3 February2016.
- ^"Diane Hobson".Vimeo.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^"Vessel Gallery presents Fragile Memories by Diana Hobson".Vessel Gallery.2015-07-03.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^Hodara, Susan (July 25, 2014)."Putting the A in STEAM".The New York Times.Retrieved3 February2016.
- ^Campbell, Brett (January 31, 2012)."One More Round of Fertile Ground Reviews".Willamette Week.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^"Groovin' Greenhouse Reviewed".Polaris Dance Theatre.Retrieved12 June2018.
- ^"Traces of the Cosmos film".Jan Madill.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^"Project Collaborators".The Zuvuya Project.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^"OCEAN Sculpture Installation".Mazur Arts.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^Lucas-Zenk, Carolyn (January 31, 2014)."Underwater understanding: A multimedia art installation increases ocean awareness".West Hawaii Today.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^Campbell, Brett (January 29, 2014)."Concert reviews: Cascadia Composers'" Blackout "and" Crazy Jane Misbehaves "".Oregon Artswatch.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^Campbell, Brett (January 18, 2016)."Oregon contemporary classical music: Golden age?".Oregon Artswatch.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^"Susan Alexjander".Crazy Jane Composers.3 March 2015.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^Kamen, Rebecca."Portal: Artist's Statement".Rebecca Kamen.Retrieved4 February2016.
- ^Rems, Janet (January 7, 2016)."Exhibition celebrates art's ability to re-imagine science".Fairfax County Times.Retrieved4 February2016.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- American sound artists
- Women sound artists
- Living people
- American experimental musicians
- 21st-century American composers
- Gamelan musicians
- Just intonation composers
- Musicians from Portland, Oregon
- San Jose State University alumni
- 20th-century American composers
- 20th-century American women composers
- 21st-century American women composers