Composer Alex Shapiro (b. New York City, 1962) aligns note after note from her home on San Juan Island, WA, with the hope that at least a few of them will actually sound good next to each other. Her persistence at this activity, as well as at non-fiction music writing, public speaking, arts advocacy, wildlife photography, and the shameless instigation of insufferable puns on Facebook, has led to a happy life. Published by Activist Music, Shapiro’s diverse acoustic and electroacoustic works are performed and broadcast daily, and can be found on nearly thirty commercially released recordings from around the world. She is the Symphonic and Concert writer representative on the Board of Directors of ASCAP, and one of nine elected writer representatives to CIAM, the international writer’s advisory council to CISAC. When she’s not composing or making bad puns, she can often be found at the edge of the shoreline, as can be seen on her music and photo-filled blog, www.notesfromthekelp.com and her website, www.alexshapiro.org.
Articles by Alex Shapiro:
Rather than pay fees to competitions that one is statistically unlikely to win, a composer’s efforts and money will be far better devoted to attending music conferences and new music...
Money has nothing to do with the quality of anyone’s music. That said, for those who choose to put together a living from composing, there are myriad avenues for monetizing...
No authentic, talented artist is ever going to forget the importance of the quality of the art that they create just because they wish to earn a living from it....
Though recordings are no longer especially financially remunerative in this digital age, there does exist something uniquely valuable and not reproducible: the artists themselves.
I was invited to testify before the Federal Communications Commission in the fall of 2009 about two issues: digital piracy and rural broadband access. The former, because I am a...
Our ability to share our creations around the world lies in our access to the necessary portal.
I returned home from Denver with a renewed focus and excitement about what I'd like to accomplish this summer. That kind of clarity is a byproduct of the vibration that...
It's never been easier to build fan bases and generate income from our work; your enpixelated interface with the world is where your income generation will often begin.
A rewarding music career begins with three distinctly non-musical concepts: positive vision, abundant thinking, and a sense of self-worth.