THE
COMPOSERS
SUSAN ALEXJANDER
Cascadia composer Susan Alexjander’s work is about the interconnections between light, sound and our universal stories. She’s a presenter, composer, and perpetual student whose compositions and soundtracks have achieved international acclaim in galleries, publications, and performances. She is especially enamored of alternative tunings, derived from sources such as elements, stars, and the natural world. Her compositions also make room for improvisation, allowing the performer to create a truly personal interpretation of their journey. Her own teachers include Lou Harrison, Higo Harada and Allaudin Mathieu. Originally from the California Bay Area, she now resides in Portland, Oregon.
www.OurSoundUniverse.com
ELIZABETH BLACHLY-DYSON
Elizabeth Blachly-Dyson is a molecular biologist turned composer. She has played the cello in the Marylhurst Symphony and the Pacific Crest Youth Sinfonietta, and both orchestras have performed her compositions. Her piece, “Together” was performed by the BRAVO Youth Orchestra and the McMinville High School choir at Governor Kate Brown’s inauguration on Jan. 9, 2017. Her duet “Burning Foliage” for viola and piano won Fear No Music’s 2017 call for scores. Her chamber works have been performed at concerts organized by Cascadia Composers and the Crazy Jane Composers. Elizabeth has studied composition with Dr. Robert Priest, Tomas Svoboda and Jonathan Newman, and is currently studying with Kenji Bunch.
MAREK HARRIS
The works of American composer and arranger Marek Harris have been commissioned and performed internationally by some of the world’s most prominent musicians and ensembles. Mr. Harris’ extensive catalog of works includes six symphonies, an oratorio based on texts of Bertrand Russell, seven concertos, and numerous solo, orchestral, vocal, and chamber music compositions.
Mr. Harris compositions and arrangements have been commissioned and performed by musicians of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, La Orchestra de Oviedo de España, Wynton Marsalis, the Eastman Trombone Choir, the Amenda Quartet, First Muse Chamber Music, musicians of the Metropolitan Opera chorus, the Lyric Theatre of New York City, Andrey Pisarev of the Moscow Conservatory, the Finger Lakes Chamber Ensemble, the Albert Consort, Rochester Philharmonic principal cellist Stefan Reuss, and pianist and Steinway Artist Diane Walsh, to enthusiastic capacity audiences.
Mr. Harris’ music has been acclaimed by critics as “original and uncompromising”, “beautiful and communicative”, and “colorful and lyrical”.
Earning degrees from the Eastman and Juilliard Schools of Music, he studied with David Diamond, Samuel Adler, and Pulitzer Prize recipient Joseph Schwantner. Born in New Orleans in 1961, Mr. Harris is also an accomplished pianist. He has performed in Madison Square Garden and Westbury Music Fair. Mr. Harris’ honors include a grant from Meet the Composer, Inc., and four ASCAPlus awards.
DAMEN LIEBLING
Damen Easton Liebling received his Masters of Music in Composition in 2015, from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There he studied composition under John Morrison and Jeremy Van Buskirk. This followed his Bachelors at Portland State, where he studied under Renee Favand-See and Bonnie Miksch. In 2013, Damen’s entry won the annual String Quartet composition competition put on by Classical Revolution PDX. While completing his Masters, he raised money to record a more developed version of that String Quartet, as well as his first Alternative Pop album. After finishing school, he focused more on Alt-Pop music for a time. However, he has recently re-focused on concert art music. His work takes influence from Romantic, Modernist, Jazz, Indian Classical, Post Minimal, and Pop music.
Damen has taught Sight Singing and Ear Training, as an adjunct professor, at PSU. He works as a score copyist and editor, as well as a music educator.
LISA ANN MARSH
The music of Lisa Ann Marsh is inspired by the natural and supernatural worlds, the complexity of human emotions, and the artists she collaborates with. Chamber and choral works have been performed by the Northwest Piano Trio, The Ensemble, The Mousai, Choral Arts Ensemble, Portland State University Chamber Choir, Portland State University Percussion Ensemble, Delgani String Quartet, and The Resonance Ensemble.
Ms. Marsh is pianist with the Marsh-Titterington Piano Duo and former Principal Keyboard with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of the piano faculty at Portland State University where she also directs the wellness program for musicians.
She was awarded the Composer of the Year commission by the Oregon Music Teachers Association in 2018 and was featured in the Portland Mini-Musical Festival in 2019.
www.LisaAnnMarsh.com
www.coordinatemovement.com
STACEY PHILIPPS
Stacey Philipps writes music of close, lush harmonies and contrapuntal textures, exploring the human experience and the timbre of voices and instruments in minute, exposed detail and vibrant, sweeping gestures. A lifelong choral singer, Philipps is an early- and new-music devotee, and she currently sings with the Oregon Repertory Singers. Her vocal interests extend to a love of composing choral music and art song, as well as collaborating with solo instrumentalists and chamber music ensembles. She is also a concert producer and arts advocate committed to building community by facilitating the evanescent thrill of live performances.
A sometime pianist and frequent dabbler in playing underappreciated instruments – Philipps has an accordion, mountain dulcimer, ukulele, and banjo on hand and is pining for a harpsichord, viola da gamba, and all the crotales – she holds degrees in music composition from Portland State University and in philosophy and math from St. John’s College, Santa Fe. Her work has been performed by Wet Ink, Delgani String Quartet, Raphael Spiro String Quartet, The Mousai, Northwest Piano Trio, The Bodhi Trio, Orchestra Seattle and Seattle Chamber Singers, Vox16, Vox Femina, Resonance Ensemble, Choral Arts Ensemble, Oregon Repertory Singers, and mezzo-soprano Laura Beckel Thoreson, among others. She is a member of the American Composers Forum, the National Association of Composers, Cascadia Composers, and ASCAP and is the proprietor of Sirensong Publishing, the sole distributor of her work.
