Alex Shapiro, composer: Links

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Affiliations and Links

Alex Shapiro

Music happens in a community.

Ever since I began my composing career, two of its most important elements have been my relationships with colleagues, and my involvement with arts advocacy organizations.

I feel strongly about sharing any information I have with my peers and with younger, emerging composers. The more music artists able to make happy careers for themselves, the better for all of us who create and love music.

The following organizations have been significant to me, may be of interest to readers looking for more information, and could be of particular assistance to composers seeking ways to further their careers.

Cormorants at the ferry landing. Photo by Alex Shapiro.

Professional Affiliations


Symphonic & Concert Writer Member, Board of Directors, ASCAP	Officer, Board of Directors, The ASCAP Foundation
Co-Chair, Symphony & Concert Committee, ASCAP	Member, Board of Directors, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music
Member, Board of Directors, Music Publishers Association of the United States	Voting member, The Recording Academy (NARAS; The Grammys)
Member, Northwest Division Representative NAfME Council for Music Composition	Member, Music Department Advisory Council, Columbia College
Member, Composer Project Advisory Board, United Sound	Member, Distinguished Mentors Council, Composers Now
Honorary Brother, Kappa Kappa Psi	Honorary Brother, Tau Beta Sigma
Member, ACME, Mu Phi Epsilon	Member, past officer, NACUSA (National Association of Composers, USA)
Member, past Board Vice President, The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL)	Member, Sigma Alpha Iota Composers Bureau
Past Board member, The MacDowell Colony	Member, Past Board President, American Composers Forum of Los Angeles
Past officer, The College Music Society, Pacific Southern Chapter	Past Member, Executive Committee, The International Council Of Music Authors (CIAM)
Past Co-Chair, Program Council, New Music USA	Past concert music representative, Board of Review, ASCAP
Past Member, Alumni Council, Manhattan School of Music	Past Board member, American Music Center
Past Member, VTEA Advisory Council, Los Angeles City College Music Department	Past Member, Board, Mladi Chamber Orchestra
Member, Chamber Music America	Member, American Composers Forum
Member, Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI)	Member, SEAMUS (Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the U.S.)
Member, Mu Phi Epsilon	Member, International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM)
Past Member, Advisory Board, Kalvos and Damian's New Music Bazaar	Member, The Dominant Club Music Association
Fellowship recipient, 2003-2004, The MacDowell Colony	Fellowship recipient, 2000, California Arts Council
Member, past Board Vice President, The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU)	Member, Advancement Board, University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories

For a consolidated overview: Ms. Shapiro's Wikipedia page

...and other links

windy day at tidepools

windy day at tidepools
Alex, at home

Music business resources

The Society of Composers & Lyricists

New Music USA

The American Composers Forum

Marc D. Ostrow
New York-based attorney Marc Ostrow writes an action-packed blog with clear information that every composer should learn.

Alter, Kendrick and Baron LLP
Expert copyright and music business attorneys in New York. Lisa Alter offers her in-depth article, "Protecting Your Musical Copyrights" on the firm's website.

Flypaper
An online trove of helpful articles, including the one linked here for songwriters making their first migration to the mecca of Nashville.

TAXI
The leading independent A&R company helping unsigned bands, artists and songwriters get record deals, publishing deals and placement in films and TV shows.

The Portfolio Composer
Composer Garrett Hope has created a podcast series for which he interviews working composers and others in the field. The results are very informative and worth a listen (and sure, why not begin with the March 2016 Alex Shapiro interview!).

Music Publishing Podcast
Another excellent poscast series, hosted by composer Dennis Tobenski.

A few online music magazines

New Music Box (e-mag from New Music USA)

Music & Vision (daily classical music magazine)

Alternative Music Press (multimedia journal)

Arts Journal (daily arts news)

And an impressive and large listening resource
of living composers:
Kalvos and Damian's New Music Bazaar

Plus a comprehensive listing of
new music resources and info:
Pytheas Center for Contemporary Music

Looking for additional diverse composers?

Please visit the PROGRAMMING RESOURCES page on this site: an inspiring list of aggregated links to a great many talented and underrepresented composers who happen to be women, and/or people of color. Then, share the link with conductors, educators and music-makers!

Alex at home on San Juan Island, WA

Are you a musician who goes to conferences? Enjoy this little 1:32 clip!

CD Baby founder and all-around excellent musical citizen Derek Sivers publishes a blog that offers wise advice for professional music-makers. One of his posts, titled, Attending a music biz conference? Here's the REAL way to do it.... has terrific ideas about how to get the most out of these gatherings. Watch Alex in her natural habitat as she adds one more point to Derek's list:

Contact and Press Kit for Alex Shapiro

Info and Press Kit

To download a .pdf of the complete
Activist Music LLC catalog,
please click here

To download a .pdf of a complete
narrative bio and C.V.,
please click here

To obtain a
short program bio for print,
please click here

To download a photograph
for print or web,
please click here

To obtain program notes
for any of Ms. Shapiro's works,
please click here

To contact Alex Shapiro,
email is best.
Click here to send Alex a note

You can even send a fax
(what's THAT?) to:
(270) 916-0093.

To learn more
about Alex Shapiro's public
speaking engagements,
please click here

Interact with the composer!
See Alex in the context of the world around her,
through the nature-oriented lens of her popular blog,
Notes from the Kelp,
and in the social networks.

In January 2006, Alex began a blog titled Notes from the Kelp, her personal commentary from the beach. She regularly posts new insights to a large international following of "Kelphistos." Pairing her photos and her music in what she calls a "pixelsonic" experience, Alex invites readers to share the beauty of the environment which inspires her. Visit and drop her a note!


	Alex is very fortunate to have a fantastic professional associate helping her each day with running her business: meet Laura Krider! Need assistance with anything from Alex or Activist Music LLC? In addition to always being able to contact Alex, don't hestitate to email Laura.

Looking for additional diverse composers?

Daily Life

The San Juan Islands

The ocean is a significant part of Alex's life, and if Alex wasn't a musician, she'd probably be a marine biologist. Click above for local information about this beautiful environment which inspires her music.

Other than nature photography, how else does Alex spend her time? In addition to being a sailor, she loves kayaking and used to be an avid downhill skier until she accepted that gravity is not just a concept, it's a law.

Alex tries to balance her music life with her love of the outdoors and the intoxicating scent of SPF 50 sunscreen.For more local photos, and Alex's observations about music and everything that inspires it, visit Alex's blog, Notes from the Kelp.

Alex at work in her home studio
on the edge of San Juan Island, WA., February 2024.

Fair winds!
(and strings, brass and percussion, too!)

Cap'n Al at the helm of her
sloop "Sea Natural,"
July 2003.