Alyssa Weinberg
Alyssa Weinberg’s music “…succeeds at the challenge of being at once contemporary and classic” (Ouest France) and contains “heavyweight emotional dimensions.” (Bachtrack) Her work is deeply influenced by collaborations with other artists from literature, dance, and visual arts.
Weinberg’s 2017/18 season includes new works for eighth blackbird, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and clarinetist Benjamin Mitchell with the Enso String quartet, made possible by a grant from Chamber Music America. Her works have been performed by the Aizuri Quartet, Amaranth Quartet, Arx Duo, Contemporaneous, Curtis 20/21 Ensemble, the Dover Quartet, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Panic Duo, PUBLIQuartet, Sandbox Percussion and So Percussion, as well as musicians Ricardo Morales, Philip Setzer, and Shai Wosner, and she has received commissions from the Barnes Foundation, the Curtis Institute of Music, FringeArts and the Pennsylvania Ballet, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, LiveConnections, Music from Angel Fire, Nadia Sirota, and One Book One Philadelphia.
In 2013 Weinberg founded “duende,” a series for experimental and dance in Philadelphia along with cellist Gabriel Cabezas and dancer/choreographer Chloe Perkes. The group presents events in a variety of settings and alternative venues, emphasizing equality between movement and music, with a deep exploration into the intersection of those two disciplines. About duende, the Broad Street Review wrote: “…informal settings can create a less elitist atmosphere and be the catalyst for meaningful conversations about art. With their commitments to creative collaborations and bringing their audiences physically closer to the art they create, duende is not just a show but a full artistic experience.” (More at www.duendelive.com)
An active educator, Weinberg has taught at numerous summer festivals and maintains a studio of private students throughout the year. She has been an Artist Teacher in composition at the Curtis Young Artist Summer Program and lead music theory instructor. She has also taught classes in composition and theory at the Philadelphia International Music Festival. Her educational work has brought her online, as well, with critical involvement with the Curtis Institute’s MOOC “From the Repertoire” on Coursera.
In 2012 Weinberg attended the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France, where she studied with composers Allain Gaussin and Francois Paris. Other festivals include the Atlantic Music Festival, New York Summer Music Festival, and Young Composer Residencies at the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival and Music From Angel Fire.
Weinberg has participated in masterclasses with Unsuk Chin, Phillipe Leroux, Steven Mackey, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Steven Stucky. She received an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, her M.M. in Composition from the Manhattan School of Music, and her B.M. in Composition and Theory at Vanderbilt University. Her teachers have included Richard Danielpour, Jennifer Higdon, Stan Link, David Ludwig and Michael Slayton. Weinberg began her studies as a doctoral fellow at Princeton University in the fall of 2016.