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Alex Stephenson

Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition
School of Music
Office
CE Centennial East 27
  • About
  • Education
  • Research

Biography

Dr. Alex Stephenson's music has been presented and commissioned by festivals including Tanglewood, Royaumont, ISCM World New Music Days, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Breckenridge Music Festival, Composers Conference, and the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. Recent and upcoming collaborators include the New Fromm Players, Flux Quartet, Duo Axis, Hausmann Quartet, HOCKET, and the La Jolla Symphony. His music theory scholarship appears in Music Theory Online.

Current Courses

MUS 405.003 Composition

MUS 205.003 Composition:Level II

MUS 207.003 Group Instruction In Basic Musicianship III

MUS 207.004 Group Instruction In Basic Musicianship III

MUS 389.001 Scoring for Media

MUS 489.001 Scoring for Media

MUS 108.002 Group Instruction In Basic Musicianship II

MUS 108.004 Group Instruction In Basic Musicianship II

MUS 100.001 Introduction to Music Studies: Theory and Collegiate Life

MUS 305.001 Topics in Music Analysis

MUS 408.001 Topics in Music Analysis: Music from 1945-present

Teaching Interests & Areas

Composition, electroacoustic music, music theory, orchestration, aural skills, current trends in theory and analysis

Research Interests & Areas

Collaboration with soloists, chamber groups, and large ensembles; acoustic and electroacoustic composition; computer-assisted composition; hybrid harmonic systems in contemporary music

PhD Music Composition

University of California San Diego
La Jolla, California

MA Music Composition

Eastman School of Music
Rochester, New York

Other Music Composition

Guildhall School of Music and Drama
London, United Kingdom

BA Music

University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Creative Works/Broadcast Media

Stephenson, A., & Paolucci, A. Veil/Flame for solo cello (audio recording). Society of Composers CD Series 36

Journal Article

Stephenson, A. The Poetics and Politics of Ambiguity: Overtone Structures and Equal Temperament in Works by Julian Anderson and Rand Steiger. Music Theory Online 28.2 (2022)

Other

Stephenson, A. Illinois State University Alma Mater for wind ensemble (arranged by Alex Stephenson) (2025)
Stephenson, A. Logarithms of a Landscape for string quartet (2025)
Stephenson, A. Moon Song for solo piano (2025)
Stephenson, A. The Moon's Funeral for tenor and piano (2024)
Stephenson, A. Veil/Flame for solo cello (2024)