BIOGRAPHY

Alexander Hunter studied composition, double bass and viola da gamba performance, and ethnomusicology in Edinburgh and his native Chicago before relocating to Canberra in 2014 to take up a lecturing position at the Australian National University School of Music.

His work as a composer and performer is based on open works, which encourage a fluid relationship between composer, score, performer and audience. These techniques are influenced by an active interest in intersectional feminism and leftist politics, and are exemplified in the multimedia collaborations of the Canberra Experimental Music Studio, which he founded in 2014.

Much of Hunter’s recent work as a composer has taken the form of collaborations with artists like Mike Parr, Martyn Jolly, Janet Meaney and Ngaio Fitzpatrick.

Composer website: https://alexanderhunter.co.uk

FEATURED WORKS

Percussion Ensemble, for percussion ensemble (8 players).

Percussion Ensemble for between three and eight players was written in October of 2010 in Elgin, Illinois, and utilises mobile moment form. The ensemble choose any number and order of events from the 80 which comprise the score. Each performers is given instructions regarding the kinds of instruments required for their part, e.g. ‘five resonant metals’ or ‘five pieces of resonant glass or porcelain’.

The work is an exploration of possible combinations of carefully articulated quiet percussive textures. The performer and audience are encouraged to quietly observe the interactions of different sounds and resonances, taking each moment as a sound world of its own.

Featured in Temporal Waves – July 2017, curated by Mark Wolf.