Alexander Kolassa is a composer and conductor from the north of England. He has recently completed a PhD in Composition at the University of Nottingham with Dr Nicholas Sackman and Dr Robert Adlington, where he also studied for his bachelors. His music, an eclectic commentary on a century of musical modernism, has been performed by numerous student ensembles as well as the New London Chamber Ensemble, the Allegri String Quartet, the Arco Ensemble and Orlando Consort. He has also received tuition from Judith Weir, Julian Philips, Michael Zev Gordon, Gavin Wayte and Mervyn Cooke, and has attended numerous workshops around the country. Alexander is active as a teacher and lecturer and is involved in additional research producing music for new experimental, and experiential, multimedia. Recently, Alexander was involved in Ópera en Movimiento, a touring project that brings opera performance to rural and poor areas; as part of this, in the summer of 2015, Alexander directed and conducted a chamber opera in a tour around the Mexican state of Veracruz. He has also worked on the philosophy of music, and is currently working towards publishing a book on contemporary/popular representations of, and interactions with, “early” music.
