alexander goodhart
Composer Pianist Educator
Artist Bio
In the clever intermingling of whole-tone scales
and melodic chromaticism in Debussy's L'isle Joyeuse,
a younger Alex Goodhart discovered his purpose
was to be an artist, an expressive creator.
To this day, his music seeks to juxtapose disparate
and complimentary musical vernacular, and to
communicate as directly as possible with an audience.
I grew up just outside of Philadelphia, where music and acting occupied much of my childhood and contributed to an interest in the lives of people with unique perspectives and challenges.
Drawing inspiration from diverse sources Beethoven and Kronos Quartet to Joplin and Gaga— I craft works that give voice to the various dreams of human experience. Some of these pieces invoke generational voices, like Edgar Allan Poe’s in The Raven Cantata, or James Joyce’s in yes (mountain flower). Others are more born from mine and rooted in the contemporary experiences, such as DIVIDED: an American Symphony. My music has, so far, found itself most clearly in the realms of symphonic, choral, and vocal work.
My formal studies took place at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the European-American Music Alliance, the Oregon Bach Composer’s Symposium, and the Atlantic Music Festival.
As a musician and educator, I am dedicated to further channeling my music into community; I want for my work to benefit listeners purely as a sonic experience, yet also be deployed in ways that create collaborative opportunities for individuals and communities that stand to gain profoundly from the transformative power of music, the same power that has profoundly affected my life. I continue to consider strong opinions on the direction of classical music, new music, contemporary programming and legacy institutions, and am gratified by opportunities that bend the tides away from insular, repetitive practices.