Alexis C. Lamb (b. 1993) is a composer, percussionist, and educator whose work seeks to cultivate a connectedness to natural, historical, and societal relationships. Her music incorporates a variety of mediums, such as oral histories, field recordings, improvisation, and community input. Lamb’s music has been regarded as “a pleasure in its own right” with “sparkling optimism throughout” (I Care If You Listen).
As a composer, Lamb has collaborated with numerous ensembles and individuals, including Third Coast Percussion, Aizuri Quartet, Opera Omaha, Albany (NY) Symphony, Vera Quartet, Camilla Tassi, Contemporaneous, Indiana University Percussion Ensemble, Emily Roller, Yale Philharmonia, Evan Chapman, University of Nebraska Percussion Ensemble, Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra, and Northern Illinois University World Steelband. Her music has been performed in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Currently, Lamb is working on recording an album of her "percussion plus" solos to be released in May 2024, as well as a concert-length outdoor performance that will ask individuals to listen, respond, and interact with their natural surroundings.
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Photo Credit: Epongue Ekille
As a percussionist, Lamb has recently found joy in improvising in a variety of natural soundscapes, listening to how the natural world responds to her human-made music. Her performance is highly influenced by the philosophies and Deep Listening practices of the late Pauline Oliveros. Lamb was also a performer from 2013-2020 with Projeto Arcomusical, the berimbau ensemble associated with Arcomusical. Her performance has been hailed as “riveting visually as well as sonically” (Centerline).
As an educator, Lamb’s work runs the gamut from private lessons and curriculum development to clinics and large classes. She is a passionate advocate for students with disabilities and encourages creativity at every age and ability level. Her work in New Haven included developing the Creative Music-Making program for the Yale Music in Schools Initiative as well as serving as a Teaching Fellow for the Department of Music at Yale University and Teaching Assistant in the Yale School of Music. Prior to returning to graduate school, Lamb was the 6-12th grade band director for Meridian CUSD 223 in Stillman Valley, Illinois. Lamb is currently serving as a Graduate Student Instructor at the University of Michigan, and she runs her own private studio that meets both in-person and online.
Lamb is a recipient of a 2022 Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award, a 2021 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a 2018 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award. She is a doctoral candidate in composition at the University of Michigan. Lamb earned a Master of Music in Composition at the Yale School of Music and two Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Percussion Performance from Northern Illinois University. Her compositions can be found on Innova Recordings, National Sawdust Tracks, Evan Chapman’s Caustics, and Third Coast Percussion's Currents, Volume 1. When not working on music, she can be found playing board games with her wife at an overly competitive level, teaching new tricks to her dog and two cats, and fishing in every possible body of water. She is originally from Denver, Colorado, and is currently based in Ypsilanti, Michigan.