Biography
Born and raised in Philadelphia, her family later moved to Washington, D.C., where she studied piano with contemporary music specialist, Margaret Tolson. She received a Bachelor of Music, Phi Beta Kappa (1955), from the University of Michigan, where she majored in piano performance and medieval history; a Master of Music in piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music (1958); a Master of Arts in music history from Harvard University (1959); and a Ph.D. in music theory and composition from Brandeis University (1968), where her teachers included composers Irving Fine andSelected works
Orchestral
* ''Behemoth'', in five short movements (1976) * ''Dances On The Face Of the Deep, Symphony No. 2'' (1988) * ''Short Suite Overture'' (1995)String quartets
* ''Outcrops and Upshots, String Quartet No. 2'' (1994) * ''Four Movements for String Quartet'' (1987) (rev. 1996)Winds
Flute
* ''Dark Zephyrs, flute and piano'' (2007) * ''Tributaries, flute and piano'' (1999) * ''Escaped Exotics, solo flute'' (1985) * ''A Common Chase, flute and marimba'' (1980)Clarinet
* ''7 Line Drawings, solo B-flat clarinet (nos. 6 and 7 are for B-flat bass clarinet)'' (1993) * ''After Dubuffet's 'Limbour as a Crustacean,' B-flat clarinet and percussion (one player: snare, 3 tom-toms, marimba)'' (1979) * ''Job 22:28, for two B-flat clarinets'' (1978) * ''Buffalo Bill, for B-flat clarinet, friend (piano and spoken poetry), and tape (poem by e e cummings)'' (1978) * ''Three Pieces for B-flat Clarinet and Piano'' (1977) * ''Sargasso'' * ''Norwich Chorale'' * ''Arabesque''Oboe, English horn, alto saxophone
* ''Song and Dance, oboe and piano'' (1997) * ''Suite for English Horn and Piano'' (1996, rev 2000), arr. for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1999) * ''Set of Three, oboe and piano'' (1995) * ''Calliope Dances, oboe and piano'' (1991)French horn, tuba, mixed chamber winds
* ''Bible Bestiary, tuba and speaker'' (Sparrow & Cockroach, poems by Roger Pierce) (1997) * ''Dialogues for Horn and Cello'' (1996) * ''Never No Summer, Two Movements for Five Winds, flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, trombone'' (1985)Percussion
* ''Moretti Music, vibraphone'' (1995) * ''Traces in Movement, violin, piano, and percussion (one player: I. tenor drum and snare; wood block; II. triangles, tambourine; III. Snare, temple blocks, xylophone'' (1993) * ''Calypso of Ogygie, marimba'' (1990) * ''After Dubuffet's 'Limbour as a Crustacean,' B-flat clarinet and percussion (one player: snare, 3 tom-toms, marimba)'' (1979) * ''Fool's Gold, vibraphone'' (1978) * ''The Great Horned Owl, 4-1/2 octave marimba (kelon)'' (1977)Piano
* ''Capriccio and Rhapsody'' (2003) * ''Intimations, Suite for Piano'' (2001) * ''Rings of Saturn'' (2000) * ''Upslope, Suite for Piano'' (1998) * ''Keener's Way'' (1997) * ''Four Done Deals'' (1994) * the spirits that lend strength are invisible (1990) * ''Mixed Nocturne & Toccata'' (1989) * ''Heart of the Beast'' (1988) * ''Ballad and Ostinato'' (1985) * ''The Lost River, Sevier'' (1978) * ''Transverse Process'' (1976)Piano, four hands
* ''Sweeney among the Nightingales and Danse Micawber'' (1975)Prepared piano
* ''Seven Waltzes for Emily Dickinson'' (1980) * ''Popo Agie'' (1979) * ''Six Sentient Waltzes'' (1979). * ''Variations 7'' (1978) * ''Dry Rot'' (1977) * ''Blending Stumps'' (1976) * ''Orb'' (1976) * ''Spectres (with five easy eraser preparations)'' (1975) * ''Greycastle'' (1974)Strings (guitar, harp, violin, violoncello)
Guitar
* ''Serenade'' (1979)Harp
* ''Caryatid II'' (1991) * ''Caryatid I'' (1990) * ''Maola'' (1977)Violin
* ''Set of Six, three movements for violin and percussion (one player: timpani, marimba, xylophone), three for violin solo'' (1994) * ''Traces in Movement, percussion (wood, metal, wood), violin, and piano'' (1993)Violin and viola
* ''A Red, Red Rose, duo for violin and viola on a poem of Robert Burns'' (2008) * ''My Luv (2010)Cello
* ''Landforms, three movements for solo cello'' (2004) * ''Dialogues for Horn and Cello'' (1996) * ''Cambodian Dancer, cello and piano'' (1983)Voice, solo
* ''Bible Bestiary: Sparrow & Cockroach, speaker and tuba (poems by Roger Pierce)'' (1997, arr. for speaker and piano in 2001) * ''Psalm 100, soprano and piano (King James trans., also for low voice and piano)'' (1993) * ''Three Songs on Poems by Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson, high voice and piano; low voice and harp'' (1993) * ''Barbr'y Allen, low voice and piano; freely based on the traditional text and tune'' (1992) * ''Seven Settings of Poems by William Blake, from Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence), unaccompanied voice'' (1990) * ''Spring and Fall: To a Young Child, low voice and piano (poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins)'' (1985)Books
Books by Alexandra Pierce
* ''Deepening Musical Performance through Movement: the Theory and Practice of Embodied Interpretation'' (Indiana University Press, 2009) According to WorldCat, the book is held in 373 libraries * ''Spanning: Essays on Music Theory, Performance and Movement'' (Center of Balance Press, 1983)Books by Alexandra Pierce and Roger Pierce
*''Expressive Movement: Posture and Action in Daily Life, Sports and the Performing Arts'' (Perseus Books, NY, 1989)> According to WorldCat, the book is held in 2823 libraries * ''Generous Movement, a Practical Guide to Balance in Action'' (Center of Balance Press, 1991)References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Alexandra 1934 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American composers Brandeis University alumni Harvard University alumni Musicians from Philadelphia New England Conservatory alumni University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni University of Redlands faculty 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American women composers 21st-century American women composers