J Anthony Allen
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Jason Anthony Allen (born January 18, 1978) is an American composer and producer. His career has focused on
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
and concert music. Allen’s works have been presented on national and international stages. In 2014 he was a quarter-finalist for the Grammy Foundation Music Educator Award, he founded Slam Academy in 2011, and he has been a college music educator at numerous colleges and universities.


Career

Allen is an American composer, producer, songwriter, engineer, and entrepreneur. He sat on the board of the
American Composers Forum The American Composers Forum is an American organization that promotes and assists American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with activities ...
. He is an orchestra composer, with works for the
Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Th ...
as well as electronic artist, with works developed for film, TV, and radio. Most recently, he has focused on producing music for video games, and on UX (user experience) sound design. Allen’s work has been experienced throughout the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, where it has been called "a study in ominous sound and motion," “An aural hallucinogen,” and “A beautiful and engaging use of technology.” His music has also been heard across Europe, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France and Italy. Allen’s work in electronic music is influenced by his early training in classical and avant-garde music. He has presented at the
International Computer Music Conference The International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) is a yearly international conference for computer music researchers and composers. It is the annual conference of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA). History In 1986, the Ins ...
, and Society for ElectroAcoustic Music in the United States (
SEAMUS Seamus may refer to: * Séamus, a Gaelic male given name Film and television * Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * Seamus McFly, a fic ...
) national conferences, Society of Composers (SCI) national student conference, Electronic Music Midwest festivals, Spark Festivals of Electronic Music and Art, (Minneapolis), Music at the Anthology festival (
MATA Festival The MATA Festival is a New York City, New York–based annual contemporary classical music festival devoted to championing the works of young composers. It was founded in 1996 by Philip Glass, Lisa Bielawa and Eleonor Sandresky and is currently u ...
, New York City), June in Buffalo Festival, and the
Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a European classical music, classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music stu ...
, for which he received the Susan and Ford Schumann Award in 2004 and 2005. Allen has also worked in electronic performance, performing extensively both as a guitarist and on a set of “glove” controllers, which he has designed, built, and programmed by himself. He has performed at the Guitar Foundation of America National Conference, given numerous solo concerts and recitals, as well as professional studio work. He has performed on electronic devices on several occasions including performances with members of the Zeitgeist Contemporary Music Ensemble, in New York City at the
MATA festival The MATA Festival is a New York City, New York–based annual contemporary classical music festival devoted to championing the works of young composers. It was founded in 1996 by Philip Glass, Lisa Bielawa and Eleonor Sandresky and is currently u ...
, Miami, Florida, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has also given numerous performances with the group Ballet Mech, of which he is one of the founders. Allen has many collaborative outlets. Currently, his primary collaborative vehicle is the group Ballet Mech; this trio of producers recently released “Graveyards,” which remixes Jeremy Messersmith’s “The Reluctant Graveyard.” Allen is also in leadership roles in organizations dedicated to electronic music and education: he was conference director for SEAMUS 2013, and he was the assistant director and lead producer of the Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art from 2003 to 2009. Allen taught sound design and composition at
McNally Smith College of Music McNally Smith College of Music was a private for-profit music school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Initially founded in 1984 as the Guitar Center of Minneapolis, it was renamed Musictech College and moved to St. Paul in 2001. The school was renamed a ...
in St. Paul, MN, and he is currently on the faculty of Augsburg University where he teachers music, media, and management. He is founder and owner of Slam Academy, a multimedia educational space in downtown Minneapolis where he also teaches courses on Ableton Live, Max for Live, and other software.


Background, education and awards

Born and raised in Michigan, Allen completed a BA in Music from
Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...
before moving to Baltimore, Maryland to attend the
Peabody Conservatory of Music The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a private music and dance conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliated with Johns Hopkins in 1977. History Philanthropist and m ...
. At Peabody he earned concurrent master's degrees in Electronic Music and Music Composition. His orchestral works have been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, Aspen Conductors Orchestra, and Peabody Conservatory Orchestra. These compositions have received the Prix D'Ete award (first prize, Peabody Conservatory), Macht Orchestral Prize and P. Bruce Blair Award (Peabody Conservatory). In 2008, he was awarded the Distinguished Young Alumni award from his alma mater,
Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...
. In 2011, Allen earned a PhD in Music Composition (with a minor in Visual Arts) from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
; his supervisors were Judith Lang Zaimont and Douglas Geers. He has also studied electro-acoustic music at the Centre de Création of Music Iannis Xenakis ( CCMIX) in Paris, France. Allen's career of academic teaching and publishing runs parallel to his work as a composer, and multi-media artist. Paper publications have appeared in
Organised Sound ''Organised Sound'' is an international peer-reviewed academic journal which focuses on the rapidly developing methods and issues arising from the use of technology in music today. Background Published three times a year, it concentrates upon t ...
(Cambridge University Press), The Living Music Journal, Proceedings of the third annual Spark Festival, and ComposersOnline.Org. Before joining the faculty at McNally Smith, Allen held teaching appointments at The
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...
(Amsterdam, Netherlands), the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, and the Computer Music Department of the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD). He has also taught classical, jazz, folk and rock guitar at academies and institutions throughout the Midwest.


Current and past projects


Ballet Mech

Ballet Mech began in 2004 as a collaboration with fellow composer Noah Keesecker. The group seeks new ways to incorporate technology into performance. Allen originally performed on his “data gloves” and Keesecker on “modified Trumpet”, both controlling audio and video. For a time, they added a bassist and drummer. Entering a third phase of the group, Allen and Keesecker added vocalist and composer Joshua Clausen. This group focused on exploring how their ensemble could fit into popular music. In addition to performances at national conferences, this iteration of the group had a successful run of local bar shows in the
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
area. The fourth and current phase of the group removed performance from the equation. The current group consists only of Allen, Keesecker, and Clausen, and focuses on production of large projects. In 2010 they were featured in a production at
Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...
(St. Paul, MN) having re-composed the soundtrack to Marat/Sade. In 2012 they released a remix album of Minneapolis Singer/Songwriter Jeremy Messersmith, titled Graveyard.


Slam Academy

Allen started Slam Academy in 2011, after finding that there were few reasonable opportunities for kids to learn electronic music affordably in the
Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...
. Immediately Allen brought on fellow Ballet Mech collaborator Joshua Clausen, and Spark Festival collaborator James Patrick. In 2013 the school served over 600 students in programs including classes in their Minneapolis space, online classes, free events, and concerts. Currently, Allen serves as CEO of Slam Academy while continuing his teaching work at
McNally Smith College of Music McNally Smith College of Music was a private for-profit music school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Initially founded in 1984 as the Guitar Center of Minneapolis, it was renamed Musictech College and moved to St. Paul in 2001. The school was renamed a ...
.


Solo albums

Allen has released two albums of solo work: ''Aniscorcia'' (2015) ''Conic Arias'' (2016)


Ion Concert Media

Allen is one of the founders of Ion Concert Media - a company working to integrate video fluidly into live concert performance. Allen has contributed to multiple patents for the company.


References


External links


J Anthony Allen

Slam Academy

Zivix

Spark Festival

Mcnally Smith College of Music
*Augsburg University web sit
Allen, Jason
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, J Anthony 1978 births Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers American electronic musicians Record producers from Michigan Peabody Institute alumni 21st-century American male musicians