Composer / Performer / Educator / Writer
"Music that blurs the line between darkness and beauty" —Kirk Nurock
". . . a strong sense of inevitability in each and every note that makes you want to cry and sing at the same time . . . Yuwen's music somehow manages to be both fatalistic and optimistic."
It's for the old, it's for the young. It's for the ups and downs, both then and now and in the days to come. It exhibits a depth and maturity of thought that magnetizes audiences worldwide. As composer Kirk Nurock puts it, "Alex Yuwen is an inspiring young composer whose music blurs the line between darkness and beauty."
Yuwen's music encompasses a wide range of expression that may seem outwardly contradictory. It's serious yet playful, cold yet caring, calculated yet full of surprise. It's for the non-musician as much as it's for the musician.
Analogous contradictions can be found in Yuwen's lifestyle and artistic outlook. He leads a largely secluded life of study, yet his music brims with humanity and transparency of process. And despite his mania for studying other eras and cultures, Yuwen doesn't believe one should have to study his music to enjoy it. Once asked by a fellow composer if he considered this ironic, Yuwen responded, "Not at all — I see myself as doing all of the hard work so that you don't have to."
Music
Bio
Teaching
What's next
Yuwen was born on February 7, 2000 in Tucson, Arizona. Eight months later his family relocated to the suburbs of Phoenix where they remained for the next seventeen years. Yuwen's earliest memory is from age 3 when he would stay up every night listening to his Barney's Favorites CD, deliberately committing the entire CD to memory. If his parents had bought him a compilation of Beethoven symphonies, he'd probably have memorized those instead, but he did the best with what he had.
Yuwen began taking piano lessons in the Western classical tradition at age 5 which is when he discovered he had perfect pitch. At age 9 he picked up the saxophone, and at age 10 the clarinet.
At age 11, Yuwen began composing prolifically, in large part because his middle school band teacher exempted him from attending class so that he could focus on writing and rehearsing his own music. He also began studying jazz and, at age 13, made his debut as a jazz bandleader at The Nash.
From ages 13 to 16, Yuwen played clarinet in the Phoenix Youth Symphony which exposed him to masterworks such as Shostakovich's 5th. He fell asleep to that symphony every night, and just like with his beloved Barney CD, he could sing along to every orchestral part by the final concert.
At age 16, Yuwen quit clarinet, piano, and high school varsity tennis to focus on jazz saxophone. His music took him all across the US and the world. He performed and studied with a long list of jazz greats including Barry Harris, Lewis Nash, Lee Konitz, Kenny Barron, and Joe Lovano. At age 17, he moved to New York City to pursue studies in jazz performance.
NYC was a testing time for Yuwen. His disillusionment with the noise of the city, coupled with a battle against chronic pain, caused him to effectively withdraw from social life. He immersed himself in the study of theory and composition, all the while losing purpose for staying in NYC.
When COVID-19 hit, Yuwen returned to Phoenix and took a two-year music hiatus, avoiding all music. Instead, he did nothing but read, which turned out to be unimaginably formative for his musical development and artistic outlook. For example, his prioritization of breadth over depth, which has certainly shaped his musical trajectory, forms a first principle, the optimality of which is given by the solution to the exploration-exploitation dilemma. This accounts for Yuwen's advocacy among young artists for the prioritization of the vertical over the horizontal — an orthogonal renaissance.
Today, Yuwen resides in the Phoenix area where he is active not only on the saxophone, but also on the clarinet, piano, and tennis court. His story has only just begun.
"Alex is not just an accomplished musician but also an exceptional teacher. His passion for teaching and his genuine care for students set him apart. Alex's guidance has helped me become the best player I can be, and I'm grateful for his role as a teacher, mentor, and friend. You couldn't ask for a better teacher." —Addison Miranda
"Alex possesses an extraordinary breadth and depth of knowledge and is able to express it in a simple and fun way. It is clear that Alex cares deeply about music and loves sharing that passion with his students. I wouldn't be the musician I am today without Alex's mentorship." —George Li
Alex Yuwen is available for lessons in music theory, composition, and performance. Please contact him for more information and pricing.
In the short-term, Yuwen will continue writing his book 1001 Musical Games, a collection of musical games exploring the creative cross-idiom possibilities of melody, rhythm, form, group-playing, and design patterns. His current obsessions are Carnatic singing and SuperCollider.
In the long-term, Yuwen plans to undertake a more active role as an educator and writer, in addition to composing and performing. He dreams of one day partaking in art tourism in order to deepen his understanding of the world's music and art. At the top of his list is Chennai, India followed by Cairo, Egypt.
All shows are in the metro Phoenix area unless otherwise specified.
"Sramana" at The Farish House
THU December 5 2024, 6:00-8:00 PM, free
"Pancharatna kritis" at Sri Venkata Krishna Kshetra Temple
SAT January 18 2025, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM, free
"Pancharatna kritis" at Chinmaya Mission Phoenix
TBD, free
alexyuwen@gmail.com
Copyright © 2024 Alex Yuwen