Accompanist
Alex Marthaler is a composer, pianist, and educator based in Pittsburgh, PA. His compositions have been praised for their “color and translucency,” and are frequently inspired by physical spaces: both natural and man-made structures and phenomenon. Compositions often combine harmonic and rhythmic elements from music around the world, a result of his study of tabla (an Indian classical drum) with renowned player Samir Chatterjee and his own performances of Eastern European folk music with the University of Pittsburgh Carpathian Ensemble. Recent premieres include his piece for wind ensemble “Turning in Air,” his orchestral piece “Concrete Cathedrals,” and incidental music for the play “Eurydice.”
In February 2017, he collaborated with choreographer Rubén Graciani on “Tethers, Capsules, and Collisions,” a new piece that premiered at Point Park University. In addition to composing, he is a pianist for dance classes and private lessons at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and Point Park University, and also serves as an administrative assistant for several arts non-profits. He is on faculty at the Carnegie Mellon University Prep-School where he teaches group music classes to children that combine composition, improvisation, and storytelling. After completing his BA at West Chester University, Alex Marthaler studied with Nancy Galbraith at Carnegie Mellon University where he graduated in 2016 (MA).