J. Anthony Allen

Born and raised in Michigan, J. Anthony Allen (b. 1978) is a prolific composer of both acoustic and electronic music. He has worked with many forms of interactive media including audio, video, installation and dance. Mr. Allen’s works have been called “a study in ominous sound and motion,”(Baltimore Sun) “An aural hallucinogen,” (Minnesota Public Radio) and “A well-executed, beautiful and engaging use of technology. ” (Cogapp: The Art and Science Blog). Allen’s artistic interests lie not only in exploring new sounds and methods of music, but sociological aspects of performance art as well. This philosophy is evident in his works with firedancers, turtablists, outdoor performances, homemade and non-traditional instruments, and collaborations with everything from bio-medical engineers to skateboarders. Allen’s work has been performed by the Peabody and Aspen orchestras, and in 2006 by the Minnesota Orchestra as part of their acclaimed Composer Institute program. Additionally, Allen’s work has been presented at International Computer Music Conferences, Society of Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) 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, New York City), June in Buffalo Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival, for which he received the Susan and Ford Schumann Award in 2004 and 2005. Allen is a recipient of the Prix D’Ete award (first prize, Peabody Conservatory), Macht Orchestral Prize and P. Bruce Blair Award (Peabody Conservatory). He was a regional winner of the SCI/ASCAP Student Commission Prize, recipient of two Peabody Institute Career Development Grants, an Arts Quarter Collective Grant (University of Minnesota), Meet the Composer Creative Connections grant, many ASCAP Standard Awards, and several grants from the American Composers Forum. Recent paper publications have appeared in Organized Sound (Cambridge University Press), The Living Music Journal, Proceedings of the third annual Spark Festival, and ComposersOnline.Org. Allen has studied with prominent teachers in the United States while at the Peabody Conservatory and University of Minnesota. Additionally, Allen has studied electro-acoustic music at the Centre de Création of Music Iannis Xenakis (CCMIX) in Paris, France. In 2008 he was awarded the first ever Distinguished Young Alumni award from his alma mater, Grand Valley State University. Allen performs extensively both as a guitarist and on wearable sensor controllers built and designed 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, Miami, FL., Minneapolis, MN., and recurring performances with the improvisation group Ballet Méchanique. His music has been performed throughout the United States and Europe, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France and Italy. Allen has been the lead Producer for the international Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts since 2003. In 2004 Allen co-founded the “Salon3136” Concert Series which hosts concerts and other events with the intention of dismantling the exclusivity of concert music. Recent teaching appointments include: The Universiteit van Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Teaching Associate for the Computer Music Department of the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), Instructor positions at the University of Minnesota (Teaching Advanced Notation and Introduction to Music Software and MIDI), as well as various Teaching Assistantships at Peabody and elsewhere. Additionally, he has taught classical, jazz, folk and rock guitar at academies and institutions throughout the Midwest. Mr. Allen holds degrees from t