by Dave Beck

Photo by James Holt / Seattle Symphony.

Among the influences shaping the music of Alexandra Gardner, this season’s composer-in-residence with the Seattle Symphony, are her experience as a percussionist, her studies of electroacoustic music, and her fascination for the compositions of Steve Reich.

“My heart is with rhythm and pulse” Gardner says of her music. Her newly composed piece Significant Others will have its world premiere by the Seattle Symphony with Ludovic Morlot on June 14 and 16 at Benaroya Hall. The piece is inspired by the larger-than-life personality of Leonard Bernstein, whose music from the 1953 Tony Award-winning musical Wonderful Town will also be featured on the program.

On our most recent KING FM/Seattle Symphony Spotlight, Dave Beck spoke to Gardner about her work with student composers and homeless youth in Seattle, and her fascination with music’s power to “make something terrible into something that is beautiful.” Listen to the full interview below.