One of my greatest appreciations for living in the Midwest is the rich soundscape of a summer dusk. With fireflies shimmering in accompaniment, the living Earth provides a symphony using varying species of cicadas, crickets, and katydids, among other beings. I sense calmness, reflectiveness, and peace when taking the time to be still, be present, and listen deeply to this world.

Lyric Dusk (2023) - percussion sextet with fixed electronics

Alexis C. Lamb (b. 1993) is a composer, percussionist, and educator who is interested in fostering communities of mindful music-making, particularly through the medium of storytelling. Her recent musical endeavors incorporate her love of research and oral histories into sonic commentaries that often enable the performers to offer their own improvisations and responses.

Composing music is a highly collaborative process, and Alexis views each of her compositions as a reflection of the specific collaboration for which it was written. One of her missions as a composer is to create safe musical spaces for vulnerable populations. By directly collaborating with and listening to our communities, Alexis can lend her musical voice to forge new relationships between diverse populations. As a result, collaborations can both tell an individual’s story as well as a dialogue between composer and concept/individual. Her compositions can be found on Innova Recordings, National Sawdust Tracks, and Evan Chapman’s self-published album, Caustics. She is originally from Denver, Colorado, and is currently based in Ypsilanti, Michigan.