Composer and voice virtuoso Alex Nowitz can capture and manipulate his voice on-the-fly with his highly personalized instrument built at STEIM. By combining his grumbling moans, bird chirps, and soprano singing with pre-recorded instrument samples in realtime, Nowitz literally “composes the now.” His performances are nothing but a spectacle to watch and hear.
Since 2007, Nowitz has been working closely with STEIM’s Frank Baldé and Daniel Schorno to build his first interactive music system. With this, he has won numerous prizes and commissions throughout the world. In 2010, he started to work on a completely new instrument “Shells” which is built upon the unique performing style he developed for the previous instrument but also reflecting on his desire to play compositional material with more accuracy.
Alex Nowitz is a composer of vocal, instrumental and electroacoustic music. He writes concert music and music for opera, dance and theatre. His works have been commissioned by Theater Osnabrueck, Staatsoper unter den Linden Berlin, Schaubuehne Berlin, fabrik Potsdam, Kammerakademie Potsdam, work-in-progress Berlin, Maulwerker Berlin.
He is also a voice artist, countertenor, whistling and singing virtuoso who presents a wide array of extended techniques. His solo programs have been presented by himself at prestigious festivals like Warsaw Autumn, Gaudeamus Music Week Amsterdam, Total Music Meeting Berlin, Jauna Musika Vilnius, Fresh Sound Series San Diego, etc.
Nowitz interprets composed new music, but also performs in the context of improvised and experimental music as well. He has collaborated with theatre director Thomas Ostermeier, choreographer Marie-Josée Chartier, conductor Hermann Baeumer and many other musicians from various contemporary music genres. http://www.nowitz.de
