Andy Akiho is Music from Angel Fire’s composer-in-residence for 2023, with a world premiere of a work by him on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 6 p.m. at the United Church of Angel Fire.  Tickets for the concert are available starting July 1.  Andy is featured not only as composer-in-residence, but he brings his steel pan and unusual chamber music orchestrations for your enjoyment.  You can get to know Andy at the free Meet the Composer, Friday, August 25, 1:30 p.m. at the United Church of Angel Fire.

Andy Akiho is a “trailblazing” (Los Angeles Times) Pulitzer Prize finalist and GRAMMY-nominated composer whose bold works unravel intricate and unexpected patterns while surpassing preconceived boundaries of classical music. Known as “an increasingly in-demand composer” (The New York Times), Andy has earned international acclaim for his large-scale works that emphasize the natural theatricality of live performance. He is the only composer to be nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category in both 2022 and 2023.

Highlights of the 2022-2023 season include the world-premiere of a new interdisciplinary work for Omaha Symphony honoring visual artist Jun Kaneko, the world-premiere of a new commission for Imani Winds, and a sold-out run of Andy’s “Seven Pillars” at Théâtre du Châtelet, choreographed by Benjamin Millepied and performed by Sandbox Percussion and LA Dance Project. Equally at home writing chamber music and symphonies, Andy is the Oregon Symphony Orchestra’s 2022-2023 composer-in-residence.

Andy has been recognized with many prestigious awards and organizations including the Rome Prize, American Academy of Arts and Letters, Lili Boulanger Memorial Prize, Harvard University Fromm Commission, Barlow Endowment, New Music USA, and Chamber Music America. His compositions have been featured by organizations such as Bang on a Can, American Composers Forum, The Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong, and the Heidelberg Festival.

An active steel pannist, Andy has performed his works with the LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series, the Berlin Philharmonic’s Scharoun Ensemble, the International Drum Festival in Taiwan, and more. Andy’s recordings No One To Know One, The War Below, Seven Pillars, and Oculus feature brilliantly crafted compositions inspired by his primary instrument, the steel pan.

Music making is inextricably linked to shared human experience for Andy from inception to performance. Andy’s compositional trajectory has been an untraditional one, he spent most of his 20s playing steel pan by ear in Trinidad and began composing at 28, and these social roots laid the foundation for his current practice. He can frequently be found composing into the wee hours of the morning at coffee shops, nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, taking breaks to get to know those around him. Similarly, Andy develops relationships with his collaborators as he writes for people, not instruments.

Music from Angel Fire is looking forward to the 40th Anniversary and Andy Akiho.