Alex Wakim (1996-Present)

By Britney Dixon
ALBA, Italy __ His hands shifted gracefully across the keys; his gaze fixed on the sheet music in front of him: Forever for SATB chorus.

Alex Wakim had previously received poor remarks for this original work that resonated through the 8 by 5-foot practice room with only a window to light the music just enough to read.

Alex, however, was not in Italy to perfect Forever. He was here as one of 11 winners of the Alba Music Festival Composition Fellowship Program which allowed college students to create a composition to be performed at the festival.

Twenty-year-old Alex Wakim of Wichita, Kan. is a senior-to-be at Kansas State University where he is pursuing a degree in music composition. Alex also studies jazz and entrepreneurship at the university.

Alex says that a minor in entrepreneurship is important in his field of composition because it is self promotional.

“It teaches you how to market yourself as a professional,” Alex said. “It’s the root of composition.”

In a piano lesson when Alex was young, his teacher gifted him and his sister manuscript paper which sparked his first interest in composition.

“I was jealous because she got more than me,” said Alex.

At the age of 15, Alex composed his first piece due to an interest in a primary form of creation. Even though his main focus is having fun and making his music fun, Alex described composition as a way to be interpreted by others and a way to organize your own ideas enough to get them out in public. This is why he is always submitting his work to contests.

Alex’s stress on portraying emotion proved beneficial when he won the Kansas Soundscapes Award in 2016 and 2017 and the 2017 Presser Scholar Award for most outstanding junior.

“I’ve had a lot of rewarding experiences and formal awards, but I’m not exactly proud of them” Alex said. “It’s strange because it’s only one part of the whole artistic adventure. If I ever won an Oscar it’d be wonderful. It’s meaningful and builds credit, but it’s not why I compose.”

Alex’s main focus of his music is to make sure it is fun and not serious. This is something that’s important for Kansas people alike, according to Alex. However, if he doesn’t continue to push his limits, he fears not being taken seriously.

Aside from composition, Alex is a huge performer. Since he was three years old, Alex has been primarily a pianist which he hopes to continue as a side job. In 6th grade, Alex learned trombone and has since taught himself clarinet. As a composer, Alex is not required to learn all of these instruments, but he is not alone.

“I want to be a high level performer,” said Alex.

At KSU, Alex has taken three semesters of voice lessons, brass and string technique classes, and trombone lessons, as well as general and Latin composition lessons — which was very beneficial to his composition career. Alex has also been a part of Latin jazz, large band and jazz combo performance.

At a school that focuses mainly on music education, Alex gets to meet many people out of his realm and still be close to home. Through KSU, Alex also gained a stronger sense of “the academic concert music world.”

Alex took two weeks off from his diverse Kansas town and made ties with 10 other college composers and several professionals. Alex’s main goal in Alba was to head home with new ideas that he wasn’t getting in Kansas.

On May 30, 2017, Transient Canvas performed Alex’s composition, as well as several others. Transient Canvas is a duo from Boston, Mass. of a bass clarinet (Amy Advocat) and marimba (Matt Sharrock). The piece they performed by Alex was titled “Childhood Recollections” which was written to showcase the emotional stages of childhood.

The piece consisted of four movements with an introduction, interlude and conclusion. The first movement, “Stubborn,” presented a child in his/her early years of life. Playfully, “Kaleidoscope” and an Interlude followed. “Aurora” then presented a child’s first time experiencing awe, according to Alex. The last movement before the conclusion contained a clave rhythm to prove Alex’s jazz background which he called “Marumba Time.” The whole piece kept a theme of lighthearted innocence throughout.

“Childhood Recollections” presented the instruments in a different light than the other composers had seen. The rhythms supplemented each other instead of competing through overlapping themes. While this may have seemed simplistic, it was much different than the other 10 compositions heard that day.

The whole piece was playful and encompassed a concrete theme of the stages of childhood.

Through “Childhood Recollections” Alex was able to showcase his true experience.

“I’m inspired by the things that happen in my life,” Alex said. “and I was in a good mood when I wrote [Childhood Recollections].”

It only took Alex a month to compose the song for the Alba Music Festival but that was all he needed to create a work that touched others’ hearts.

Fellow composers and audience members prided Alex for his music, complimenting him on the proportions and jazz vibes.

Before the concert, Alex carefully studied the score and wished luck to other composers whose work premiered that Tuesday morning.

“It’s nerve-wracking because it’s the world premiere of your piece,” said Alex.

This was not Alex’s first premiere, however. Throughout the past five years, Alex has premiered a chamber trombone concerto and plenty of jazz and piano music.

One of Alex’s works, “Redemption,” turned into a bigger project than he had expected. It began as a set for piano that was meant to stand on its own. Alex’s creativity struck hard when he envisioned the bigger picture. He found a group of aerialists and began his first music video.

“That was a valuable experience, cause collaboration is essential to film music, which is what I'm pursuing,” said Alex.

Even though the pieces had to be reduced for the production, Alex was still extremely happy with the outcome.

Alex is also in the process of writing a musical titled “An American in Beirut” about how Lebanon is misunderstood by the West and a song cycle for poet Sea Sharp on top of recording an album.

When Alex composes, he asks himself one question: How do you create something that’s musically complex, reserves artistic integrity and is tangible for the public?

If people don’t connect with music, it is hard to get the point across, according to Alex.

“Music is a build-up of emotion,” says Alex. “That’s why you have to perform instead of just playing music.”

Keeping all of this in mind, Alex continues to study diligently to achieve all of his musical goals. Italy is only a stop along the way in Alex’s journey which provided him with the tools for a successful future in film composition.

“I learned that there are many different avenues I haven’t taken,” said Alex. “It’s a tough learning process, but it’s a beautiful process.”