ALEXANDERWOODSPIANO

Alexander Woods is a pianist and music teacher living in the Twin Cities, MN. A versatile and collaborative musician, his passions include art song, instrumental & chamber works, choral music, contemporary piano repertoire, and a variety of jazz and popular styles. He strives to maintain an innovative perspective in his performances, seeking out new and old works from diverse genres and composers.

 

Woods is a lecturer of music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he has taught applied piano lessons, class piano, and an honors colloquium exploring music and gender. He also holds positions at Central Presbyterian Church (St. Paul) and Voices of Hope Prison Music Initiative, and has freelanced with institutions and ensembles such as St. Olaf College, Gustavus Adolphus College, University of Minnesota, Source Song Festival, the Mississippi Valley Orchestra, Dakota Valley Symphony & Chorus, South Metro Chorale, St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral Orchestra, the International Cello Institute, St. Croix Valley Opera, Borromeo Music Festival, and the NATS, Schubert Club, and Thursday Musical competitions.

 

Recent and upcoming performances include the Schubert Club's Courtroom Concert series with vocalists Christine Amon and Kenneth Pereira, the UMFA Flute Fest with Rachel Haug and Tim Lane, Source Song Festival’s MNSong Showcase with soprano Siena Forest, and a series of genre-crossing recitals with soprano Janani Sridhar. Woods also performs frequently at UW-Eau Claire, including faculty concerts, guest artist recitals, collaborations with choirs, and the First Fridays series. In January 2024, Woods teamed with mezzo-soprano Christine Amon and composer Abbie Betinis to earn second place at Source Song Festival's annual Minneapolis Song Slam competition.

 

Woods also plays Argentine tango music with the Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet and Orquesta Típica Kingfield, working in both contemporary and classic styles. His tango performances include the Bach Society of Minnesota’s Outside the Box series, a Midwest tour with Latin Grammy nominees Los Tangueros del Oeste (Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago), the Tango for Musicians workshop at Reed College, the Minnesota Tango Music Festival, concerts at Berlin music lounge (Minneapolis), Metronome Brewery (Saint Paul), UW-Eau Claire, Gustavus Adolphus College, and frequent milongas (dances) throughout the Twin Cities.

 

As a recording artist, Woods's projects include Carol Barnett’s Epigrams, Epitaphs with Border CrosSing, two CDs with flutist Tim Lane (Paper Route Press, Skyline Publications), an album of piano works by Ivar Lunde Jr, John Russo, and Martin Stepper (CRS, Inc.), and the Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet's debut EP The Conservatory, which was featured in Minnesota Public Radio’s New Minnesota Music Round-up. The quartet's second album Dead Stars is underway for 2025.

 

Woods holds a master's degree in collaborative piano from the University of Minnesota, where he earned the Rydell Fellowship in Accompanying & Coaching. He also holds bachelor’s degrees in music and religious studies from Pomona College, where he earned the McCord Memorial Grant to fund piano study at several summer music festivals. His primary teachers include Timothy Lovelace, Lydia Artymiw, Genevieve Lee, and Ming Tsu. www.alexanderwoodspiano.com