William Alves
Professor of Music
I am a composer and video artist with interests in many traditional musics around the world, especially that of the Indonesian gamelan; computer music; abstract animation and visual music; and alternate tuning systems. I have composed extensively for traditional ensembles, gamelan, electronic instruments, and mixed media, including abstract computer animation, robot choreography, and virtual reality. CDs of my audio works include The Terrain of Possibilities, Imbal-Imbalan, Mystic Canyon and Guitars and Gamelan, a dvd of my video works, Celestial Dance, is published by the Kinetica Video Library.
I have published a biography of composer Lou Harrison with co-author Brett Campbell, and my textbook, Music of the Peoples of the World, is now in its third edition. I have also written for Perspectives of New Music, Computer Music Journal, SEAMUS Journal, 1/1, and elsewhere. I am a co-director of MicroFest, the annual Southern California festival of microtonal music. In 1993–94, I was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia, where I taught and studied traditional music.
Courses Taught
(Please refer to HSA Departmental Courses for this semester’s courses.)
- HSA 10 Critical Inquiry: Minimalism
- MS 127 The Harmony of Sound and Light
- MUS 03 HM Fundamentals of Music
- MUS 46 Early Music Ensemble
- MUS 48 Electronic Music Ensemble
- MUS 49 HM American Gamelan Ensemble
- MUS 63 Music of the Peoples of the World
- MUS 67 Film Music
- MUS 81 JM Introduction to Music: Sound and Meaning
- MUS 88 Introduction to Computer Music
- MUS 104 HM Music Since 1900
- MUS 176 JM Claremont Treble Singers