Alexander Woods
Faith + Works Lecturer 2019-2020
CFAC Homepage / Faith + Works 2019-2020 / Alexander Woods
The Work of Translation: The Violin as a Seer Stone
School of Music professor Alexander Woods encouraged students to think about the relationship faith plays in their art in his Nov. 7 Faith + Works lecture. Speaking about “The Work of Translation: the Violin as a Seer Stone,” Woods took students through his process of applying faith to the way he interprets — or translates — musical compositions to make sense of the world around him.
"I really believe I'm looking through a very special lens when I perform," said Woods. "I can translate how I see the world."
Review a re-cap of Woods's lecture here.
FAITH + WORKS LECTURE SERIES
The Violin as a Seer Stone
The Work of Translation
Bio
ALEXANDER WOODS is a “showstopping” (The New York Times) performer in high demand as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader.
Alexander’s work includes performing with and array of ensembles including: New York Baroque Incorporated (NYBI) the Helicon Symposium, The Deseret String Quartet, the Woodsmusick Ensemble, and others. Last season Mr. Woods was presented by Carnegie Hall to perform as part of a New York Baroque Inc. performance with vocalist Jakùb Orlinksi. Upcoming engagements include serving as concertmaster for New York Baroque Incorporated for their performance of Handel’s Messiah at St. Thomas 5th Avenue church in New York City, performances on the NOVA series in Salt Lake City, Utah and a performance at the Shepard School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas as part of the CONTEXT chamber music series. He was formally a core member of the early music group The Sebastians, winners of the Early Music America Competition audience prize. He has Performed in the sections of The Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York City, the Utah Symphony and was a salaried member of the Tucson Symphony for two seasons. Mr. Woods often performs at top festivals and concert series in New York City and abroad including the Mostly Mozart Festival, Festival Pablo Casals, the Lincoln Center Festival, Festival Wien Modern, the Darmstadt Institute, the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concert Series, the 4×4 festival, and the Bang-On-A-Can Marathon Concert. His critically-acclaimed recordings may be heard on the Acis, Tzadik, Bridge, and Tantara record labels.
Alexander is a full-time member of the faculty at the Brigham Young University School of Music where he teaches violin, chamber music, and violin literature/pedagogy. His students are working as professional orchestra musicians, school orchestra teachers, private studio teachers, and freelance musicians throughout the country. Former students have gone on to study at prestigious graduate music programs such as the Royal Academy of Music (London), the Juilliard School, Indiana University, the University of Michigan and many others. He is the founder and director of the BYU Baroque Ensemble, an early music chamber orchestra performing on original instruments created by the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City. Alexander studied at Yale University with Syoko Aki and Robert Mealy, the Manhattan School of Music with Pinchas Zuckerman and Patinka Kopec, and the University of Arizona with Mark Rush.
To see other lectures from this series, visit the Faith + Works Lecture Series home page.