String Quartet No. 8: nowhere safe (in Gaza) (2024) is my personal reflection on witnessing a genocide unfold online, in front of me, whereas my third string quartet, String Quartet No: 3: Night Songs (Nachtliederen) (2005) is my reflection on the life, work, and murder of young Dutch Jewish holocaust victim Etty Hillesum, who was killed by Nazis decades before I was born. Both works are a testament to or...Read more
String Quartet no. 6 was commissioned by Cramer Quartet. With this project, Cramer Quartet connects its passion for historical performance with a commitment to rebalancing the string quartet canon by centering the voices of women, non-(cis)males, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ folx and other communities historically underrepresented in classical music....Read more
For Kronos Quartet. Premiered by Kronos Quartet at Breadloaf during their 2022-2023 season. WHO IS CALLING?: String Quartet No. 7 (2022) for string quartet and audio file score and parts available. PROGRAM NOTE Who is Calling? for string quartet and audio track (2022) was composed alongside a field recording of frogs, in particular, the pseudacris crucifer, also known as spring peepers, chorus frogs, or small tree frogs—recorded on the traditional, unceded home of the...Read more
Commissioned by Margaret Janicek and J. Armand Musey for their beloved cat, Pamuk. Premiered May 1st, 2022 at Atelier 86. Für Pamuk is one of several of du Bois' works written for the traditional classical invocation of the term "chamber music. At the heart of chamber music is the home (chambers within it); during this, the start of the decolonization of classical music, du Bois completes commissions from individuals commissioning chamber...Read more
Lakagígar for solo electric guitar was commissioned by Riot Ensemble, London for Zeitgeist Commissions. The work was written for and dedicated to guitarist Pétur Jónasson...Read more
Heron. Rain. Blossom. for flute, clarinet, viola, and cello commissioned by Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center was premiered during CMS' 50th Anniversary season by Adam Walker, flute, Sebastian Manz, clarinet, Richard O'Neill, viola, and Mihai Marcia, cello on 12 March 2020 at Lincoln Center, New York, New York. Written, after time spent at the Bread Loaf Mountain Zen and, in part, while composer-in-residence at Harrison House Music, Arts,...Read more
Institut Curie, Paris, in coordination with the MUSE-IC Project and Université Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) will present the world premiere of the new work by Alexandra du Bois at Salle Cortot in Paris.
The quintet for bass clarinet, piano and strings was commissioned by the Curie Institute in Paris and is inspired by current scientific research in...Read more
The Response Project is a commissioning initiative that asks composers to write a piece of music in response to a pre-existing work or idea. Twelve composers, nine filmmakers, and six multidisciplinary artists create a community-wide artistic response to Bob Dylan’s 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. Alexandra du Bois’ new work for solo piano is a response to Dylan’s 1965 song, Queen Jane Approximately and was commissioned by Brianna Matzke for The Response Project....Read more
Pianist Anastasia Antonacos commissioned and presented the world premiere of du Bois' new Thich Nhat Hanh-inspired work ‘Oh Monarch, How Beautiful You Are’ for solo piano. The piece was commissioned jointly by Maine and New Hampshire Music Teachers Association and Music Teachers National Association and was written, in part, while du Bois was composer-in-residence at Harrison House Music, Arts & Ecology, Joshua Tree, California and at Avaloch Farm Music...Read more
Co-commissioned by Hajnal Pivnick, violin and Brianna Matzke, piano with Kathleen Supové, piano. New York and Illinois premieres to be announced for the 2016-17 season...Read more