Alex Berko, Current BM Student
Predator (2015)
for solo piano
Program Notes
Predator was born from a theme received by Carl E. Baldassarre. This asymmetric and angular piece revolves around the concept of broken space along with the cunning and deceptive parts of nature; the hunger and drive within every creature to achieve its fullest potential. Predator was commissioned by Carl E. Baldassarre for the second annual Carl E. Baldassarre Composer/Performer Competition and performed by Alex Berko at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Biography
Alex Berko is an Ohio-born composer, pianist, arranger, and vocalist. His music has been performed in Asia and throughout the U.S. in major venues such as Green Music Center and Mixon Hall. Berko is an avid collaborator having worked with professional artists, filmmakers, conductors, and choreographers. He has also written arrangements for vocal groups, bands, and chamber ensembles, collaborated with the Cleveland-based Verb Ballet, and scored multiple films including one feature-length film that premiered in Hawaii in September of 2014.
He has been recognized on the state and national level for his music, recently being selected as the winner of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) composition contest. He has also been selected as a finalist for the ASCAP Morton Gould competition in 2014 and 2015 and won the inaugural Carl E. Baldassarre Composer/Performer competition at the Cleveland Institute of Music, among many others.
In his early years, Berko received extensive training in composition, piano and theory at the Cleveland Institute of Music pre-college division. He currently attends Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music pursuing a BM in composition with an outside concentration in piano performance. Primary teachers include Aaron Travers for composition and Edmond Battersby for piano.