Alec Schantz is an educator, clarinetist, and composer from Northern California. In their adolescence, Alec had the pleasure of performing in honor bands such as the All-Northern (NCBA) and the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall, receiving numerous gold medals and command performances at the California State Solo and Ensemble Festivals. Throughout their college career, Alec performed with the SJSU Wind Ensemble, SJSU Orchestra, and SJSU Clarinet Choir on Bb clarinet, Eb clarinet, and bass clarinet, during which time they studied under Dr. Janet Averett and Johnathan Szin. While Alec is largely specialized as a clarinetist, they are an experienced performer in the saxophone and flute families as well. Alec’s focus is primarily in playing modern music, incorporating electronics and elements of current popular music styles. Alec has a history of commissioning composers to write pieces for them that embody these hybridized ideas, such as “Planetfall” by Sean Martin (audio in miscellaneous).

Alec started their compositional career by arranging for the saxophone quintet Take Five. Eventually they wrote their first band piece, which premiered at their Senior Recital in 2017. They continued to write chamber music with a focus on clarinet, premiering works such as “Exhale” for clarinet quartet at their Junior Recital in 2020, “Zacramento Soo” for clarinet duet at their Senior Recital in 2021, and “Scaredy Cat” for clarinet nonet, also at their Senior Recital. Alec also had two band pieces titled “Where DOES the Sidewalk End?” and “I Wish I Could Give You Something”, both premiered by the Chico High Band in the spring of 2022.