Long Bio

Spencer Arias (b. 1990) is a composer, improviser, educator, and storyteller who makes music to draw people closer through sound, vulnerability, and shared imagination. Based in Arizona, their work moves fluidly between forms, from concert music to musical theater, from textural improvisation to collaborative experiments in listening. Whether writing for the stage or the classroom, Spencer creates spaces where people feel seen, where difference becomes dialogue, and where queerness, curiosity, and care are at the heart of the art.

They reject the old hierarchies of composer–performer–audience, instead treating every artistic encounter as a chance to listen more deeply to people, to systems, and to what’s left unsaid. Their works often grapple with questions of identity, queerness, belonging, and power, while maintaining a sense of humor and emotional honesty.

Their collaborative album Oceans of Time was created with Nick Zoulek, Aaron Jay Myers, Bryan Hayslett, Jocelyn Zelasko, Amy Petrongelli, Megan Ihnen, Alan Theisen, and Chris Sies and showcases the wide range of Spencer’s musical language, blending avant-pop, ambient textures, and theatrical impulses. Their etude book, developed with a pedagogical team of six diverse voices, was designed to focus on practical skills relevant to the saxophone while also welcoming students into a broader musical community. Grounded in accessibility and care, the book offers a space where play, individuality, and artistic agency can naturally emerge. This same collaborative ethos shaped Ethos of Saxes, a collection of 16 co-created works with saxophonists from around the world that span groove, noise, nostalgia, and queer camp. The project reframes commissioning as a relational act, demonstrating that individuality can thrive within community.

Spencer is currently developing a musical that blends pop-punk, dance music, electronic textures, and personal narrative to explore themes of love, avoidance, and emotional growth. They also perform with a musical catering company an improvisational musical theater comedy group that builds each show in real time, shaped by audience suggestions. Whether composing for Wind Ensemble, improvising with electronics, or co-creating musicals over a dinner table, Spencer treats every creative act as an invitation to relationship and resonance.

Their work has been performed across the U.S. and Europe by ensembles such as JACK Quartet, PRISM Quartet, Quartetto Indaco, Columbus Symphony Woodwind Quintet, New Thread Quartet, and Nick Photinos. They’ve received awards from the Music Now Prize, Jere Hutcherson Large Ensemble Competition, and the Michigan State University Social Justice Art Festival. Spencer also served as producer and artistic collaborator on saxophonist Nick May’s upcoming album You, Me, Us, a deeply personal project exploring intimacy, identity, and queer expression through new music.

As a performer, Spencer works primarily as an improviser using piano, voice, and electronics. They are interested in creating long-form ambient, textural music that doesn’t take itself too seriously. They received an East Lansing Cultural Arts Grant to collaborate with composers Lyn Goeringer and Kakia Gkoudina on Queerbending, a project aimed at creating inclusive experimental performance spaces for the queer residents of East Lansing.

Spencer also works across disciplines. Their collaboration with plant biologist Berkley Walker, The Falling Tree Collaborative, uses music and storytelling to illuminate topics in plant science. Supported by a National Science Foundation grant, the project culminated in a TED-style lecture-concert and is now streaming on PBS, blending live performance with public education. This work also led to a future collaboration with additional scientists as part of the Washington State University Festival of Contemporary Artists in Music, where Spencer served as the headliner and premiered three new works.

Spencer holds a DMA in Composition and an MM in Music Theory from Michigan State University, an MM in Composition from New York University, and a BM from Arizona State University, where they now serve as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Music Theory. Their music is published by Just A Theory Press. More at spencerarias.com.

Short Bio

Spencer Arias (b. 1990) is Assistant Teaching Professor of Music Theory at Arizona State University. A composer, improviser, and interdisciplinary artist, their work centers on collaboration, emotional honesty, and connection across communities. They create music that explores queerness, identity, and vulnerability through concert works, improvisation, and participatory performance.

Recent projects include the collaborative album Oceans of Time; a newly published etude book developed with a pedagogical team of six diverse voices; and Ethos of Saxes, a co-created collection of works with saxophonists around the world. Spencer is also developing a musical that blends pop-punk, dance music, and personal storytelling, and performs with a musical catering company that builds improvised musical theater comedy shows from audience suggestions.

Their music has been performed by ensembles such as JACK Quartet, PRISM Quartet, and Nick Photinos. They hold degrees from Michigan State University (DMA, MM), New York University (MM), and Arizona State University (BM).