Spencer Arias

Spencer Arias (b.1990) is a composer and performer based in East Lansing, Michigan who creates highly evocative music oftentimes represented by lived experiences and social commentary. Having worked with Dancers, Musicians, Visual Artists, and Poets, he thoroughly enjoys collaboration, improvisation and community engagement. His work often reflects on social issues, in particular nature and climate change. He also enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, photography, nature, and too much Netflix. He is also the host of the new YouTube cooking show Cooking with Creatives, where he interviews musicians and other creatives while they cook food together. He has had performances throughout the US and Europe having been performed by musicians such as the JACK Quartet, The Columbus Symphony Woodwind Quintet, Quartetto Indaco, the Rogue Trio, The Lotus Trio, The New Thread Quartet, and the PRISM Saxophone Quartet. He has won numerous awards some of which include the Music Now Competition, The Jere Hutcherson Large Ensemble Competition, and the Most Inspirational Performance Art Award at the 2020 Michigan State University Social Justice Art Festival. He earned a B.M. in Composition at Arizona State and an M.M. in Composition at New York University. Previously he served as an Instructor of Composition at the Seattle Conservatory of Music  and is currently a Doctoral Student at Michigan State University and has studied primarily with David Biedenbender, Alexis Bacon, and Lyn Goeringer.