About Alex Clements...

Alex Clements, D.M.A. (Jazz Studies) 

Vibrant, rhythmic, captivating, and lyrical are just a few of the many adjectives that can be used to describe the many facets of this talented and creative pianist and composer. Clements', who was a child prodigy at the age of four, won numerous piano competitions in Canada and quickly became an internationally recognized artist, performing in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa. One of Clements’ highest accomplishments is an Alberta Achievement Award, which was presented to him by the Government of Canada. 

Clements was recently hired as an Associate Professor of Contemporary Writing and Production at the esteemed Berklee College of Music. For 16 years he was the Associate Musical Director for Cirque du Soleil’s top selling show “O”, performing to large capacity audiences of 1800+. 

Clements holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California, a Master’s degree in Jazz Performance from McGill University, and a Bachelor's degree in Contemporary Writing and Production from Berklee College of Music. He also holds two associateship performance diplomas from the Royal Conservatory of Music and Mount Royal College Conservatory of Music, where he was awarded a gold medal and scholarship. 

Recent works include EnMi, 8 Latin/world music songs written for a 45-minute contemporary dance production choreographed by award winning Mexican choreographer Ana Cuellar. The world premier took place in Orlando, Florida, June 2022. Clements will be releasing an album of this music Spring of 2023. 

During the Covid shutdown, Clements maintained an active music career giving online lessons, composing, and doing livestream solo performances and performances with renown singer Naomi Mauro. Other noteworthy performances include a concert entitled 60X88 featuring six of Vegas' top pianists, the Composers Showcase at the Smith Center, and his Latin jazz sextet in collaboration with the Gateway Arts Foundation at the Starbright Theatre. Clements has performed at jazz festivals including the Montreal International Jazz Festival and competed twice in the 2nd and 3rd Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition in Paris. The competition consisted of 59 high level jazz pianists from around the world. 

Clements skills and versatility as a composer are recognized by a series of commissions for Canada’s nationally known Montreal Jazz Big Band, including a 60-minute suite entitled “Jazz Images” portraying the history of jazz. In addition, Suite No. 4 ‘Cycles’ can be heard on the McGill Jazz Orchestra’s release Ostinatocious and by the Timucua Jazz Orchestra on their album Live @ Timucua. Clements’ most recent composition is a large work for orchestra entitled The Mosaic House inspired by George Ehling who spent 40 years creating mosaics on his house. 

Clements is also an active film composer. Significant works include a score for a Disney DVD entitled Imagineering the Magic, tango music in a short Canadian dance film entitled Turnaround Tango and music for a multi-media exhibit at the Rockefeller Center. 

He also received an AEGIS award for his music score in the film documentary Lewis and Clark: Following their Footsteps. 

An active recording artist, in addition to his Spring 2023 release of EnMi, Clements recorded with his Latin jazz sextet highlighting his Afro-Cuban suite Gateway. He has also recorded three albums under his own name, Suite No. 3 ‘The Cycle of Life’, Emily’s Song and Waiting for you… His album Waiting for you…, featuring renown drummer Danny Gottlieb received extensive publicity and favorable reviews. Furthermore, the release landed at #50 on Jazzweek, #2 at !Earshot Jazz (Canadian jazz chart), #5 Chartattack (Canadian jazz chart), and #34 on CMJ. Clements’ latin jazz album Between Stops is a collaboration with Cirque du Soleil musicians John Abraham and Zara Tellander. 

Clements is an active music researcher. He received a Music Teaching and Learning award from the University of Southern California and subsequently published a literature review entitled Joint Music Making and Prosocial Behavior in Infants and Young Children. He is also interested in understanding and developing the creative process in music; he recently wrote a paper presenting a pedagogical structural model for teaching classical musicians improvisation in higher education. 

Over the past twenty years, Clements  received numerous scholarships and awards from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, The Canada Council, The Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Record (FACTOR), McGill University (Margaret Houlding Memorial Prize), Berklee College of Music (Achievement Scholarships), the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (Arts Study Grants), and Québec Music Award (Prix Opus).