Andi Ivins (b. 1996) is a Mexican American nonbinary composer from Boerne, TX. Their music has been performed internationally by artists and ensembles such as the SOLI Chamber Ensemble, Jamail Chachere, Hub New Music, Andrea Vocab Sanderson, Attacca Quartet, Susan Mayo of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, The Texas Yellowrose Singers, Texas State University’s New Music Ensemble Mysterium, and the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Choirs. Their commissioners include Inversion Ensemble, Lineuponline percussion, and the Atascocita High School Orchestra. Ivins' music spans across many genres, united by an emphasis on unique sonic juxtaposition, self-reflection, and intense, improvisational gestures. They started with piano and voice, but also play tenor saxophone, guitar, and pennywhistle. Ivins believes strongly in collaborative processes and thinks that they are not only helpful, but necessary to grow as a musician, composer, and person.

Ivins earned their Master’s in Music Composition in 2021 (Texas State University) as well as their Bachelor’s in Music Composition and a Minor in Music Technology in 2019 (The University of Texas at San Antonio). During their graduate career, they also served as a member of the Graduate House of Representatives in Texas State University’s Student Government Organization as co-chairs of both the House’s Social Media/Technology and Diversity & Inclusion Committees. Throughout their career, they focused on multimedia and multidisciplinary collaboration projects.

In their pieces: The Fall of the House of Usher and Mambeau With Thoreau, vocalized quotes are interwoven into each performer’s part. The former tells the existentially heavy Edgar Allen Poe tale, while the latter invites the instrumentalists and audience to dance toe-to-toe and wit-to-wit with the famous transcendentalist philosopher. Their dance collaboration piece I am trying to be okay (2019) explores the rhythmic representation of mental illnesses while their electro-acoustic pieces Horizon Line (2020) and Inner Machinations (2021) center around meditation, self-awareness, and inner reflection. b r e a t h e (2020) incorporates spoken word, improvised electronics, and a choir or group of singers in its live setting. In its multimedia format as a video, it also incorporates real-life stories from the performers about what being Black in America is genuinely like, their experiences with institutionalized and personal racism, as well as their dedication to seeking justice and more empathetic society.

Their orchestral piece Open Strings (2021) is exactly as it sounds—utilizing only extended textural techniques and open strings, it embodies legitimization through repetition in a tumultuous sensory journey. This Is A Musical Parallelogram (2021) for choir and percussion trio uses the geometric characteristic of a parallelogram to influence choral harmony and vocalizations. Musical absurdity and mathematics combine to create a dynamic sound world focused on the intricacies of the human voice and the nature of pairs of parallel lines. Currently, Ivins is developing an original video game, Salvadora: A Journey Within. This game sets to use music to explore and represent topics such as mental illness, addiction, and toxic matyrdom.

Artist Statement

Collaboration, inclusion, and innovation are defining characteristics of my compositional mission. As an artist, I strive to utilize music as a platform for both distributing and disrupting peace. My music’s objective is to either take the listener on a journey of self-reflection or entertainment—my pieces invite the audience to learn something new about themselves or rest sonically in a unique world of my creation.

As a nonbinary Mexican American composer, I have a wide range of experiences and identities. I speak out for my communities and stand up for others because I believe in the social healing power of music: I have seen firsthand its unifying strength and teachability, even when it calls us to expose the darkest parts of our society or our own mind. However, I also provide musical refuge with pieces aimed to captivate the audience through absurdity, hope, and narrative structure. My musical mission is to forge a path towards a more compassionate society by emphasizing what unifies us and celebrating that which makes us unique, while also using compositions as a platform for the disenfranchised, oppressed, and voiceless.

-Andi Ivins