J. Alex Young is a Cree-Settler Composer from Northern Ontario. He holds degrees from Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, and a Ph.D. in Composition from the University of Calgary, based on research of his Cree culture, storytelling, ceremony and song as inspiration for creative work. He is currently a dedicated member of the Canadian Music Centre’s Accountability for Change and Indigenous Advisory Councils. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra premiered his piece ᓵᑯᐦᑖᐤ - šâkohtâw for Tom Jackson’s digital series The Bear and the Wild Rose. He is an Assistant Professor of Composition at Brandon University. J. Alex Young feels that the unity of self, community, land and spirit must be maintained to reflect a musical concord between his Indigenous Cree and Western settler heritage. His compositions are a combination of Western sonic orchestrations and Cree-based narrative explorations of his connection to home, family, story and spirituality.
