Asaf Peres is an Ann Arbor based composer, music theorist, and guitarist. His works have been performed in the United States, Europe, and Israel. While Asaf's music largely falls into the category of concert music, it is heavily influenced by pop and EDM, as evidenced by the titles and character of many of his works, as well as his research in music theory. Among his pop-influenced works is Fun Fun Fun Fun, a piece which was commissioned and premiered by the internationally renowned Akropolis Reed Quintet, as well as featured on their debut album, High Speed Reed, and is part of their Under the Influence program, which features pop-influenced concert music.
In addition to having been performed by award-winning ensembles such as the Akropolis Reed Quintet, the University of Michigan's Women's Glee Club, and the Montreal-based Allegra Chamber Music Ensemble, Asaf's music has been workshopped by renowned groups such as Speculum Musicae, Eighth Blackbird, and the Enso String Quartet. Asaf has written music for some of the most outstanding up-and-coming performers, such as contrabass player Marie-Claude Tardif, violinist Tema Watstein, and percussionists Eliza Kinney and Jeffrey Barudin.
Asaf's music theory research is focused on contemporary pop music, with particular focus on sound production and its role in the dramatic development of songs. This research has been funded by the University of Michigan's Institute for the Humanities and Rackham Predoctoral fellowships. It has been presented at national and international conferences, such as the Art of Record Production Conference in Oslo, Norway (2014), and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music Conference in Louisville, KY (2015).
Asaf holds two doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan - a Ph.D. in music theory (2016) and a D.M.A. in music composition (2010) - as well as degrees from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, and Tel-Aviv University's Buchman-Mehta School of Music. Among his composition teachers were William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty, Erik Santos, Richard Lavenda, Shih-Hui Chen, Ruben Seroussi, and Avner Dorman. In 2007, Asaf received the Lola and Edwin Jaffe Fellowship to attend the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Tanglewood Music Center, where he studied with John Harbison, Michael Gandolfi, and Colin Matthews. Asaf was also the 2006-07 recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) Scholarship for Studies Abroad.
In addition to his research on pop music, Asaf is also an avid pedagogue, and has published an ear-training textbook, entitled Tonal Sight-Singing, the Book. Among his other activities, Asaf is an active electric guitarist, and regularly performs contemporary music. In recent years, he has participated in the premiers of William Zuckerman's Music in Pluralism, Annika Socolofsky's Boža, and Jules Pegram's Easy as That.
In addition to having been performed by award-winning ensembles such as the Akropolis Reed Quintet, the University of Michigan's Women's Glee Club, and the Montreal-based Allegra Chamber Music Ensemble, Asaf's music has been workshopped by renowned groups such as Speculum Musicae, Eighth Blackbird, and the Enso String Quartet. Asaf has written music for some of the most outstanding up-and-coming performers, such as contrabass player Marie-Claude Tardif, violinist Tema Watstein, and percussionists Eliza Kinney and Jeffrey Barudin.
Asaf's music theory research is focused on contemporary pop music, with particular focus on sound production and its role in the dramatic development of songs. This research has been funded by the University of Michigan's Institute for the Humanities and Rackham Predoctoral fellowships. It has been presented at national and international conferences, such as the Art of Record Production Conference in Oslo, Norway (2014), and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music Conference in Louisville, KY (2015).
Asaf holds two doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan - a Ph.D. in music theory (2016) and a D.M.A. in music composition (2010) - as well as degrees from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, and Tel-Aviv University's Buchman-Mehta School of Music. Among his composition teachers were William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty, Erik Santos, Richard Lavenda, Shih-Hui Chen, Ruben Seroussi, and Avner Dorman. In 2007, Asaf received the Lola and Edwin Jaffe Fellowship to attend the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Tanglewood Music Center, where he studied with John Harbison, Michael Gandolfi, and Colin Matthews. Asaf was also the 2006-07 recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) Scholarship for Studies Abroad.
In addition to his research on pop music, Asaf is also an avid pedagogue, and has published an ear-training textbook, entitled Tonal Sight-Singing, the Book. Among his other activities, Asaf is an active electric guitarist, and regularly performs contemporary music. In recent years, he has participated in the premiers of William Zuckerman's Music in Pluralism, Annika Socolofsky's Boža, and Jules Pegram's Easy as That.
