John Mallia
Core Faculty, MFA in Music Composition
Lisa Mezzacappa
Core Faculty, MFA in Music Composition
photo credit: Tim Rowe
Profile
Berkeley-based composer, bassist, improviser, and producer Lisa Mezzacappa has been an active part of California’s vibrant music community for nearly 20 years. Her activities as a composer and ensemble leader include ethereal chamber music, electro-acoustic works, adventurous jazz, non-traditional opera, music for groups from duo to large ensemble, and collaborations with film, dance, and visual art.
Recent projects include Cosmicomics, a suite for electro-acoustic jazz sextet based on Italo Calvino’s stories about the origins of the cosmos; Organelle, a chamber work for improvisers grounded in scientific processes on micro and cosmic scales; Glorious Ravage, an evening-length song cycle for large ensemble and films drawn from the writings of Victorian lady adventurers; and Touch Bass, a collaboration with choreographer Risa Jaroslow for three dancers and three bassists. She also co-leads a community improvisation ensemble, the duo B. Experimental Band, with drummer Jason Levis and is collaborating with writer Beth Lisick on the serial audio opera The Electronic Lover. lisamezzacappa.com