Alexander Loosley's Journey in Music Composition & Performance

Alexander Loosley is a 13-year-old, 8th grade homeschooler, Davidson Young Scholar, and a 2025 Davidson Ambassador-in-training who lives in Sparks, Nevada.  With his Davidson Ambassador project, “Making the Joy of Music Accessible to Northern Nevada Kids and Families,” Alexander is hoping to bring awareness to low-cost or no-cost classical music events happening in our community, so that families can make classical music a part of their lives. Alexander’s passion is composing music and he is currently studying music composition (MUSA451) at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) School of Music with Dr. J.P. Perrotte, and previously with Dr. James Winn (MUS409).  Alexander has written music for five composers’ concerts at UNR’s School of Music, with Dr. James Winn, Dr. Ruth Lenz, Felicity Phan, and members of the Reno Philharmonic Youth Orchestra performing his works. This past fall 2024 semester, in addition to music composition, Alexander studied harpsichord with Dr. Winn.  In the Spring 2025 semester, Alexander studied Harp with Dr. Marina Roznitovsky Oster, performed with UNR’s harp ensemble, and continued his studies in music composition.  This fall (2025), Alexander will begin working towards his BA in Music Composition at UNR.

Alexander was recognized by the Reno Pops Orchestra as the youngest artist ever to submit a piece for their composers’ showcase. “Paddington Bear Suite,” his first orchestral piece, was completed at age 11. His second orchestral piece, “The Sea,” was completed in 2024, “Miniature Suite” for chamber orchestra was completed in 2025.  Alexander has also written pieces for wind quartet, solo piano, piano and violin duet, as well as a choral piece and an opera.  Currently, Alexander is working on a string quartet for advanced strings.

Alexander played piano for 8years under the tutelage of Nancy Rodolico, and he is currently studying under Amy Au.  He began studying violin in 2022 with Dr. Ruth Lenz, Reno Philharmonic’s concertmaster. He also studies viola with former violist Ginny Lenz.  Alexander was a member of the Reno Philharmonic’s Youth Strings Symphonia for the 2023-2024 season, under the direction of Conductor Laurentiu Norocel. At their Spring 2024 concert, the YSS played the Franz Shubert piece “Erlkonig” arranged for string orchestra by Alexander. He was a featured soloist on violin along with fellow violinist Lincoln Robertson. Alexander was a member of the Reno Philharmonic’s Youth Concert Orchestra for the 2024-2025 season, under the direction of Conductor Dustin Budish, principal violist for the Reno Philharmonic. He plans to continue playing with the Reno Philharmonic Youth Orchestra for the 2025 – 2026 season. Alexander is a member of “Four Score,” a string quartet coached by Dustin Budish.  Alexander is also currently a member of the LIFT High School worship team at Calvary Chapel Reno-Sparks.

Over the past summer of 2024 Alexander was privileged to perform with Artown in Reno, Nevada, with Classical Tahoe in Incline Village, Nevada, and Toiyabe Chamber Music Society on violin. During the 2024 Christmas season, Alexander performed with Fleur de Strings as their piano accompanist and also with Shamrock Production’s “Siamsa” on violin at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. Performances in the summer of 2025 include Classical Tahoe, Toiyable Chamber Music Society and other solo piano and string quartet performances around Reno/Sparks.

Alexander is a contributor to Sierra View Magazine, writing a monthly column focusing on fostering a love of music in children and families.  He also highlights outstanding members of our local community.

Making the Joy of Music Accessible to Northern Nevada Kids & Families

Davidson Ambassador Project 2025

To understand why listening to classical music is so beneficial for children, here’s a great read by the Fun Music Company.  They even included the studies that their information was taken from if you desire to dive deeper into this subject:

“Music research indicates that music education not only has the benefits of self-expression and enjoyment, but is linked to improved cognitive function (Schellenberg), increase language development from an early age (Legg) and positive social interaction (Netherwood).  Music listening and performance impacts the brain as a whole, stimulating both halves, - the analytical brain and the subjective-artistic brain, affecting a child’s overall cognitive development and possibly increasing a child’s overall intellectual capacity more than any other activity affecting the brain’s bilateralism (Yoon).”

Key points:

”Music research indicates that music education benefits students by increasing self-expression, cognitive abilities, language development, and agility.”

”Music is unique in its ability to affect more than a single brain hemisphere, incorporating both the right and left sides of the brain.”

”While music listening has marked benefits regarding physiological effects of stress, playing an instrument or taking vocal lessons offers a marked increase in the benefits of music education, especially in regards to memory, language, and cognitive development.”

Source: https:// funmusicco.com          The Fun Music Company

 

Here are Alex’s picks to introduce young children to classical music (all can be found on YouTube):

“Carnival of the Animals” by Saint-Saens

“The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky

“Peter and the Wolf” by Prokofiev

“Rodeo” by Copeland

“The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” by Benjamin Britten

“The Comedians” by Kabalevsky

Awards & Recognition

  • Northern Nevada Music Teacher’s Association

    Piano Festival | MAY 2023
    Superior Rating

    🏆︎

  • Reno Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

    Concerto Competition | NOV 2023
    2nd Place Haydn
    Concerto No. 11 in D Major,
    Movement No. 2 for piano
    🏆︎

  • Nevada Music Teacher’s Association

    Silver State Competition | NOV 2023
    1st place, Haydn
    Concerto No. 11 in D Major
    Movement No. 2 for piano
    🏆︎

  • Music Teachers National Association

    Composition Contest | OCT 2023
    1st place: State of Nevada
    “A Little Party” (Piano)
    2nd place: Southwest Division (NV, CA, & AZ)
    🏆︎ 🏆︎

  • Charleston International Music Composition

    3rd place | 2023 (Piano)
    with his own composition
    “Nocturne in G Major”
    🏆︎

  • Northern Nevada Music Teacher’s Association

    Piano Festival | MAY 2024
    Superior rating
    perfect score on Theory Exam

    🏆︎

  • Music Teachers National Association

    Composition Contest | OCT 2024
    2nd place: State of Nevada
    “Wind Quartet in Bb”
    🏆︎

  • Francesca Lebrun International Music Competition

    Composition Contest | OCT 2024
    Winner Platinum Prize
    “Wind Quartet in Bb”
    🏆︎

  • Francesca Lebrun International Music Competition

    Composition Contest | OCT 2024
    Winner Creative Innovation Award
    “Wind Quartet in Bb”
    🏆︎

  • Global Musical Arts Competition

    Composition Contest | OCT 2024
    Third Place Certificate
    “Wind Quartet in Bb”
    🏆︎

  • Northern Nevada Music Teacher's Association

    Piano Festival | APRIL 2025
    Superior rating
    perfect score on Theory Exam

    🏆︎

  • Reno Chamber Orchestra

    Student Side-by-side Performance (viola) | MAY 2025
    “Adagio for Strings”, Samuel Barber

KRNV News 4: A Musical Prodigy with a Bright Future in Composition and Performance

Guided by his teacher Nancy Rodolico, Alexander has been immersed in music since he was five, favoring composers like Schubert and Tchaikovsky. Recognizing his talent, Nancy recommended he enroll in a college-level music composition class at UNR, where he now thrives among seniors. Alexander has composed an opera and a symphony and is learning the violin and flute to enhance his skills.