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Alex BH
Biniaz-Harris in 2020
Background information
Birth nameAlex Biniaz-Harris
Born (1993-03-25) 25 March 1993 (age 31)
Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Pianist
  • composer
Instrument(s)
  • Piano/keyboard
  • keytar
  • trumpet
Years active2014–present
Labels
  • Independent
Websitealexbh.com

Alex Biniaz-Harris (born March 25, 1993), known professionally as Alex BH, is an American pianist and composer.

Biniaz-Harris has premiered his compositions on three continents and has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

His debut EP Modes was released on May 6, 2021, and his single "Logos" has been streamed nearly 3 million times on Spotify.[1] His upcoming EP will be released in fall 2024.

Early life

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Biniaz-Harris was born at Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington, D.C. on March 25, 1993. He is the son of Sue Biniaz and Robert Harris, international lawyers at the U.S. Department of State.

Biniaz-Harris started taking piano lessons at age 4. At age 9 he began studying at the Levine School of Music with Irena Orlov. He graduated from Georgetown Day School and studied business and classical piano with Antoinette Perry at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

Career

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2014–2015: Melodies of Auschwitz

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Biniaz-Harris and fellow USC student Ambrose Soehn were both interns at USC Shoah Foundation when they began composing Melodies of Auschwitz, a four-hand piano composition based on music performed in, listened to, and composed in the concentration camp.[2] Former Executive Director Stephen D. Smith encouraged the pianists to research musical references in the foundation's video archives, inspiring them to complete a three-movement piano suite based on what they heard.[3]

Biniaz-Harris and Soehn were invited to perform their composition in Kraków, Poland to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation on January 26, 2015.[4] In attendance were 100 Auschwitz survivors including Biniaz-Harris's grandmother Celina Biniaz, now the youngest-living person on Oskar Schindler's list.[5]

Biniaz-Harris and Soehn have performed their composition in Washington, D.C. and in Des Moines, Iowa, Biniaz's adopted home after the Holocaust.[6]

2018–2020: Garuda's Song: Musical Memories from Cambodia

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In 2018 Biniaz-Harris and Soehn began writing Garuda's Song, a four-hand piano piece based on traditional Cambodian music and rock and roll from the period before the Khmer Rouge.[7] They used Kickstarter to raise money to perform their composition in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap with Hong Samley and So Savoeun, acclaimed musicians who fled to France prior to the Cambodian genocide.[8] They also performed with Sinn Sethakol, grandson of Khmer music legend Sinn Sisamouth.

Biniaz-Harris and Soehn documented their experiences in Cambodia, creating a short film Garuda's Song: Musical Memories from Cambodia. The film premiered at the Cambodia Town Film Festival in Long Beach, California in September 2019 and was screened at the Cambodia International Film Festival in Phnom Penh in 2020.[9] The latter festival commissioned Biniaz-Harris and Soehn to compose and perform a piano tribute to the late Cambodian Princess Norodom Buppha Devi at the Opening Ceremony.[10]

2021: Modes

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On May 20, 2021 he released his debut solo EP Modes, an abstract exploration of “modes of persuasion” used to make an effective argument. Logos, the project’s second single, has been featured on notable Spotify playlists like Intense Studying, Instrumental Study, and Autumn Piano.

Personal life

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Biniaz-Harris has been living with a neurological condition called Mal de débarquement syndrome since July 2022.

Musical style and influences

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Biniaz-Harris's childhood musical inspirations were Robert Schumann, Vladimir Horowitz, Sergei Rachmaninov, Oscar Peterson, Claude Debussy, and Frédéric Chopin. Modern influences on his music include Coldplay, Keith Jarrett, Helios, Ólafur Arnalds, Bill Evans, and Nils Frahm.

Discography

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Biniaz-Harris performing at Irving Plaza in 2022.

Extended plays

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List of EPs, with label and release date shown
Title Details
Modes
  • Released: May 20, 2021[11]
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
TBD
  • Released: late 2024-early 2025
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles

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As lead artist

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List of singles, with year released and album details shown
Title Year Album
"Ethos"[12] 2021 Modes
"Logos"[13]
"Pathos"[14]
"Kairos"[15]
"Arbor"[16] Non-album single
"Walden"[17] 2022

References

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  1. ^ "Logos". Spotify. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  2. ^ Engel, Allison (23 January 2015). "USC Thornton students Alex Biniaz-Harris and Ambrose Soehn to perform at Auschwitz ceremony". USC Thornton School of Music. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  3. ^ Gelt, Jessica (26 January 2015). "USC students to perform at 70th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  4. ^ "USC Thornton students Alex Biniaz-Harris and Ambrose Soehn featured in the Los Angeles Times". USC Thornton School of Music. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  5. ^ "100 Auschwitz survivors convene in historic gathering". USC Shoah Foundation. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  6. ^ Davis, Tyler J. (31 March 2019). "Holocaust survivor educated in Iowa returns to recount her days at Auschwitz, warn against 'corrosive' hatred". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Alex Biniaz-Harris and Ambrose Soehn to perform in Cambodia". USC Thornton School of Music. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  8. ^ Olszewski, Peter (11 January 2019). "Get ready for Garuda's Song". Khmer Times. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  9. ^ Coker, Matt (12 September 2019). "Cambodia Town Film Festival Explores Days Before, During, and After the Khmer Rouge". OC Weekly. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  10. ^ Olszewski, Peter (11 January 2019). "Garuda's Song revisited". Khmer Times. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Modes". Spotify. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Ethos". Spotify. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Logos". Spotify. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Pathos". Spotify. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Kairos". Spotify. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Arbor". Spotify. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Walden". Spotify. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
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