Composer
Creating, shaping, sculpting music into new forms — there is nothing so gratifying as composition. I’ve been writing music for years in a variety of styles and settings, both by commission and for my own purposes. From text-setting to jingles, from minuets to musical theatre, I draw no distinctions in genre as long as the result is emotionally affective. Below you’ll find examples of my work so far; enjoy!
Stage Wombat Collective
Alec Steinhorn and Jordan Knitzer Are a Band Now
The most recent project I’ve had the distinct joy of co-captaining has been Stage Wombat Collective, an indie rock band I formed with my longtime writing partner, Jordan Knitzer. Though Jordan and I are the compositional element of the group, our band is completed by a ridiculously talented guitar and rhythm section. Our sound is indie rock-centric but contains influences from everything from hard alt to folk symphonica. Our eponymous EP, which will be released on March 12th of this very year, is preceded by two bangin’ singles, linked to for your listening pleasure!
People You May Know
Music and lyrics by Alec Steinhorn and Jordan Knitzer
Book by Katie Duggan
People You May Know follows Jo, a college sophomore, and her brother Becket, a high school senior. Jo takes time off from school and returns home due to mental health reasons, while Becket heads off to a college admissions event with his best friend. We follow the siblings as they wade through the emotional turmoil that comes with sexual assault, as the survivor and the accused. As they struggle to find their truth, the siblings must grapple with their relationship to their home, their university, and ultimately each other.
People You May Know is the recipient of the Kennedy Center’s 2020 Musical Theatre Award, and received a reading through the American Musical Theatre Project in October 2020.
Fair Game: A Chicago Spectacle
Music by Alec Steinhorn, orchestrations by Mo Yeh and Will Finnegan
Written and directed by Eli Newell
Fair Game delves into the dizzying bombast and sinister underworld of the 1893 Chicago World Fair and Exposition in a truly unique manner. Fully immersive and participatory, 17 actors and a host of fair workers guide the audience through two inextricable narratives; that of Daniel Burnham, Director of Works and head architect for the fair, and H. H. Holmes, an alluring and attractive serial killer who used the fairgrounds as a tool for his own dark aims. All the while, an 11-piece orchestra sits behind the scrim, scoring the whole sordid affair.
Waa-Mu Show, Assorted Songs
Music by Alec Steinhorn, lyrics by Jordan Knitzer and Alexa Moster, orchestrations by Bryan Eng
One of Northwestern University’s longest-standing traditions is The Waa-Mu Show, a 100% student-written musical which is put up every year as a fully-fledged professional production. I had the pleasure of writing for the 86th annual Waa-Mu Show, Beyond Belief, and being a head writer for the 87th, Manhattan Miracle. Beyond Belief tells the story of two sisters who support one another through a debilitating illness, an uncertain future, and a legion of supervillains. Manhattan Miracle celebrates the origin of musical theatre as a genre — or, depending on your perspective, outlines the dire ramifications of the moment in 1866 when a thrifty theatre manager booked a dance troupe, an orchestra and a crew of Shakespearian actors into the same rehearsal venue. Between those two shows, I wrote for 17 songs; enjoy a selection of them here.