MIATp
MIATp is an avant-pop band making voice/saxophone/electronic sound worlds that are ancient and futuristic, funky and fragile. MIATp (AKA Megan Ihnen & Alan Theisen present...) had its roots as a contemporary classical duo but now combine experimental music, multiple pop genres, and theatre. With influences ranging from Björk to Sun Ra to Ligeti, MIATp shows have been praised as “a fresh look at what it means to be artists in the 21st century.” Microtones, hip hop beats, prog rock, jazz, silences, heavy metal - anything is possible at an MIATp show.
“Voice, saxophone, and electronics mesh art song with synth pop, blurring the lines of genre or perhaps shrugging off those confines entirely.”
“Ihnen & Theisen... are particularly gifted at their craft.”
The duo has performed at festivals and venues across the United States including Oh My Ears Festival (Phoenix), NEXTET contemporary music series (Las Vegas), Zeitgeist Halloween Festival (St. Paul), the U.S. Navy International Saxophone Symposium (Virginia), the University of Tennessee Contemporary Music Festival, and more. MIATp has collaborated with numerous musicians and artists such as composer/producer/guitarist Andrew Rodriguez (Close Your Eyes), singer/songwriter/actress Gelsey Bell (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), composer Jennifer Bellor, performer/video artist Nick Zoulek (Rushing Past Willow), composer Neil Anderson-Himmelspach, and saxophonist Scott Johnson (Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra).
Through NewMusicShelf, the members of MIATp individually published their Anthology of New Music for Mezzo-Soprano, Vol. 1 and Anthology of New Music for Alto Saxophone, Vol. 1. With soprano and media artist Misha Penton they curate the AVANT Art Music Video Series, a biannual online edition of videos by creators who integrate music and film. MIATp is a partnered ensemble with ADJ•ective Composers’ Collective as well as a fiscally sponsored project of Bang on a Can.
Both team members possess a wide array of skills: Ihnen is a mezzo-soprano force of nature with experience in music entrepreneurship, creative placemaking, and audience development while Theisen is an active multi-genre composer, arranger, and author in addition to his career as performer.
“Megan Ihnen and Alan Theisen demonstrate synergy and a deep musicality together... it was difficult to differentiate where the voice began and the sax ended - they played as one instrument, breathing in and out of one another’s phrases... These two have a lot of music to share together...”
“From the first note to the last, Megan Ihnen and Alan Theisen suspend time and transport their audiences into a new enrapturing world.”
