TL;DR:
Ilan Blanck is composer, songwriter, and composer currently based in Boulder, CO. In 2020, he premiered “Ya No Tengo Miedo Por Primera Vez,” a song-cycle recounting the life of his great-grandparents through his own Midwestern, Mexican-Jewish eyes. As a music-maker, he has written and arranged for all kinds of projects, including orchestras, podcasts, love-sick singer-songwriters, high school choirs, and a lot of bands. As a guitarist, he has appeared on over a dozen releases of original music, including the upcoming release from chamber-folk trio Sprig of That, produced by Wes Corbett (Sam Bush, Joy Kill Sorrow), and recorded by Dave Sinko (Punch Brothers, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer…and so many more). At home in front of an audience, he has toured the East Coast and Midwest, sharing the stage with artists ranging from eighth blackbird and Guster to Here Come the Mummies and Charlie Parr. He can most often be found counting to seven with Sprig of That or as the Power Ranger in funk-rock circus Porky’s Groove Machine.
An experienced teacher, Ilan has given dozens of educational workshops across the country with partner organizations like Carnegie Hall, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Mile of Music Music Education Team. He also works as assistant to Minneapolis’ super-producer/record label CEO Lazerbeak (Lizzo, Doja Cat, Doomtree), and is currently pursuing the Master of Music degree in Music Composition at the University of Colorado Boulder where he teaches undergraduate introduction to music technology.
The whole spiel:
Hi there! I'm a composer/songwriter/producer, guitarist, and educator currently living in Boulder, CO. Nice to meet you!
In 2020, I premiered “Ya No Tengo Miedo Por Primera Vez,” a song-cycle recounting the my great-grandparent's lives through my own Midwestern, Mexican-Jewish eyes. As a music-maker, I have written and arranged for all kinds of projects, including orchestras, podcasts, love-sick singer-songwriters, high school choirs, and a lot of bands. In 2022, I had the privilege of premiering new chamber works for Pierrot ensemble + percussion with electric guitar (of course) and vocal trio. Currently, I'm working with Minneapolis-based singer Jaedyn James on her next record: co-writing songs, arranging/conducting strings, playing guitar...the whole nine yards! (Looking to put some strings on your album or feature your band with an orchestra? Smash that "contact" button).
As a guitarist, I've toured the Midwest and East Coast, been on over a dozen recordings of original music, and have had the chance to work and/or share the stage with artists ranging from eighth blackbird to Here Come the Mummies! While my interests range from Bach to bluegrass and the spaces in between them, I can most often be found counting to 7 in chamber-folk trio Sprig of That, whose 2022 full-length original debut was produced by Wes Corbett (Sam Bush Band, Joy Kill Sorrow) and recorded/mixed by Dave Sinko (Punch Brothers, Bela Fleck, Yoyo Ma...the list goes on and on). And though I can't make every show these days, I am also a proud and very sweaty power ranger-costume wearing member of funk/rock circus Porky's Groove Machine.
A lifelong lover of all things public radio and podcasts (I subscribed to my first podcast at age 11 in 2005!), I also work as a podcast producer, having scored, edited, and mixed the first two seasons of Historias De Arte En Podcast, produced and edited eight threads: unraveled, and contributed music (the theme song for a fake robot game show, to be exact) to Rose Eveleth's Flash Forward.
I've presented dozens and dozens of educational workshops to students across the Midwest, including as a part of Carnegie Hall's Audience Engagement Intensive, Minnesota Public Radio's Class Notes program, and the Mile of Music Music Education team. I've always given scores of students of all ages and levels private lessons on guitar, ukulele, piano, drums...you name it. I currently teach undergraduate Introduction to Music Technology at CU-Boulder in Boulder, CO.
I work as assistant to producer/CEO/manager/hero Lazerbeak's (Lizzo, Doomtree, Dessa...it goes on and on) in managing a variety of artists and running Doomtree Records, which involves everything from running Patreon pages and digital music distribution to measuring a room to see if it will fit 4,000 hardcover books and awkwardly chit-chatting with Fedex Warehouse employees. As album release consultants, we've helped over a dozen independent artists craft strategies to smartly and practically release new music.
In 2017, I received the Bachelors of Music degree with majors in composition and classical guitar performance from Lawrence University, where I studied composition with Joanne Metcalf, Asha Srinivasan, Andrew Coal, David Werfelmann, and Matt Turner, and guitar with Nathan Wysock and Steve Peplin. I am currently working towards my Masters in Music Composition at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where I study with Carter Pann and Annika Socolofsky. I've also been lucky enough to study with composer/songwriter Gabriel Kahane and guitarist Chris Eldridge.
Ilan Blanck is composer, songwriter, and composer currently based in Boulder, CO. In 2020, he premiered “Ya No Tengo Miedo Por Primera Vez,” a song-cycle recounting the life of his great-grandparents through his own Midwestern, Mexican-Jewish eyes. As a music-maker, he has written and arranged for all kinds of projects, including orchestras, podcasts, love-sick singer-songwriters, high school choirs, and a lot of bands. As a guitarist, he has appeared on over a dozen releases of original music, including the upcoming release from chamber-folk trio Sprig of That, produced by Wes Corbett (Sam Bush, Joy Kill Sorrow), and recorded by Dave Sinko (Punch Brothers, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer…and so many more). At home in front of an audience, he has toured the East Coast and Midwest, sharing the stage with artists ranging from eighth blackbird and Guster to Here Come the Mummies and Charlie Parr. He can most often be found counting to seven with Sprig of That or as the Power Ranger in funk-rock circus Porky’s Groove Machine.
An experienced teacher, Ilan has given dozens of educational workshops across the country with partner organizations like Carnegie Hall, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Mile of Music Music Education Team. He also works as assistant to Minneapolis’ super-producer/record label CEO Lazerbeak (Lizzo, Doja Cat, Doomtree), and is currently pursuing the Master of Music degree in Music Composition at the University of Colorado Boulder where he teaches undergraduate introduction to music technology.
The whole spiel:
Hi there! I'm a composer/songwriter/producer, guitarist, and educator currently living in Boulder, CO. Nice to meet you!
In 2020, I premiered “Ya No Tengo Miedo Por Primera Vez,” a song-cycle recounting the my great-grandparent's lives through my own Midwestern, Mexican-Jewish eyes. As a music-maker, I have written and arranged for all kinds of projects, including orchestras, podcasts, love-sick singer-songwriters, high school choirs, and a lot of bands. In 2022, I had the privilege of premiering new chamber works for Pierrot ensemble + percussion with electric guitar (of course) and vocal trio. Currently, I'm working with Minneapolis-based singer Jaedyn James on her next record: co-writing songs, arranging/conducting strings, playing guitar...the whole nine yards! (Looking to put some strings on your album or feature your band with an orchestra? Smash that "contact" button).
As a guitarist, I've toured the Midwest and East Coast, been on over a dozen recordings of original music, and have had the chance to work and/or share the stage with artists ranging from eighth blackbird to Here Come the Mummies! While my interests range from Bach to bluegrass and the spaces in between them, I can most often be found counting to 7 in chamber-folk trio Sprig of That, whose 2022 full-length original debut was produced by Wes Corbett (Sam Bush Band, Joy Kill Sorrow) and recorded/mixed by Dave Sinko (Punch Brothers, Bela Fleck, Yoyo Ma...the list goes on and on). And though I can't make every show these days, I am also a proud and very sweaty power ranger-costume wearing member of funk/rock circus Porky's Groove Machine.
A lifelong lover of all things public radio and podcasts (I subscribed to my first podcast at age 11 in 2005!), I also work as a podcast producer, having scored, edited, and mixed the first two seasons of Historias De Arte En Podcast, produced and edited eight threads: unraveled, and contributed music (the theme song for a fake robot game show, to be exact) to Rose Eveleth's Flash Forward.
I've presented dozens and dozens of educational workshops to students across the Midwest, including as a part of Carnegie Hall's Audience Engagement Intensive, Minnesota Public Radio's Class Notes program, and the Mile of Music Music Education team. I've always given scores of students of all ages and levels private lessons on guitar, ukulele, piano, drums...you name it. I currently teach undergraduate Introduction to Music Technology at CU-Boulder in Boulder, CO.
I work as assistant to producer/CEO/manager/hero Lazerbeak's (Lizzo, Doomtree, Dessa...it goes on and on) in managing a variety of artists and running Doomtree Records, which involves everything from running Patreon pages and digital music distribution to measuring a room to see if it will fit 4,000 hardcover books and awkwardly chit-chatting with Fedex Warehouse employees. As album release consultants, we've helped over a dozen independent artists craft strategies to smartly and practically release new music.
In 2017, I received the Bachelors of Music degree with majors in composition and classical guitar performance from Lawrence University, where I studied composition with Joanne Metcalf, Asha Srinivasan, Andrew Coal, David Werfelmann, and Matt Turner, and guitar with Nathan Wysock and Steve Peplin. I am currently working towards my Masters in Music Composition at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where I study with Carter Pann and Annika Socolofsky. I've also been lucky enough to study with composer/songwriter Gabriel Kahane and guitarist Chris Eldridge.