Neil Anderson-Himmelspach

Associate Professor of 
Music Technology
and Music Theory/Composition
Music
Jarvis Hall 318

n.himmelspach@tcu.edu | 817-257-4149

Education

DMA, Music Theory and Composition, Florida State University
MM, Music Composition, Central Michigan University
BM, Music Composition, Pacific Lutheran University
AA, Arts and Sciences, Pierce College

Courses Taught

Form and Analysis
Electro-Acoustics
Composition Lessons

Areas of Focus

Music Technology and Music Theory/Composition

Neil Anderson-Himmelspach currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music Technology and Music Theory/Composition at TCU. Prior to coming to TCU, he served on the music faculty at Harford Community College in Bel Air, MD. He received his DMA from Florida State University, his MM from Central Michigan University, and his BM from Pacific Lutheran University. At PLU he studied with Dr. Gregory Youtz and David P. Robbins. At CMU he studied with Dr. David Gillingham and Dr. José Luis-Maúrtua, and additionally studied with Ladislav Kubik in Prague in 2005 at the Czech-American Summer Music Institute. At Florida State, where he studied with Ladislav Kubik and Mark Wingate, he received the FSU Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. Neil has also studied with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.

At Harford he taught music theory, electronic music, composition, and the History of American Popular Music. His music has been performed throughout the US and Europe. His composition for solo alto saxophone, Vanguard, was a featured piece at the 2006 World Saxophone Congress, and his Symphony No. 1 was performed at the 2007 Southwest Regional College Band Directors Association conference. His published works include Salvador Dreams, a euphonium concerto with wind band accompaniment, Vanguard, McHenry’s Anacreonatic Song, and Symphony No. 1.

Neil has had a long-standing partnership with the animator and visual artist Dax Norman. Their scored animations have been featured at numerous venues, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Squeaky Wheel Animation Festival, Spike and Mike’s Twisted Animation, Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, a year-long installation at the Eventi Hotel’s Big Screen Project, Cartoon Brew TV, The Melbourne International Animation Festival, and the Cartoon Network. Neil was awarded the Individual Artist Award in Music Composition by the Maryland State Arts Council in 2012 and again in 2014. Additionally, he has received an ASCAP Plus Award and the Florida State University College of Music Citation for Outstanding Graduate Alumni.

Compositions Written Masters of the Metaverse theme song for a new Internet Series, 2017

Qui Vivra Verra for Orchestra, 2016 Circles and Grooves for saxophone quartet, 2016

Rubicon short film directed by Ian Boisvert, 2016 (I composed music as well as being

the musical director for this film) Zungenbrecher for alto flute and alto saxophone, 2015

Leptune full length animated feature made in collaboration with Dax Norman, 2015

Melbourne International Animation Festival promotional video made in collaboration with Dax Norman, 2015

Tea For Two short film scored for Zach Myers, 2015

Florida State University College of Music Citation for Outstanding Graduate Alumni, 2014

Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), 2016-present

Society for Electro Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS), 2015- present

Council for Higher Education in Music, 2009-present

The College Music Society, 2009-present

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), 2005- present