The “stirring” (New York Times), “intoxicating” (Philadelphia Inquirer), and “disarmingly beautiful” (Textura) music of American composer Alex Berko (b. 1995) is characterized by a balance of intimacy and power, a keen sense of lyricism and emotional sensitivity, and a love of narrative. Berko’s music often poses questions about our personal environments and relationships to one another, and he is interested in weaving listeners through intimate stories and perspectives with universal values.

Berko has collaborated with leading orchestras, choirs, and chamber ensembles such as the Louisville Orchestra, Monterey Symphony, New York Youth Symphony, The Crossing, Conspirare, Stare at the Sun, Roots in the Sky, Constellation Men’s Ensemble, and the Miró and Del Sol String Quartets among many others. He is currently serving as composer-in-residence with the Louisville Orchestra as a member of their Creators Corps and has previously held fellowships or residencies at Luzerne Music Center, the National Orchestra Institute, the American Festival for the Arts, and Ragdale Foundation.

Berko is the recipient of two ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, a regional EMMY® for a project written in collaboration with the Lebron James Family Foundation, and a First Music Commission from the New York Youth Symphony and Interlochen Arts Center which is set to premiere at Carnegie Hall. He has also received awards from the Society of Composers, Inc., The American Prize, American Choral Directors Association, DownBeat Magazine, Rice University, and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Berko’s choral music is featured on two 2024 GRAMMY®-nominated albums for Best Choral Performance: Conspirare’s House of Belonging and The Crossing’s Carols After a Plague.

Berko holds degrees from Rice University (MM) and Indiana University (BM). His sheet music is available through E.C. Schirmer and Graphite Marketplace and he is commercially released with New Focus Records and Delos Records. Berko currently resides in Louisville, KY with his partner, Laura and their dog, Riley.