"The EDGE. I would say 'on the edge' but Dorian Wallace is the edge. an autodidact, he writes from his soul, and splatters contemporary issues so that they get all over your shoes."
-- John Sanborn, media artist
Artistic Statement
My artistic practice is in music in the community with others. Music has played a crucial role in our evolution since the Paleolithic era, and it continues to be an essential part of our lives as we experience the world around us through sound vibrations. I compose to inspire positive social change, foster healing, and promote peace and unity among all humans.
My artistic practice is in music in the community with others. Music has played a crucial role in our evolution since the Paleolithic era, and it continues to be an essential part of our lives as we experience the world around us through sound vibrations. I compose to inspire positive social change, foster healing, and promote peace and unity among all humans.
Live at Omaha Under the Radar 2022. Photo by Ben Semisch.
Dorian Wallace is a composer, pianist, and music therapist known for his distinctive improvisation skills, stylistic versatility, abstract use of storytelling through music, and commitment to human rights work. He has collaborated with various artists, including Paul Pinto, Bonita Oliver, John Sanborn, Nicholas Finch, Charlotte Mundy, Pamela Z, and Frank London. Dorian has provided music services for political figures such as Jarvis Tyner, Angela Davis, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Gerald Horne, Blade Nzimande, and Sing In Solidarity. Additionally, he performs weekly on his Twitch stream, "Dorian's Mode," where he improvises on the piano, often incorporating political music as its foundational impulse. He is currently with Ropeadope.
Dorian has worked as a music therapist and mindfulness teacher at Rikers Island, where he has helped individuals in custody develop their musical skills and coping strategies to navigate psychological, transgenerational, and systemic trauma. With healer and activist DeMarisa Steeley, he co-founded Mederi Muzik, an organization that provides an innovative arts-based liberation psychology-informed approach to trauma recovery and psychoeducation. The organization conducts workshops and lectures for survivors, thrivers, professionals, and community members. They have provided music therapy and mindfulness programs through Rikers Island, HOLLA, About Face, and the Trauma Research Foundation. Their Mederi Muzik podcast explores the therapeutic effects of music and other creative practices on the trauma caused by colonialism, classism, racism, mass incarceration, and culture. Dorian facilitates recovery support groups for survivors of high-control groups such as cults, gangs, extremist groups, and the troubled teen industry with the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion.
Moreover, he provides weekly music therapy services at Calvary Hospital to help hospice and palliative care patients. Dorian earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music Therapy from Montclair State University, and he gained valuable experience during his internships at the MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care and the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine. He has facilitated music therapy groups with Footsteps, the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion, About Face, and the American Humanist Association, and has lectured on "Liberation Music Therapy" at the Behind the Bars Conference at Columbia University and the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association annual conference, and the Trauma Research Foundations' Social Justice Summit.
Dorian is a co-founding artistic director of Tenth Intervention with violinist Hajnal Pivnick, a progressive new music collective exploring the intersection of social justice and community engagement through contemporary music and live scores to silent films. He advocates for labor rights in contemporary classical music and spearheads the New Music Organizing Caucus, a coalition that fights against systemic inequities in the industry. Dorian is also one of New York City's most sought-after dance accompanists, providing musical support for movement classwork with Martha Graham Dance, AIM by Kyle Abraham, Doug Varone and Dancers, RIOULT Dance Theatre, Juilliard, New York University, Columbia University, and many others. He teaches Music for Dancers I & II at the Martha Graham School and has been a guest teaching artist for the Mark Morris Dance Accompaniment Training Program.
Dorian has worked as a music therapist and mindfulness teacher at Rikers Island, where he has helped individuals in custody develop their musical skills and coping strategies to navigate psychological, transgenerational, and systemic trauma. With healer and activist DeMarisa Steeley, he co-founded Mederi Muzik, an organization that provides an innovative arts-based liberation psychology-informed approach to trauma recovery and psychoeducation. The organization conducts workshops and lectures for survivors, thrivers, professionals, and community members. They have provided music therapy and mindfulness programs through Rikers Island, HOLLA, About Face, and the Trauma Research Foundation. Their Mederi Muzik podcast explores the therapeutic effects of music and other creative practices on the trauma caused by colonialism, classism, racism, mass incarceration, and culture. Dorian facilitates recovery support groups for survivors of high-control groups such as cults, gangs, extremist groups, and the troubled teen industry with the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion.
Moreover, he provides weekly music therapy services at Calvary Hospital to help hospice and palliative care patients. Dorian earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music Therapy from Montclair State University, and he gained valuable experience during his internships at the MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care and the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine. He has facilitated music therapy groups with Footsteps, the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion, About Face, and the American Humanist Association, and has lectured on "Liberation Music Therapy" at the Behind the Bars Conference at Columbia University and the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association annual conference, and the Trauma Research Foundations' Social Justice Summit.
Dorian is a co-founding artistic director of Tenth Intervention with violinist Hajnal Pivnick, a progressive new music collective exploring the intersection of social justice and community engagement through contemporary music and live scores to silent films. He advocates for labor rights in contemporary classical music and spearheads the New Music Organizing Caucus, a coalition that fights against systemic inequities in the industry. Dorian is also one of New York City's most sought-after dance accompanists, providing musical support for movement classwork with Martha Graham Dance, AIM by Kyle Abraham, Doug Varone and Dancers, RIOULT Dance Theatre, Juilliard, New York University, Columbia University, and many others. He teaches Music for Dancers I & II at the Martha Graham School and has been a guest teaching artist for the Mark Morris Dance Accompaniment Training Program.