About
"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
Dorian Wallace performing at Omaha Under the Radar 2022. Photo by Ben Semisch.
Artistic Statement
My artistic practice centers on creating music for and within the human community. Since the Paleolithic era, music has been a vital force in human evolution, shaping our experiences and connections through sound. I compose to promote positive social change, foster healing, and inspire peace and unity. My goal is to bring people together, creating moments of collective calm while also illuminating the profound injustices imposed by capitalism, fascism, abuse, coercive control, and trauma.
My artistic practice centers on creating music for and within the human community. Since the Paleolithic era, music has been a vital force in human evolution, shaping our experiences and connections through sound. I compose to promote positive social change, foster healing, and inspire peace and unity. My goal is to bring people together, creating moments of collective calm while also illuminating the profound injustices imposed by capitalism, fascism, abuse, coercive control, and trauma.
Bio
Dorian Wallace is a composer, pianist, and music therapist who explores music's healing qualities in therapeutic work, social action, and community engagement. His practice integrates contemporary classical composition, free improvisation, and a deep commitment to fostering meaningful, emotionally resonant experiences.
Dorian's compositions often engage with sociopolitical, emotional, and psychological themes. He has had the privilege of collaborating with artists like Paul Pinto, Pamela Z, Bonita Oliver, and John Sanborn. His music draws from experimentalism, expressionism, romanticism, and rhythmic complexity, creating thought-provoking, cathartic works. Alongside violinist Hajnal Pivnick, Dorian co-founded NYC-based new music collective Tenth Intervention. They have performed live silent film scores at venues like Nitehawk Cinema, Threes Brewing, and the late Videology. He accompanies the Sing In Solidarity chorus, amplifying activists, marginalized communities, and international labor and decolonial movements.
His music therapy work extends to people incarcerated at Rikers Island, Crossroads Juvenile Detention Center, and Sing Sing Correctional Facility; survivors of cults through the Lalich Center for Cults and Coercion; and patients on hospice care at Calvary Hospital. He integrates dynamic listening, improvisation, and lyric analysis to support trauma-informed, liberation-centered therapeutic spaces. His Liberation Music Therapy concept has been presented at institutions such as Columbia University, the Trauma Research Foundation, Montclair State University, the University of Louisville, and Loughborough University, among others. He leads workshops for adult film workers through Pineapple Support, activists experiencing burnout through the Democratic Socialists of America, and people transitioning out of insular communities with Footsteps.
Dorian is an active dance and ceremony accompanist who creates responsive soundscapes to support movement, storytelling, and rituals. He teaches a course at the Martha Graham School to deepen professional dancers' relationship with musicality.
Dorian's work as a composer, pianist, and therapist remains committed to exploring the ways music can facilitate connection, healing, and social change.
Dorian Wallace is a composer, pianist, and music therapist who explores music's healing qualities in therapeutic work, social action, and community engagement. His practice integrates contemporary classical composition, free improvisation, and a deep commitment to fostering meaningful, emotionally resonant experiences.
Dorian's compositions often engage with sociopolitical, emotional, and psychological themes. He has had the privilege of collaborating with artists like Paul Pinto, Pamela Z, Bonita Oliver, and John Sanborn. His music draws from experimentalism, expressionism, romanticism, and rhythmic complexity, creating thought-provoking, cathartic works. Alongside violinist Hajnal Pivnick, Dorian co-founded NYC-based new music collective Tenth Intervention. They have performed live silent film scores at venues like Nitehawk Cinema, Threes Brewing, and the late Videology. He accompanies the Sing In Solidarity chorus, amplifying activists, marginalized communities, and international labor and decolonial movements.
His music therapy work extends to people incarcerated at Rikers Island, Crossroads Juvenile Detention Center, and Sing Sing Correctional Facility; survivors of cults through the Lalich Center for Cults and Coercion; and patients on hospice care at Calvary Hospital. He integrates dynamic listening, improvisation, and lyric analysis to support trauma-informed, liberation-centered therapeutic spaces. His Liberation Music Therapy concept has been presented at institutions such as Columbia University, the Trauma Research Foundation, Montclair State University, the University of Louisville, and Loughborough University, among others. He leads workshops for adult film workers through Pineapple Support, activists experiencing burnout through the Democratic Socialists of America, and people transitioning out of insular communities with Footsteps.
Dorian is an active dance and ceremony accompanist who creates responsive soundscapes to support movement, storytelling, and rituals. He teaches a course at the Martha Graham School to deepen professional dancers' relationship with musicality.
Dorian's work as a composer, pianist, and therapist remains committed to exploring the ways music can facilitate connection, healing, and social change.
