Biography
Josh Archibald-Seiffer is a Seattle-based pianist, conductor, music director and composer. A versatile musician whose work spans many genres, Archibald-Seiffer is equally adept in the realms of concert music, theater, and dance. He is currently a conductor and company pianist on the staff of Pacific Northwest Ballet. During the 2019-20 season, Archibald-Seiffer led the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra in performances of The Nutcracker and Kent Stowell’s production of Cinderella. He also conducted the world premiere of Songs of Love and Loss, a new work choreographed by Donald Byrd with music by Emmanuel Witzthum.
In addition to his involvement with ballet, Archibald-Seiffer has worked as a music director and associate music director at some of the Pacific Northwest’s foremost theaters, including Seattle’s nationally-acclaimed 5th Avenue Theatre and Issaquah’s Village Theater. Most recently, Archibald-Seiffer was associate music director for 5th Avenue Theatre’s highly-praised production of West Side Story, and he music directed Village Theater KIDSTAGE’s Summerstock Production of School of Rock, coordinating a cast of over fifty actors, onstage student musicians, and an all-student pit band. Archibald-Seiffer is also a strong proponent of developing new
works. He has music directed premiere and workshop productions for The 5th Avenue Theatre, ACT Theatre, and eSe Teatro; and he has served as music consultant and dramaturg for new productions at Seattle Repertory Theater and Café Nordo.
As a pianist, Archibald-Seiffer is known for his work as a collaborator and his stylistic versatility. He has performed with the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, Seattle Pro Musica, Seattle Modern Orchestra, and Inverted Space Ensemble among other groups. Featured concert appearances include a collaboration with soprano Stacey Mastrian on “Post-Puccini: The Contemporary Voice,” a lecture-recital at Bowling Green University showcasing 20th-century Italian art songs, and a performance of Lutoslawski’s Partita for Violin and Piano for the Seattle Polish Cultural Society in celebration of Lutoslawski’s 100th birthday. Alongside his work as a classical pianist, Archibald-Seiffer has performed in numerous pit orchestras and events at The 5th Avenue Theater and Village Theater. In 2019, he was the sole Seattle studio pianist hired for 5th Avenue’s New York-based developmental production of Marie: Dancing Still, a new musical by Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty. He remains in high demand as an accompanist and audition pianist, noted for his excellent rapport with vocalists and fluency across genres.
Archibald-Seiffer’s compositions have been played in the U.S., Canada, and Germany by groups and artists such as Dal Niente, the Seattle Symphony, Pascal Gallois, sfSound, and Inverted Space Ensemble. In 2015, Archibald-Seiffer received an Honorable Mention for his piece Music for Orchestra in the American Composers’ Forum National Composition Contest, and he was awarded the Robert M. Golden Medal for Excellence in the Humanities and Creative Arts for his Piano Trio in 2010. He has earned national first prizes in the MTNA Composition Competition and the NFMC Young Composers’ Contest. Archibald-Seiffer also co-wrote the song “The Perfect Roar,” a track on the album Monsters, Inc. Scream Factory Favorites. This album was released by American Western band Riders in the Sky in conjuction with the Disney/Pixar film Monsters, Inc., and it received the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children.
In 2012, Archibald-Seiffer was a featured speaker at TEDxUofW, where his talk, “The New Expressivity,” demonstrated the potential for musical materials to communicate both emotional and intellectual ideas. Archibald-Seiffer has also taught numerous courses at the University of Washington in music theory, ear training, music history, and composition. He designed the original online version of the UW School of Music’s Elementary Music Theory class, which is taken by approximately 600 students each academic year.
Josh completed his M.M. and doctoral coursework in Music Composition at the University of Washington under the supervision of Joël-François Durand. He holds a B.A. with a concentration in Music Composition from Stanford University, where he studied composition with Brian Ferneyhough and Mark Applebaum and piano with Fred Weldy. Additional composition teachers include Huck Hodge, Juan Pampin, Erik Ulman, and Tiziano Manca as well as masterclasses and lessons with James Dillon, Hans Thomalla, and Suzanne Farrin. His conducting instructors include Diane Wittrey, Anna Edwards, Leif Bjaland, Emil de Cou, and Matt Perri.