Ancel ‘Fitz’ Neeley is a composer and percussionist from Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, Michigan who writes solo, chamber, electronic, and multimedia works. His music is inspired by cinematography, screenwriting, and the intersection of technology and nature. Fitz’s works often experiment with text as a means of exploring the familiar and unfamiliar facets of human connection and communication.
He has written for and worked with Tom Sherwood and the Modern Snare Drum Competition, Cameron Leach, the IGNIS Quintet, the Michigan Music Teachers Association, the University of Michigan Concert Band, Full Gremlin Quartet, Unheard-of Ensemble, and this.is.a.tangible.space.
Fitz is a frequent collaborator as both a composer and performer as has worked on projects such as Clara Warnaar’s “A New Age for New Age Vol. 5”, Nelson Walker’s “Do I Contradict Myself?”, Shodekeh Talifeiro’s “Vodalities”, John Luther Adams GRAMMY nominated “Sila: The Breath of the World”, and the premiere of Michael Gordon’s “Field of Vision”.
Fitz is the artistic director and one percussionist of FLYDLPHN, a mixed chamber sextet based in southeastern Michigan dedicated to commissioning and electro-acoustic performance. He also performs with his percussion and multimedia duo VIRID, and percussion trio Brain Pocket both of whom support the creation of new works by young, living, and underrepresented composers. As a part of VIRID, Fitz is a co-producer of the concert series VIRID and Friends through Oz’s Music Store in Ann Arbor. VIRID and Friends hosts 5-7 guests bi-annually for intimate showcases of contemporary classical and electronic music. You will also find Fitz appearing as the drummer of the band my salamander based in Ann Arbor, playing everything from folk-ish tunes to progressive rock.
Fitz leads commissions for solo percussion and electronic works frequently. Most recently by Sylvan Talavera, Harry Castle and Ari Sussman. His body of performance work is most prevalent through his documentation on YouTube where he shares numerous performances and premieres of especially newer percussion pieces.
Fitz earned his MMus in Composition at the University of Michigan where he previously earned a BMus in Composition and Percussion Performance under the guidance of professors Doug Perkins, Ian Antonio, Tom Sherwood, Roshanne Etezady, Michael Daugherty, Kristin Kuster, Erik Santos, and Evan Chambers.
I love to tell stories. Music making is a very visual and communicative experience for me and I treat these aspects with importance when composing. Not because I believe these are the most important aspects, but because they are what I’ve grown to love the most about it. I spent a lot of time in high school obsessing over film, cinematography, and screenwriting; all of which have played a major role in my overall musical goals, tastes, and choices. I love characterization and humanness, and I spend most of my time trying to capture that level of self through the music I make.
I feel as though this is our lucky chance to engage in a shared emotional experience between composer, performer, and listener. A chance to say “Hey, I felt something when I listened to this!” I often make heavy use of electronics, text, and texture as a means to create these spaces/characters, and tell these stories.
- Fitz