Published: May 18, 2020

Alex Craig
March 26, 1946 – April 18, 2020     

Alex Craig   Alex Craig 

Composer and pianist Alex Craig of Broomfield, Colorado died of a sudden heart attack on the evening of Saturday, April 18th while reading a book in his recliner.  During his life he summited Longs Peak four times, and climbed Grays and Torreys Peaks and Mt. Bierstadt.  He loved hiking the less travelled mountains and trails and took many photographs of sunsets, flowers and waterfalls.  He was a fine cook and enjoyed trying out new recipes at dinner parties.  He was a tremendous fan of science fiction, biographies of great composers and musicians, mysteries and J.R.R. Tolkien.  He always had a book or two close at hand. 

Alex was a part of the musical scene in Boulder from the mid-1960s when he began accompanying music students while he was an undergraduate at CU-Boulder.    Before completing his degree, he took a detour to Korea during the Vietnam War, where he served in an Army band playing the baritone saxophone (a weapon of mass destruction, as he liked to call it). 

Alex received a Bachelor’s degree in Music History (1972) and a Master’s in Composition (1975), both from CU–Boulder.  His compositions comprise orchestral, choral, piano, chamber music, and over eighty songs.  Alex held the position of Staff Accompanist at the CU–Boulder College of Music from 1976 until 2011 and played for hundreds of auditions, recitals and concerts.  He touched many lives with his gifts, talent and spirit. Whether composing for colleagues or making “mix-tapes” and CDs for students to inspire them or calming nervous young musicians backstage before their juries, he felt lucky to have been able to make a living doing something he loved – making music.

A native of Colorado Springs, his private teachers included: May Fenlon, Max Lanner, Storm Bull, and Howard Waltz, piano; Ben Gahart and Don Vollstedt, organ; and Janice Elliott and Charles Eakin, composition. He coached with artists Aksel Schiøtz, Dalton Baldwin, Gerhard Hüsch, and Martin Isepp. 

He continued to accompany his wife’s voice students and ASTER Women’s Chamber Choir during his retirement years.  Other projects included listening to all of the Bach Cantatas on the correct Sunday of the liturgical year, digitally transcribing all of his compositions and cataloguing his huge collection of CDs, books and DVDs.   A fan of the quiz site Sporcle, Alex recently created twenty-six quizzes about classical music under the name of “craigu”.

He was preceded in death by his parents Augustus Cunningham Craig and Elinor Virginia (Kurth) Craig. He is survived by his wife of twenty-eight years, Christina Lynn-Craig, his sister Mary Katz (husband Jeff), his brother David Craig, nephew Roy Katz (wife Tanya, grandnephew Orion.) and niece Molly Katz.  

A celebration of life service will be held at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Alex’s memory to the Longmont Humane Society, Foothills Animal Shelter or the National Parks Conservation Association.

Those interested in keeping his music alive may contact his wife for access to his musical scores. Contact her or leave a condolence here.