Adam Borecki
- Education:
- Chapman University, Bachelor of Music
Biography
Adam Borecki is a composer, guitarist and recording engineer based in Los Angeles.
As a composer, Adam specializes in electro-acoustic concert music. His recent works include collaborations with Mark Menzies, Spacepants, Nadia Shpachenko and more. In addition to acoustic works, Adam has composed multi-media pieces with works live projection, real-time animation, audio effects pedals, integrated LED lights and live sound processing. Adam studied composition at USC with Stephen Hartke, Donald Crockett and Sean Friar, and at Chapman University with Vera Ivanova, Sean Heim and Jeffery Holmes. His music has been performed at the Hear Now Festival, across southern California, across the United States, in Italy (at the Cortona Sessions) and in Paris (European American Musical Alliance).
As a guitarist, Adam has been awarded fellowships to perform outreach concerts at schools and senior homes across Los Angeles. He regularly plays with the Kaleidoscope Trio (kaleidoscopetrio.com), as well as for weddings and receptions in Orange County, and has performed for figures such as the late Elie Wiesel (Nobel Laureate) and George Argyros (U.S. Ambassador to Spain).
As a recording engineer, Adam is the founder and owner of recording.LA (pronounced “recording dot LA”), an audio/video recording company in Los Angeles that specializes in concert recording and videos for musicians. He has produced recordings for clients including: Aspen Music Festival, Martin Chalifour (LA Philharmonic concertmaster), USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra, Colburn School of Music, Chapman University, Orange County School of the Arts, USC School of Cinematic Arts, The Moth podcast, the American Composers Forum, HowlRound Theatre Commons, the M.A.R.S. Festival (Los Angeles), and the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland.
Adam Borecki graduated from Chapman University in 2012 summa cum laude with a double major in Music Composition and Guitar Performance. After earning his master's degree in Music Composition from the University of Southern California in 2015, he returned to Chapman to teach music technology. In 2019, Adam Borecki became the director of Music Technology in the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music.
-
Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications
- As a guest lecturer for the "Chapman Jams" ensemble, Adam Borecki performed with students and presented brand new works including a new rendering of "Uke Sweets" (this time for an ensemble of ukulele players), a performance of "Midnight Jam #6225" (performed with head recording engineer Johnny Cesene), a discussion of music & inspiration with the students, and several activities using generative AI simultaneously with live music peformance on alternative music technology tools (launchpads in diatonic note mode).
- Danielle Liu (violinist, Chapman alum) and Adam Borecki (guitar) performed the National Anthem for the Simon Scholars event at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport.
- Adam Borecki collaborated with Chapman Alum Erandi Sanchez and Lino Sanchez on the setup and optimization of a live sound audio system for their family Mariachi Band.
- On October 9th, Adam Borecki performed electric guitar on a "Cult Classics" live musical show, arranged and hosted by Brian Morales as part of the "Midnight Druthers" musical series.
- Adam Borecki's "Scorpio" composition for Brightwork newmusic was the grand finale at a "Concert for Lowell", a celebration of life concert for longtime new music supporter Lowell Hill. Brightwork was joined by mini-sets from Wild Up, MicroFest, Piano Spheres, The Industry, Partch Ensemble, Monday Evening Concerts, Long Beach Opera, and People Inside Electronics to celebrate Lowell’s life and enduring impact on new music in Los Angeles. This performance featured a new addition written from soprano Stacey Fraser with guitar accompaniment, composer & performed by Adam Borecki.
- Adam Borecki continued composing a series of "Uke Sweets" for solo ukulele, with optional portable electroacoustic enhancement (battery-powered reverb and delay). Each of the movements of these semi-improvisatory pieces is notated with hybrid graphic scores (traditional notation, tablature, and also a hybrid tablature/symbol diagrams using colored pencils). The score is formatted on hexagonal playing cards, designed to be easily memorized and give the performer choice in order of movements based on harmonic language.
- The El Rey Theater's March 2025 popular music showcase was produced with multicam filming by Adam Borecki. Capture included 9 angles of 4K footage for the three hour live music event.
- As part of the Chapman University "Germinals" initiative, Adam Borecki presented a short seminar on "Vibecoding": the process of using generative AI to create web apps. The session featured various "text to code" demonstrations from the field of music technology, as well as interactive attempts to create web apps with input from additional participants.
- Adam Borecki provided multicamera livestreaming & recording with multitrack audio mixing for an LA production of "Our Town" by Ned Rorem. The production included 7 video angles, real-time embedded subtitles, live mixing, and digital streaming hosted by Adam's business Recording Dot LA (recording.LA).
- Adam Borecki provided multitrack orchestral audio recording services for student composers in Los Angeles. Over 2 days, student works were sight-read by the USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra. Audio was recorded and mixed by Adam Borecki.
- Adam composed a new harmonization for the "Compline Prayer" to be performed at Christ The Vine in Damascus, Oregon. The re-harmonization was workshopped with the music director of the church and will be performed throughout Fall 2025 and 2026.
- In August 2025, Adam Borecki was rejoined by Chapman Alumnus Michael Fleming and fellow composer Danny Leo for a concert of improvisatory nature-inspired minimalism. The piece was co-composed outside of Sacramento, CA, on the Consumnes River, and performed for a select audience at a nearby summer festival. This year's performance featured an expanded set of instruments: in addition to the ukuleles and mandolins that were featured in the previous year, the three composer/performers added a violin, guitar, harmonicas, and portable digital keyboard to the set of nature influenced musical creations.
- Joined by alumni Jake Needham and Nick Richmond, Adam Borecki presented an informal evening of acoustic and electro-acoustic music on the rooftop of Pine Crest in August 2025.
- At the 2024 Annual Holiday Wassail Concert, Adam Borecki performed "Manger Dance" on guitar with the University Singers, a piece that he had performed with the Dr. Stephen Coker and the ensemble as a student nearly a decade ago. Additionally, Adam Borecki performed guitar with the Treble Choir on "A La Nanita Nana".
- As part of the 2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program within the Center for Undergraduate Excellent, Adam Borecki composed and premiered "Duet #3: _____ (titled announced from the stage)" with special guest Mark Menzies (violinist & composer from University of Christchurch, New Zealand). The performance was part of Adam's summer guest lecture for students participating in the SURF program.
- On October 5, 2024, as part of the Chapman's Homecoming weekend, Adam Borecki performed "Duet #3: ______ (title announced from the stage)" during his workshop/lecture presentation for students and parents. This lecture performance also featured music technology instruments including the Theremin, Push 3, and even banana piano.
- In August 2024, Adam Borecki was joined by Chapman Alumnus Michael Fleming and fellow composer Danny Leo for a concert of improvisatory nature-inspired minimalism performed on two ukuleles and a mandolin. The piece was co-composed outside of Sacramento, CA on the Consumnes River, and performed for a select audience at a nearby summer festival.
- As part of a guest lecture at Harvey Mudd College in December 2024, Adam Borecki composed and performed a set of improvisatory electroacoustic miniatures that featured field recordings of impromptu sounds from Harvey Mudd's engineering students. The work was recorded & performed in real-time using Logic Pro and Ableton Live.
- Adam Borecki's composition "Duet #2:____ (titled announced from the stage)" performed by Chapman Alum Darius Miertschin and Chapman Faculty Michael Wood at the album release party for Patrick O'Malley's "The Horizons". June 15, 2025 - MONK SPACE, Los Angeles
- Adam Borecki traveled to Mexico to capture multi-camera video for the music video of Juan Pablo Contreras' "Lucha Libre!". With Tyler Eschendal, Adam directed a 13-camera orchestra music video production of an hour of Mexican music.
- Christmas Concert - Led by Dr. Peter Atherton, Adam Borecki performed guitar with singers from the Chapman University Chamber Singers in a live Christmas concert at the Covington retirement community in Orange County.
- Premiere of "Integrations" for guitar, violin, and electronics. Composed by Adam Borecki, performed by Adam Borecki and Mark Menzies. For this project, Adam collaborated with Mark Menzies, an internationally renowned musician (violinist, violist, pianist) who has worked with prominent composers such as Gubaidulina, Fernyhough, Reynolds, Finnissy, Lachenmann, Maxwell Davies, Carter. The work was premiered in Sacramento at Cosumnes River College on April 1, 2019.
- Premiere of "Prelude and Tube", for two musicians, two recording engineers, electronics, live video projection, and a 20-foot drainage tube. Hear Now Music Festival and People Inside Electronics, April 30, 2019 by SPACEPANTS (Jennifer Beattie and Diana Wade), Tyler Eshendal, and Duncan Kinzie (recording engineers), with live electronics by Adam Borecki. The work was composed by Spacepants, with electronics and projection arranged by Adam Borecki.
- M.A.R.S. Festival 2018 -- Audio support for an international music festival held in Los Angeles. Adam Borecki led a team of recording.LA engineers and provided multitrack audio reproduction and recording support. This experience included diverse music performances from string quartets to funk bands to performance art. The recording.LA audio support was integrated with 4 projectors for holograms (rear projection) and live music-based lighting synchronization.