Alan Theisen (born October 1981; Port Huron, Michigan) is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Music Theory at Florida State University and a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. Composing since the age of sixteen, Theisen's pieces feature a broad array of musical languages, an overt lyricism, and a special attention to communicability.
Recent works include Songs to Nowhere for mezzo-soprano and piano, Tornado Revisited for solo clarinet, Petite Suite for piano, and Allegro Capriccioso for wind ensemble. Theisen's Saxophone Concerto, described by noted composer Dimitri Terzakis as being the product of a unique talent, was premiered by the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland).
Also active as a music theorist, he is currently writing his dissertation on the late orchestral compositions of Elliott Carter. Theisen was awarded the Best Student Paper prize at Music Theory Southeast 2008 for his essay "From Piano to Orchestra (and Back) with Boulez's Notations pour orchestre"; other research interests include Gyorgy Ligeti, Michael Brecker, and film music. Theisen has performed at two World Saxophone Congresses (Montreal 2000 & Minneapolis 2003) and is a journalist for the online periodical Sequenza21. He lives with his wife Misty and their two cats in Tallahassee, Florida.