Alan Alyas

A Harmonious Blend of Art and Technology

Born in 1984 in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, Alan found the violin “in him” at the age of eight. He followed this up first at the Institute of Fine Arts in Sulaimaniyah, from where he graduated in 2006 with a Diploma of Music. During his studies, he was able to lay a solid violinist foundation and cover some practical aspects of teaching music in public schools and Youth Organizations.

He was the first violinist in the Sulaimaniyah String Orchestra, later made the principal second violin and operations manager with the Kurdish String Orchestra between 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Alan was into the Saint Louis University, United States. He majors in Music and English. During this period, under Marc Thayer’s teaching, he is the first violin in the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.

In 2010 he appeared at the New England Conservatory, Webster University, performing and giving a master class on Middle Eastern music. Alan graduated with his Bachelor’s in Violin Performance from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis in 2016 under the mentorship of John McGrosso, David Gillham, and Julia Sakharova. During his time at UMSL, Alan was Concertmaster of the UMSL orchestra from 2014-2016 and also served as the concertmaster for the Saint Louis University String Orchestra.

In 2020, Alan graduated from UMSL with a Master of Science degree in Information Systems and Technology, where he received his education in Information Security, Systems Design, Database Design, Computer Forensics, Business Analysis, and Business Continuity Planning. His certifications include CompTIA Security+, Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity from UMSL, and Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals.

Today, Alan is a Systems Analyst and Program Manager working for the Association of American Voices. This includes making the organization more efficient, being the point of contact for cybersecurity, reviewing systems, etc., while advising on virtual work environments as well as live environments.

After work, Alan loves to spend time with his daughter, play soccer, cook and read.