Istanpitta

Al Cofrin earned a BA in Jazz Theory & Composition and a BS in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas in the early 1980s.  He became interested in medieval music when a pretty professor pointed out that both jazz and medieval monophonic music utilize similar improvisation skills.  He continued graduate music studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas. His thesis project of medieval monophonic songs and dances resulted in the 1995 publication of pre-15th century transcriptions and a collection of Renaissance dance music.  The publication of his work led to the desire to perform the music he had worked with for so long.  Istanpitta was born in 1994 and contiues to play for concert venues, universities and fairs across the country.  Al has written several articles for musicians and dancers involved in reenactment groups.

Multi-instrumentalist Al Cofrin is the director of Istanpitta Early Music Ensemble and Tapestry Quartet.  In 2006 Al began playing with the Celtic band, Clandestine, who has performed worldwide.  His performance in the folk Celtic genre brings a high energy drive to the stage which has become a perfect match for Clandestine's unique sound.  He is also a Riverrun records recording artist. Al has been a professional jazz musician in the Houston area for 15 years and was the principal clarinettist for the Houston area's Pasadena Symphony.  Al Cofrin is by day a NASA flight controller for the Shuttle Program in which he is designated as a Flight Activities Officer (FAO) working in the front room of Mission Control during Shuttle flights.