Alvin Lucier (1931–2021) was an American composer and one of the central figures of experimental music in the second half of the 20th century. His research focused on the nature of sound and its interactions with acoustic environments, using traditional and electronic instruments, recordings, installations, performers and architecture to explore its physical and perceptual properties. Among his most influential works are Music for Solo Performer (1965), Chambers (1968), I am Sitting in a Room (1970), Music on a Long Thin Wire (1977) and Music for Piano with Slow Sweep Pure Wave Oscillators (1992).

A two-year stay in Rome in the early 1960s, made possible by a Fulbright scholarship, and his encounter with John Cage and the experimental music scene were decisive in shaping the subsequent direction of his research. In 1966, together with Robert Ashley, Gordon Mumma and David Behrman, he founded the Sonic Arts Union, a collective active for around a decade in promoting and performing experimental music.

From 1970 onwards, he taught at Wesleyan University, where he directed the experimental music programme and mentored numerous composers and scholars. His artistic activity continued until his final years through new compositions and participation in performances.