Carlos Simon (composer)

Born in Washington, D.C.,{{cite web|url=https://www.giamusic.com/store/artists/carlos-simon|title=Artist – Carlos Simon|website=GIA Publications}} and raised in Atlanta, Simon is the son of a preacher{{cite web|url=https://americancomposers.org/2021/05/11/composer-spotlight-carlos-simon/|title=Composer Spotlight: Carlos Simon – American Composers Orchestra|date=May 11, 2021 }} and grew up in a household where he was forbidden to listen to anything other than gospel music;{{cite web|url=https://www.jaxsymphony.org/composer-highlight-carlos-simon/|title=Composer Highlight: Carlos Simon|date=February 28, 2022}} he has described gospel's improvisatory nature as a critical influence in the development of his own compositional style, alongside the more formal elements of the work of such composers as Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms. Beginning at the age of ten he played piano for Sunday services at his father's church, at which point he began formal piano lessons as well. Later in life he spent time as keyboardist and musical director for R&B artists Angie Stone and Jennifer Holliday.{{cite web|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/classical-music/story/2021-02-21/classical-composer-carlos-simon-uses-music-to-express-frustration-and-anger-giving-way-to-hope|title=Classical composer Carlos Simon uses music to express frustration and anger, giving way to hope|date=February 21, 2021|website=San Diego Union-Tribune}} He completed degrees at Morehouse College and Georgia State University before attending the University of Michigan for doctoral studies with Michael Daugherty and Evan Chambers. Formerly on the music faculty of Spelman College and Morehouse College, in 2019 he became a professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Georgetown University.{{cite web|url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/s/sa-sn/carlos-simon/|title=Carlos Simon | Kennedy Center|website=The Kennedy Center}}{{cite web|url=https://college.georgetown.edu/news-story/performing-arts-welcomes-newest-faculty-member-award-winning-composer-carlos-simon/|title=Performing Arts Welcomes Newest Faculty Member, Award-Winning Composer Carlos Simon|date=March 30, 2020}}

In 2024, the Boston Symphony Orchestra announced as its inaugural Deborah and Philip Edmundson Composer Chair, a position lasting three-seasons in which he will lead educational and outreach concerts, collaborate with Andris Nelsons to curate programs, and compose several new works for the Boston Symphony to perform. {{Cite web |date=Jan 25, 2024 |title=BSO Announces Andris Nelsons Contract Extension, Carlos Simon as Composer Chair, and Establishment of Humanities Institute |url=https://www.bso.org/press/bso-announces-andris-nelsons-contract-extension-carlos-simon-as-composer-chair-and-establishment-of-humanities-institute |access-date=Aug 8, 2024 |website=Bostonsymphony.org}} In 2021, Simon received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence from the Sphinx Organization, becoming only the second composer to receive the award;{{cite web | title=ASCAP Composer Carlos Simon Receives 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence | website=www.ascap.com | date=21 July 2020 | url=https://www.ascap.com/news-events/articles/2020/07/carlos-simon-sphinx-award | access-date=31 October 2024}} that same year he joined the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as composer-in-residence.{{cite web|url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/our-story/kc50/artists/carlos-simon/|title=Carlos Simon|website=The Kennedy Center}} In 2018 he was named as a Sundance/Time Warner Composer Fellow by the Sundance Institute. Among the organizations from which he has received commissions and performances are the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Simon's music is informed by his interest in social justice issues, and frequently incorporates activist themes in his work; such pieces include Elegy for string quartet, honoring the memories of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and Requiem for the Enslaved, in which African-American spirituals are combined with the Latin mass and elements of hip hop to tell the story of the 1838 sale of slaves to discharge the debts of Georgetown University.{{cite web |title=Requiem for the Enslaved |url=http://www.hubnewmusic.org/requiem-for-the-enslaved |website=Hub New Music}}{{cite web |last=Cristi |first=A. A. |title=Carlos Simon Announces The Release Of 'Requiem For The Enslaved', Text By Marco Pavé |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwclassical/article/Carlos-Simon-Announces-The-Release-Of-Requiem-For-The-Enslaved-Text-By-Marco-Pav-20220506 |website=BroadwayWorld.com}} Other compositions are inspired by the work of visual artists, such as Bill Traylor and Romare Bearden.{{cite web |date=January 22, 2022 |title=22 classical composers and performers to watch in 2022 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/01/22/2022-composers-up-and-coming/ |accessdate=May 9, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Carlos Simon has received several awards throughout his career. The most notable ones include the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence from the Sphinx Organization, making him the second composer to receive the award. In 2023, Simon received a Grammy Award nomination for his album, Requiem for the Enslaved in the category of Best Contemporary Classical Composition.{{Cite web |title=Carlos Simon |url=https://www.bso.org/profiles/carlos-simon#:~:text=Simon%20was%20nominated%20for%20a,album%2C%20Requiem%20for%20the%20Enslaved. |access-date=Aug 8, 2024 |website=Bostonsymphony.org}} On September 5, 2024, Georgetown University announced Simon as one of the recipients of The Magis Prize, which is awarded to recently-tenured scholars who are making a remarkable impact in their field. The award supports their research by granting each scholar $100,000 and two semesters of leave to dedicate fully to their scholarship.{{Cite web |last=Lane |first=Rosemary |date=2024-09-05 |title=Georgetown Awards 3 Professors with $100K Research Fund |url=https://www.georgetown.edu/news/georgetown-awards-3-associate-professors-with-new-100k-research-fund/ |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=Georgetown University |language=en-US}}

{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Carlos}}

Category:1986 births

Category:21st-century African-American musicians

Category:21st-century American male musicians

Category:21st-century American classical composers

Category:African-American classical composers

Category:African-American male classical composers

Category:American contemporary classical composers

Category:Boston Symphony Orchestra

Category:Classical musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Classical musicians from Washington, D.C.

Category:Georgetown University faculty

Category:Living people

Category:Morehouse College alumni

Category:Morehouse College faculty

Category:Musicians from Atlanta

Category:Spelman College faculty

Category:University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni