Artist Bio

The GRAMMY-nominated composer Carlos Simon grew up in Atlanta, inspired by a long lineage of preachers and many connections to gospel music. Music is his pulpit. With compositions that range from concert works for large and small ensembles to film scores with influences from jazz, gospel, and neo-romanticism, Simon proves that a well-composed piece can indeed be a sermon.

Simon is the current composer-in-residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and frequently writes for the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera. He is also the inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the first in the institution’s 143-year history.

In the 2024-25 season, Simon will have premiere performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra for the Last Night of the Proms (in his BBC Proms commissioning debut), Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall, for the National Youth Orchestra. The season also features the premiere of his Gospel Mass with Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic, a work reimagining the traditional mass with gospel soloists and choir, and visual creations from Melina Matsoukas (Beyoncé Formation, Queen and Slim).

Simon has also been commissioned by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera (in collaboration with Mo Willems), New York Philharmonic and Bravo! Vail, Minnesota Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Simon frequently curates concert programs, which often highlight his own music and that of close collaborators. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Boston Chamber Players, Tanglewood Festival for Contemporary Music, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have programmed his curated concerts. Simon also curated and arranged Coltrane: Legacy for Orchestra, a new project co-commissioned by TO Live (for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra) and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, in partnership with the Coltrane Estate.

Simon’s first full-length orchestral album, Four Symphonic Works, was released in August 2024. It consists of live concert recordings of performances by the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Simon also composed the original soundtrack for the PBS documentary Shame of Chicago: Shame of the Nation, which was released as a digital album in April 2024.

In September 2023, Simon released two albums on Decca. Together is a compilation of solo and chamber compositions and arrangements featuring Simon and guests J’Nai Bridges, Randall Goosby, Seth Parker Woods, and Will Liverman. The work draws on Simon’s personal experience as an artist to highlight the importance of heritage and identity, and the power of collaborative music-making.

Simon also released the live premiere recording of brea(d)th, a landmark work commissioned by Minnesota Orchestra and written in collaboration with Marc Bamuthi Joseph, conducted by Jonathan Taylor Rush. “Arguably the most important commission of Simon’s career so far” (New York Times), brea(d)th was written following George Floyd’s murder as a direct response to America’s unfulfilled promises and history of systemic oppression against Black Americans.

Simon was nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for his previous album, Requiem for the Enslaved. The requiem is a multi-genre musical tribute to commemorate the stories of the 272 enslaved men, women, and children sold in 1838 by Georgetown University. This work sees Simon infuse his original compositions with African American spirituals and familiar Catholic liturgical melodies, performed by Hub New Music Ensemble, Marco Pavé, and MK Zulu.

Acting as music director and keyboardist for the GRAMMY Award winner Jennifer Holliday, Simon has performed with Boston Pops, Jackson Symphony, and St. Louis Symphony. He has also toured internationally with the GRAMMY-nominated soul artist Angie Stone and performed throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. Simon earned his doctorate at the University of Michigan, where he studied with Michael Daugherty and Evan Chambers. He has also received degrees from Georgia State University and Morehouse College. He is an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Music Sinfonia Fraternity and a member of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Society of Composers International, and Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society. He has served on the music faculty at Spelman College and Morehouse College in Atlanta, and now serves as associate professor at Georgetown University. Simon was also a recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization to recognizeextraordinary Black and Latinx classical musicians. He was named a Sundance/Time Warner Composer Fellow for his work for film and moving image.

Recordings

VIDEOS

Photos (top and middle): Kendall Bessent