Dan Forrest
Dan Forrest | |
|---|---|
 Forrest in 2016 | |
| Born | January 7, 1978 Breesport, New York,U.S. |
| Education | Bob Jones University,University of Kansas |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, Pianist, Educator |
| Employer(s) | Freelance Composer, Beckenhorst Press |
| Known for | Choral/Orchestral Composer |
| Website | http://www.danforrest.com/ |
Daniel Ernest Forrest Jr.(born January 7, 1978) is an Americancomposer,pianist, educator, and music editor.
Biography
[edit]Dan Forrest was born inBreesport, New York,and began piano lessons with his elementary school music teacher at age 8. In high school Forrest won numerous piano awards, accompanied honors choirs, and performed theGrieg Piano Concertowith the Elmira Symphony. He majored in piano atBob Jones University,earning a B.Mus. and an M.Mus. in Piano Performance, studying advanced theory and composition with Joan Pinkston andDwight Gustafson.After teaching piano in South Carolina for 3 years, he moved to Kansas where he earned aD.M.A.in composition from theUniversity of Kansas,studying with wind band composerJames Barnes.Forrest also studied withAlice Parker,whom he counts as a foremost influence.[1]Forrest's compositions include choral, instrumental, orchestral, and wind band works. His music appears in the catalogs of numerous publishers, primarilyBeckenhorst Press(church music) andHinshaw Music(concert music), but also Choristers Guild. In 2018, he began self-publishing his own concert musicThe Music of Dan Forrest,which is distributed by Beckenhorst Press. His published works have sold millions of copies worldwide.[2]
Forrest's choral works have received theASCAPMorton Gould Young Composer's Award,[3]the ACDA Raymond Brock Award,[4]a Meet The Composer grant, the University of Kansas Cius Award,[5]the ALCM Raabe Prize,.[6]Forrest's music has been performed in leading venues around the world includingCarnegie Hall,theLincoln Center,NPR'sPerformance Today,and on theBBC Proms.[7]A review inThe Salt Lake Tribunereferred to Forrest's "superb choral writing" and gave as an example his arrangement of "The First Noel,"which it said was" full of spine-tingling moments. "[8]Forrest is one of a small number of composers whose works have been included in bothTeaching Music Through Performance in ChoirandTeaching Music Through Performance In Band.[9][10]Perhaps Forrest's best known work isRequiem for the Living(2013),[11]having received several hundred performances worldwide. His other major works,Jubilate Deo(2016) andLUX: The Dawn From On High(2018) have also been widely performed.[12]
Forrest taught music theory and composition at The University of Kansas as a graduate assistant from 2004 to 2007, and at Bob Jones University from 2007 to 2012, where he served as chairman of the department of music theory and composition. He now serves as co-editor at Beckenhorst Press,[13]regularly teaches composition lessons and masterclasses, and speaks about composing, music-making, aesthetics, music publishing, and the music business in guest-artist residencies with universities and choirs in the United States and abroad. He also serves as Artist-in-Residence at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church (PCA), Greenville, SC.[14]
Style
[edit]Forrest is equally at home in both concert music and church music, and he composes for ensembles across the spectrum of choral music. His background in academia and experience with professional choirs and orchestras allows him to write complex music that requires sophisticated performers, yet he also writes music accessible for amateur choirs.[15]He is known for his skill in writing melodic lines for all voices and instruments, which he attributes to studying with Alice Parker and James Barnes.[16]His choral works are known for their sensitivity to the nuances, speech rhythms, and deeper meanings of their texts.[17]Additionally, his skill as a pianist and his training and experience in instrumentation/orchestration result in accompaniments that are known for their idiomatic writing and effective, impactful, and efficient scoring.[18]
Awards
[edit]- 2004John Ness BeckFoundation, first place (with noted composerJohn Ruttertaking second place).[19]His winning composition was a choral setting of "The King of Love My Shepherd Is."[20]
- 2005American Choral Directors AssociationRaymond Brock Composition Competition. His winning piece, "Selah," was premiered at the ACDA convention in 2006.[21]
- 2006ASCAPMorton GouldYoung Composers Award for selected movements fromWords From Paradise,an extended work fora cappellachoir. He was presented his award at theLincoln Center.[20]
- 2009 John Ness Beck Foundation, first place.[22]
- 2009 Raabe Prize, endowed for the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians by William andNancy Raabe,for hisIn Paradisum[23]
- 2009Frank TicheliInternational Wind Band Composition Contest, Finalist.[24]
- Numerous other awards from composition contests,[25]musical societies (Forrest was inducted into Delta Omicron musical society in 2015), honorary memberships, etc.
Notable performances
[edit]- On February 11, 2007, Forrest's music was performed in Carnegie Hall for the first time, with the world premiere of "Arise, Shine!"[26]His works are now performed there on a regular basis.
- On Christmas Day 2008,National Public Radiofeatured Forrest's "Carol of Joy" onPerformance Today.[27]
- On March 24, 2013 Forrest's "Requiem for the Living" was premiered as a commissioned work by The Hickory Choral Society, in honor of the organization's 35th anniversary.[28]
- In spring 2016, Forrest's Jubilate Deo was premiered as a commissioned work by the Indianapolis Children's Choirs, in honor of founderHenry Leck's retirement.[29]
- In 2016, Forrest was commissioned by Duke University Chapel to arrange "The Church's One Foundation" for the re-opening of the Chapel after rehabilitation of its limestone ceiling and replacement of its roof.[30]
- In fall 2017, Forrest's LUX: The Dawn From On High was premiered as a commissioned work by theGreenville Choraleand Symphony, conducted by Bingham Vick, Jr.[31]
- In September 2019, Forrest's setting of "And Can It Be?" was performed on the last night of the 2019 BBC Proms series, in the Northern Ireland Proms in the Park concert.[7]
- In October 2019, Bel Canto Company, Greensboro, NC, premiered Forrest'sthe breath of life.[32]
- Other commissioned premieres includeHimenami(in Izumi Hall, Osaka, Japan)[33]andNon Nobis Domine(in Salzburg Cathedral, Austria, July 2018).[34]
Works
[edit]- Requiem for the Living(2013)
- Jubilate Deo (2016)
- The Dawn from on High (2018)
- the breath of life (premiered 2019)
Personal life
[edit]Forrest is married and has three children. He is a Christian and views his musical work as an outgrowth of his faith.[35]
References
[edit]- ^Beckenhorst Press bioArchivedAugust 19, 2012, at theWayback Machine.
- ^Forrest website.
- ^"The ASCAP Foundation Names Recipients of the 2006 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards".www.ascap.com.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
- ^Inc., Advanced Solutions International."Brock Home".acda.org.Archived fromthe originalon August 20, 2018.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^"MTHC Anthony B. Cius, Jr. Award".School of Music.July 25, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon August 20, 2018.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
- ^"Prize Winners - Association of Lutheran Church Musicians".Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
- ^ab"BBC Proms in the Park Northern Ireland".BBC Music Events.RetrievedSeptember 15,2019.
- ^Salt Lake Tribunereview, December 3, 2011.
- ^"GIA Publications - Teaching Music through Performance in Band - Volume 8, Grades 2 & 3".www.giamusic.com.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
- ^"Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, Vol. 4, Table of Contents"(PDF).
- ^Paul Hyde, "Greenville Chorale presents Forrest's soaring 'Requiem,'"Greenville News,October 12, 2014;Forrest website.A review in theGreenville Newscalled the work "highly accessible, with soaring melodies and luminous harmony" that reminded the reviewer ofAaron Copland,John Rutter,andJames Horner.Greenville News,October 21, 2014, 5A.
- ^Forrest website.
- ^"Staff".www.beckenhorstpress.com.RetrievedAugust 18,2018.
- ^"Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church Staff".mitchellroad.org.
- ^"The Inside Voice: An Interview with Dan Forrest | Cued In - The J.W. Pepper Music Blog".blogs.jwpepper.com.RetrievedAugust 18,2018.
- ^"Conversations: VCS' Mike Horanski Interviews Dan Forrest | Vienna Choral Society".viennachoralsociety.org.RetrievedAugust 23,2018.
- ^Lanee, Cope, Lindsey (2015).The Power of Three in Dan Forrest'sRequiem for the Living(Thesis). University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
{{cite thesis}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^"Abstracts of Recent SWBTS School of Church Music Doctoral Dissertations".Artistic Theologian.November 15, 2013.RetrievedAugust 23,2018.
- ^John Ness Beck Foundation winnersArchivedNovember 11, 2013, at theWayback Machine.
- ^abVanguard websiteArchivedMarch 3, 2016, at theWayback Machine.
- ^"Brock awards".Archived fromthe originalon October 15, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 1,2008.
- ^Beck Foundation websiteArchivedJuly 24, 2012, at theWayback Machine.
- ^ALCM Raabe prizesArchivedSeptember 22, 2012, at theWayback Machine
- ^Ticheli contest.
- ^"composers 2004-6".www.vanguardvoices.org.Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2016.RetrievedAugust 23,2018.
- ^Carnegie Hall programArchivedSeptember 5, 2007, at theWayback Machine.The Shawnee Mission East Choraliers, under the direction of Tracy Resseguie, performed "Arise, Shine!" on the same program withMorten Lauridsen'sLux Aeterna(1997).
- ^"Carol of Joy" was performed by TheBrigham Young UniversityChoirs and Orchestra with conductor Ronald Staheli at the Harris Fine Arts Center, Provo, Utah, and in October 2008 theUniversity of Utah Singersreleased a Christmas album titled"Carol of Joy"ArchivedMay 3, 2009, atarchive.today,which featured the song. SeeUniversity of Utah combined choirs concert performance videoof "Carol of Joy"
- ^"Hickory Choral Society to perform at church".HDR | Hickory Daily Record.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
- ^Dan Forrest: Jubilate Deo by Indianapolis Children's Choir (Premiere Recording)
- ^The Church's One Foundation (Dan Forrest) - Premiere at Duke Chapel,archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2021,retrievedSeptember 15,2019"The Church's One Foundation" had been sung at the original opening of Duke Chapel, so this arrangement also honored the history of the Chapel.
- ^"Greenville Chorale prepares to premiere new work by composer Dan Forrest".The Greenville News.RetrievedAugust 18,2018.
- ^"Bel Canto to deliver 'Joyful Noise' to honor long-time arts supporter".October 10, 2019.
- ^Dan Forrest (December 5, 2013),Himenami PREMIERE (Dan Forrest/Charles Anthony Silvestri),archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2021,retrievedAugust 18,2018
- ^Dan Forrest (July 8, 2018),Non Nobis, Domine (Dan Forrest) World Premiere - Salzburg Cathedral,archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2021,retrievedAugust 18,2018
- ^"What I Believe".The Music of Dan Forrest.RetrievedAugust 18,2018.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Beckenhorst Press(distributor of Forrest's self-published concert music and publisher of his church music)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1978 births
- Living people
- American male classical composers
- American classical composers
- 20th-century classical composers
- University of Kansas alumni
- People from Elmira, New York
- Musicians from Greenville, South Carolina
- 20th-century American composers
- American male pianists
- 21st-century American pianists
- 20th-century American male musicians
- 21st-century American male musicians