CARLOS SIMON

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Carlos Simon is a multi-faceted, Grammy-nominated composer and curator.  His music ranges from concert music to film scores with influences of jazz, gospel, and neo-romanticism. Simon is the current Composer-in-Residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

2022/23 saw premiere performances with Minnesota Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera (in collaboration with Mo Willems), following recent commissions from New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Glimmerglass Festival, and Sphinx Organization.

His work is also being performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre, as well as artists such as Alisa Weilerstein, J’Nai Bridges, Imani Winds and Hilary Hahn.

Simon’s latest album, Requiem for the Enslaved, is a multi-genre musical tribute to commemorate the stories of the 272 enslaved men, women, and children sold in 1838 by Georgetown University.

Since earning his doctorate degree 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 as a member of the music faculty at Spelman College and Morehouse College in Atlanta, and now serves as Assistant Professor at Georgetown University. Simon was also a of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence.

Photo: Terrance Ragland