Dan Forrest

Composer

Dan Forrest (b. 1978) has been described as having “an undoubted gift for writing beautiful music….that is truly magical” (NY Concert Review), with works hailed as “magnificent, very cleverly constructed sound sculpture” (Classical Voice), and  “superb writing…full of spine-tingling moments” (Salt Lake Tribune). Since its first publication in 2001, Dan’s music has sold two million copies, and is well established in the repertoire of choirs in the U.S. and abroad.

Dan’s choral works have received numerous awards and distinctions, including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer’s Award, the ACDA Raymond Brock Award, a Meet The Composer grant, the ALCM Raabe Prize, and many others. His “A Basque Lullaby” for wind band has been selected for performance at numerous conventions and festivals in the U.S. and internationally. His commissioned choral works have been premiered in major venues around the world, ranging from the World Choral Symposium (Argentina) to Izumi Hall (Osaka, Japan) to Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and national ACDA conventions. His music has been broadcast multiple times on American Public Media’s “Performance Today”. His Requiem for the Living has quickly become his best-known work, having received overwhelming acclaim since its 2013 premiere, and continues to be performed in North America and around the world. His new major work, Jubilate Deo (2016) is now receiving similar critical acclaim.

Dan is highly active in the music publishing industry, both in concert choral music (maintaining a choral series in his name with Hinshaw Music) and in church choral music (serving as associate editor at Beckenhorst Press), and has published with more than a dozen publishers. He has adjudicated numerous regional and national composition contests. Dan keeps a full schedule of commissions, workshops, recordings, adjunct professorships, and residencies with universities, churches, and community ensembles, collaborating as accompanist, presenting his music, and teaching composition and music theory.

Dan holds a doctoral degree in composition from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in piano performance. His academic background includes several years as a professor and department head (music theory and composition) in higher education.  More information about Dan and his work can be found at www.danforrest.com