Samuel Beebe | Winner, 7th Annual Commission Competition
Samuel Beebe (b. 1986) is an American composer of concert, opera, theatre, film, pop, and game music. He holds a MM in composition from Boston University, where he studied with Ketty Nez, Rodney Lister, and Samuel Headrick. During his time at BU he taught harmony, and participated in masters classes in composition with Gunther Schuller and Salvatore Sciarrino. He also holds a BS in music technology from Northeastern University, where he studied Electroacoustic composition with Mike Frengel, Ronald Bruce Smith, and Howard Frazin. At NEU, he was strongly influenced by a song-crafting seminar with songwriter/singer/activist Peggy Seeger. Interest in the dramatic possibilities of music and a need to collaborate with other creatives has led Mr. Beebe to pursue commissions in film, theatre, opera, and other less traditional areas. Theatre collaborations include Bully Dance, produced by Argos Productions at The Boston Playwright’s Theatre, and Angela Carter’s Hairy Tales, produced by Imaginary Beasts at the Boston Center for the Arts, the score of the latter nominated for a 2014 IRNE Award for best music/sound design. He has also composed a score for The documentary Tornado Tube, premiered at the 2014 Salem Film Festival at the Peabody Essex Museum.
Mr. Beebe’s composition, Riding on a Train in Rush Hour, was premiered during the Cold, cold night concert of BCE’s 14th season.
Honorable Mention
Gregory W. Brown | Honorable Mention, 7th Annual Commission Competition
Dr. Gregory W. Brown is a composer, conductor, scholar, and experimental musician living and working in Western Massachusetts, where he serves as founding artistic director for the Smith College Festival of Sound & Space. He recently completed a three- year appointment as Iva Dee Hiatt Distinguished Lecturer and Assistant Director of Choral Activities at Smith College in Northampton, MA, where he conducted the Smith College Chorus and taught conducting, choral literature, and sight-singing. Prior to his time at Smith, he served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at The College of Wooster, where he conducted the Wooster Chorus and taught composition and music technology. Other teaching and conducting positions include work atAmherst College, the University of Georgia, University of Massachusetts (Amherst), and The Putney School.
Brown is an avid composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music, with performances throughout the United States and Europe. His studies were taken with Lewis Spratlan, Stefan Young, Adrian Childs, and Leonard V. (“Chic”) Ball. His recent commissions for vocal ensemble New York Polyphony have been heard on American Public Media’s Performance Today, Minnesota Public Radio, Kansas Public Radio, and Danish National Radio; and his latest major work, the Missa Charles Darwin, was featured at a recent TEDx event in Woods Hole, MA, with the full premiere coming shortly thereafter as part of the Falmouth Forum. Recent commissions include works for New York Polyphony, Athens Guitar Trio, Manhattan Choral Ensemble, the 2012 Five-College Choral Festival, and the Da Camera Singers. Brown is currently recording a CD of his choral music for Navona Records (early 2015 release).
Mr. Brown won the BCE Commission Competition in 2015.