Sean Shepherd, Composer

 

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"... a composer worth keeping an ear on." (Chicago Tribune)

"An exciting composer of the new American generation" (New York Times), Sean Shepherd has quickly gained admiration and return engagements with major ensembles and performers across the US and Europe. He recently completed his tenure as the Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow of the Cleveland Orchestra, culminating with the premiere of Tuolumne in April 2013, written for Franz Welser-Möst and the orchestra. Other recent performances include those with the New York Philharmonc, the National, BBC and New World symphony orchestras, at festivals in Aldeburgh, Heidelberg, La Jolla, Lucerne, Santa Fe, and Tanglewood, and with leading European ensembles including Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, the Asko|Schönberg Ensemble and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Conductor-champions include Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Alan Gilbert and Welser-Möst; distinguished composer-conductors Oliver Knussen and George Benjamin; and young stars Pablo Heras-Casado, Susanna Mälkki and Matthias Pintscher.

Shepherd’s most recent orchestral work, Magiya, written for Carnegie Hall’s newly established National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, toured the US and Europe in summer 2013 in the orchestra’s first performances, with Valery Gergiev. In March 2013, the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble debuted his Quintet at various New York venues. He will compose another work (following the premiere of These Particular Circumstances, commissioned for the inaugural season of their new music series, CONTACT!, in 2010) for the New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert, to be performed in June 2014 in recognition as the orchestra’s first Kravis Emerging Composer.

Other recent premieres include Blue Blazes, a Hechinger Commission from Christoph Eschenbach and the National Symphony Orchestra, performed in Washington, DC and on a South American tour; Blur for Ensemble Intercontemporain and Susanna Mälkki, in Paris and Cologne in 2012; Quartet for Oboe and Strings, for New York Philharmonic oboist Liang Wang, at the Santa Fe and La Jolla summer festivals in 2011; and Trio for the Claremont Trio, in celebration of the opening of Calderwood Hall, the Renzo Piano-designed addition to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, in January 2012. Shepherd served from 2010 to 2012 as the first-ever Composer-in-Residence of his hometown orchestra, the Reno Philharmonic, where he composed two new works: Silvery Rills and Desert Garden. Appointed by music director Laura Jackson, he engaged in a variety of community outreach and educational initiatives, including the orchestra’s Celebrate Strings after-school program at Title I At Risk elementary schools.

In 2011, Shepherd was named as the USA Van Dusen Fellow by the United States Artists, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to investing in America's finest artists and to illuminating the value of artists to society. Winner of the 2009 triennial Benjamin H. Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was the 2008 Deutsche Bank Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin, and a first-prize winner in the 2005 international Lutoslawski Award. He attended masterclasses at Tanglewood (2005) and Aspen (2006), the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme (2007), and a Fall 2007 composer residency at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. He was a top prizewinner in student competitions including the Robbins Family Prize at Cornell, the Palmer Dixon Prize at Juilliard and the Indiana University Dean's Award, and earned awards and commissions from organizations such as the Sue Knussen Composers Fund, ASCAP, the National Society of Arts and Letters, Ensemble X, and the New York Youth Symphony.

Originally from Reno, Nevada, Shepherd (b.1979) holds degrees in composition and bassoon performance from Indiana University, where his teachers included Claude Baker and David Dzubay, composition, and Kim Walker, bassoon. Graduate studies include a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School with composer Robert Beaser and a Doctor of Musical Arts earned at Cornell University with Roberto Sierra and Steven Stucky. Also active as a writer on music, his commentary has appeared in Playbill, WQXR’s Q2 online blog, and on the American Music Center’s NewMusicBox.com. His music is published by Boosey and Hawkes. He lives in New York City.

— September 2013

2014

3/20/2014

Blue Blazes (UK premiere)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins
Grand Hall - City Halls, Glasgow, United Kingdom

5/10/2014

Lumens

Boston Musica Viva / Richard Pittman, conductor
Longy School of Music, Cambridge, MA, USA

6/4/2014

Insights Series: "21st-Century Landmarks"

New York Philharmonic Biennial
David Rubenstein Atrium, New York, NY, USA

6/18/2014

Songs (World Premiere)

New York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert
Avery Fisher Hall, New York, NY, USA

6/19 - 21/2014

Songs

New York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert
Avery Fisher Hall, New York, NY, USA

7/23 - 8/03/2014

Tanglewood Music Center:
Faculty Residency

Tanglewood Music Center
Boston, MA, USA

 

8/3 -10/2014

Bennington Chamber Music Conference
Composer in Residence

Bennington College
Bennington, Vermont, USA

 

8/14/2014

Quintet

Bay Chamber Concerts
Union Hall, Rockport, ME

10/12/2014

Desert Garden

Reno Philharmonic
Pioneer Center, Reno, NV

10/14/2014

Desert Garden

Reno Philharmonic
Pioneer Center, Reno, NV

10/21/2014

new work (World Premiere)

Sivan Magen, harp
Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, USA

2/12/2015

Wanderlust (French Premiere)

Orchestre National de France / James Gaffigan
Festival Présences 2015, Radio France

5/21 - 24/2015

These Particular Circumstances

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra / Edwin Outwater
Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI, USA

 

 

Past Events

2013

11/24/2013

The Daffodils (World Premiere)

BBC Singers / David Hill
Southwold Church, Southwold, United Kingdom

 

10/2/2013

Lumens

University of Texas New Music Ensemble
Bates Recital Hall, Austin, TX, USA

 

Octet

University of Texas New Music Ensemble
Bates Recital Hall, Austin, TX, USA

 

8/24/2013

Blur (Finnish premiere)

Students of Sibelius Academy and Juilliard School / Susanna Mälkki
Helsinki Music Centre Concert Hall, Helsinki, Finland

 

7/21/2013

Magiya (UK premiere)

National Youth Orchestra of the USA / Valery Gergiev
Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom

 

7/18/2013

Magiya

National Youth Orchestra of the USA / Valery Gergiev
Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall, St Petersburg, Russia

 

7/16/2013

Magiya (Russian premiere)

National Youth Orchestra of the USA / Valery Gergiev
Great Hall - Moscow Conservatory, Moscow, Russia

 

7/14/2013

Blur (UK Premiere)

Musicians from London Sinfonietta Academy / George Benjamin
LSO St Luke's, London, United Kingdom

 

7/13/2013

Magiya

National Youth Orchestra of the USA / Valery Gergiev
Concert Hall - Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, USA

 

7/11/2013

Magiya (World Premiere)

National Youth Orchestra of the USA / Valery Gergiev
Performing Arts Center - SUNY Purchase College, Purchase, NY, USA

 

4/21/2013

Tuolumne

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH, USA

 

4/20/2013

Tuolumne

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH, USA

 

4/18/2013

Tuolumne (World Premiere)

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH, USA

 

3/28/2013

Blur (US premiere)

Students of Sibelius Academy and Juilliard School / Susanna Mälkki
Alice Tully Hall, New York, NY, USA

 

3/8/2013

Quintet

Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, USA

 

3/6/2013

Quintet

Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, USA

 

3/3/2013

Quintet (World Premiere)

Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, USA

 

2/27/2013

Octet

Oberlin Conservatory of Music / Timothy Weiss
Warner Concert Hall, Oberlin, OH, USA

 

1/15/2013

Trio

Claremont Trio
Roulette, Brooklyn , NY, USA

 

1/9/2013

Trio (UK premiere)

Busch Ensemble
Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London, United Kingdom

 

2012

11/11/2012

Quartet for Oboe and Strings

Mary Kausek, oboe
Cleveland Institute of New Music, Cleveland, OH, USA

 

10/26/2012

Lumens

Studierende der Musikhochschule Mannheim
Musikhochschule, Kammermusiksaal, Mannheim, Germany

 

10/3/2012

These Particular Circumstances

University of Texas at Austin / Dan Welcher
Bates Recital Hall, Austin, TX, USA

 

9/27/2012

Lumens (French premiere)

Ensemble Linea / Jean-Philippe Wurtz
Auditorium, France 3 Alsace, Strasbourg, France

 

8/19/2012

Blur (Swiss premiere)

Ensemble intercontemporain / Pablo Heras-Casado
KKL, Luzerner Saal, Luzern, Switzerland

 

8/12/2012

Quartet for Oboe and Strings

Tanglewood Music Center Fellows
Ozawa Hall, Lenox, MA, USA

 

8/9/2012

These Particular Circumstances

Tanglewood Music Center Fellows / Tanglewood Music Center Conducting Fellows
Ozawa Hall, Lenox, MA, USA

 

6/26/2012

Blue Blazes (Brazilian premiere)

National Symphony Orchestra, Washington / Christoph Eschenbach
Theatro Municipal, São Paulo, Brazil

 

6/15/2012

Blue Blazes

National Symphony Orchestra, Washington / Christoph Eschenbach
National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

 

6/2/2012

Blue Blazes

National Symphony Orchestra, Washington / Christoph Eschenbach
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington, DC, USA

 

6/1/2012

Blue Blazes

National Symphony Orchestra, Washington / Christoph Eschenbach
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington, DC, USA

 

5/31/2012

Blue Blazes (World Premiere)

National Symphony Orchestra, Washington / Christoph Eschenbach
Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington, DC, USA

 

5/25/2012

These Particular Circumstances (UK premiere)

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group / Oliver Knussen
CBSO Centre, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Oliver Knussen 60th birthday concert

 

5/14/2012

Lumens

Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Duain Wolfe
Symphony Hall, Chicago, IL, USA

 

Lumens

Syzygy Ensemble
Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne, Australia

 

5/1/2012

Aperture in Shift

Syzygy Ensemble
Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne, Australia

 

4/23/2012

Trio (New York premiere)

Claremont Trio
Advent Lutheran Church - Broadway United Church of Christ, New York, NY, USA

 

Quartet for Oboe and Strings (New York premiere)

Liang Wang, oboe / Miranda Cuckson, violin / Aaron Wunsch, piano / Claremont Trio
Advent Lutheran Church - Broadway United Church of Christ, New York, NY, USA

 

4/23/2012

Dust

Miranda Cuckson, violin / Aaron Wunsch, piano / Claremont Trio
Advent Lutheran Church - Broadway United Church of Christ, New York, NY, USA

 

2/22/2012

Silvery Rills

Vanderbilt University / Robin Fountain
Blair School of Music - Ingram Hall, Nashville, TN, USA

 

1/31/2012

Wanderlust

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
EJ Thomas Hall, Akron, OH, USA

 

1/28/2012

Wanderlust

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, FL, USA

 

Wanderlust

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, FL, USA

 

1/27/2012

Trio

Claremont Trio
Nelson Music Room - Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

 

1/25/2012

Wanderlust

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach, FL, USA

 

1/22/2012

Trio (World Premiere)

Claremont Trio
Calderwood Performance Hall - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, USA

 

1/21/2012

Wanderlust

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH, USA

 

1/20/2012

Wanderlust

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH, USA

 

1/19/2012

Wanderlust

Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH, USA

 

1/12/2012

Blur (German premiere)

Ensemble intercontemporain / Susanna Mälkki
Philharmonie, Köln, Germany

 

1/10/2012

Blur (World Premiere)

Ensemble intercontemporain / Susanna Mälkki
Cité de la musique, Paris, France

 

2011

11/5/2011

Wanderlust

National Symphony Orchestra, Washington / Oliver Knussen
Kennedy Center, Washingon, DC, USA

 

11/4/2011

Wanderlust

National Symphony Orchestra, Washington / Oliver Knussen
Kennedy Center, Washingon, DC, USA

 

11/3/2011

Wanderlust

National Symphony Orchestra, Washington / Oliver Knussen
Kennedy Center, Washingon, DC, USA

 

10/25/2011

Metamorphoses

Northwestern University School of Music / Tim Robblee
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Evanston, IL, USA

 

10/9/2011

Aperture in Shift

New York Philharmonic Chamber Ensembles
Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY, USA

 

10/4/2011

Desert Garden

Reno Philharmonic / Laura Jackson
Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Reno, NV, USA

 

10/2/2011

Desert Garden (World Premiere)

Reno Philharmonic / Laura Jackson
Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Reno, NV, USA

 

8/19/2011

Quartet for Oboe and Strings

Liang Wang, oboe / Orion String Quartet
MCASD Sherwood Auditorium, La Jolla, CA, USA

 

8/12/2011

Quartet for Oboe and Strings

Liang Wang, oboe / Orion String Quartet
St. Francis Auditorium, Santa Fe, NM, USA

 

8/11/2011

Quartet for Oboe and Strings (World Premiere)

Liang Wang, oboe / Orion String Quartet
St. Francis Auditorium, Santa Fe, NM, USA

 

4/28/2011

These Particular Circumstances (Dutch premiere)

Asko|Schönberg Ensemble / Oliver Knussen
Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

4/16/2011

These Particular Circumstances

Ensemble der Festival Akademie Heidelberger Frühling / Matthias Pintscher
Kulturhaus Karlstorbahnhof, Heidelberg, Germany

 

These Particular Circumstances (European premiere)

Ensemble der Festival Akademie Heidelberger Frühling / Matthias Pintscher
Kulturhaus Karlstorbahnhof, Heidelberg, Germany

 

Preludes

Kit Armstrong, piano
Kulturhaus Karlstorbahnhof, Heidelberg, Germany

 

4/14/2011

Octet

Ensemble der Festival Akademie Heidelberger Frühling / Paul Fitzsimon
Kulturhaus Karlstorbahnhof, Heidelberg, Germany

 

3/8/2011

Silvery Rills

Reno Philharmonic / Laura Jackson
Pioneer Center for the Arts, Reno, NV, USA

 

3/6/2011

Silvery Rills (World Premiere)

Reno Philharmonic / Laura Jackson
Pioneer Center for the Arts, Reno, NV, USA

 

Small Ensemble

Quintet (2013) 13'
for chamber ensemble

Trio (2012) 13'
for piano trio

Quartet for Oboe and Strings (2011) 12'
for oboe quartet

Dust (2008) 8'
for violin and piano

the birds are nervous, the birds have scattered (2008) 7'
for clarinet, violin and piano

Octet (2008) 16'
for ensemble

Aperture in Shift (2006) 9'
for violin, cello and piano

String Quartet (2005) 12'
for string quartet

Vignette: four Vinaigrettes (2003/05) 9'
for woodwind quintet

Twilight (2001) 14'
for bassoon and string quartet

Choir

The Daffodils (2013) 3'
for chorus

Solo

Preludes (2005-06) 10'
for solo piano

online scores

Orchestra

Songs (2014) 15'
for orchestra

Magiya (2013) 7'
for youth orchestra

Tuolumne (2012) 24'
for orchestra

Blue Blazes (2012) 8'
Concert opener for orchestra

Desert Garden (2011) 15'
for orchestra

Silvery Rills (2011) 4'
for orchestra

Wanderlust (2009) 13'
for orchestra

Large Ensemble

Blur (2011) 12'
for ensemble

These Particular Circumstances (2009) 18'
for sinfonietta orchestra

Seagulls on High (2007) 5'
for large ensemble (15 players)

Lumens (2005) 14'
for ensemble

Ozymandias (2005) 7'
for solo voices (SATB), string quartet, and clarinet

Metamorphoses (2004) 9'
for ensemble

New Poems - 1907 (2002-03) 18'
for mezzo-soprano and ensemble

 

 

 

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Sean's music is published exclusively by Boosey and Hawkes.
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