Sean Shepherd

Sean Shepherd
Composer Sean Shepherd in his home, 2022
Born	1979 Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Education	Jacobs School of Music Juilliard School Cornell University
Occupation	Composer
Awards	Charles Ives Living Award (2024) [1] Benjamin H. Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2009) [2] Lutoslawski Award (2005) [2]
Website	www.seanshepherd.com

Sean Shepherd is an American composer based in New York City and Chicago. ^[3] His work has been performed by major orchestras, ensembles, and performers across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Performances include those with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and New World Symphony Orchestra, at festivals including the Aldeburgh Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, La Jolla Music Festival, Lucerne Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Tanglewood, and with leading European ensembles including Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, the Asko/Schönberg Ensemble and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

Early life and education

Shepherd was born in 1979 in Reno, Nevada. ^[2] He performed his undergraduate work at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington, where he studied under David Dzubay and American composer Claude Baker. ^[2] His graduate work was completed at the Juilliard School, where he studied with American composer Robert Beaser, followed by doctoral studies under Puerto Rican Composer Roberto Sierra and American Composer Steven Stucky at Cornell University. ^[2]

Career

In 2012, Shepherd was named the Kravis Emerging Composer of the New York Philharmonic. ^[4] Shepherd's "Blue Blazes" premiered with National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach in 2013. ^[5]

In 2021, Shepherd's work was featured at the Tanglewood Music Festival ^[6] and at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. ^[7] His work was deemed a "season highlight" when performed at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in 2021. ^[8]

Shepherd served as a finalist judge in the 2021 Broadcast Music, Inc.'s 69th Annual Student Composer Awards. ^[9]

He served as a visiting assistant professor of composition at the University of Chicago from 2022-2024. ^[10]

In 2023, Shepherd was awarded the 2024 Charles Ives Living Award, which includes a 2 year stipend allowing a composer to focus solely on creating new works. ^[11]

Works

Orchestral

• Blue Blazes, 2012
• Concerto for Ensemble, 2014–15
• Desert Garden, 2011
• Downtime, 2021
• Express Abstractionism, 2017
• Magiya, 2013
• Melt, 2018
• Silvery Rills, 2011
• Songs, 2013
• Sprout, 2021
• Tuolumne, 2012
• Wanderlust, 2009

Ensemble and Chamber Without Voices

• Aperture in Shift, for violin, cello, and piano, 2006
• the birds are nervous, the birds are scattered, for clarinet, violin, and piano, 2008
• Blur, for ensemble, 2011
• Lumens, for ensemble, 2005
• Means of Escape, for violin, cello, and clarinet
• Metamorphoses, for ensemble, 2004
• Octet, for ensemble, 2008
• Old Instruments, for flute and percussion, 2021
• Quartet for Oboe and Strings, 2011
• Quintet, for chamber ensemble 2013
• String Quartet No. 1, 2005
• String Quartet No. 2, 2015
• String Quartet No. 3, 2020
• Tiny Bright Big True Real, for oboe, bassoon, and piano, 2022
• Trio, for piano trio, 2012
• Twilight, for bassoon and string quartet, 2001
• Vignette: Four Vinaigrettes, for woodwind quintet, 2003/05
• Wanderlust – Seagulls on High, for large ensemble, 2007

Ensemble and Chamber With Voices

• New Poems – 1907, mezzo-soprano and ensemble, 2002–03
• Ozymandias, for solo voices SATB, string quartet, and clarinet, 2005

Instrumental

• Dust, for violin and piano, 2008
• Echo, for oboe, 2017
• familiar, for cello, 2022
• ribboned/braided/spun, for harp, 2014
• wideOPENwide, for violin, 2016

Chamber Orchestra

• These Particular Circumstances, 2009

Choral

• The Daffodils, 2013

Piano

• Preludes, 2005–06

Solo Instrument and Orchestra

• On a Clear Day, Cello ^[12]

References

1. "Composer Sean Shepherd wins $200,000 Charles Ives Living Award". The University of Chicago. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
2. "About". Sean Shepherd. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
3. Nyffeler, Jann (March 2, 2017). "Rising Stars, Russian Masterpieces & Pinch-Hitters". Democrat & Chronicle. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
4. Oestreich, James R. (July 10, 2013). "Young, Ecstatic and on the Cusp". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
5. Midgette, Anne (June 1, 2012). "Christoph Eschenbach and National Symphony Orchestra Are Having Fun". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
6. Edwards, David Noel (July 22, 2021). "Preview: Tanglewood's 2021 Festival of Contemporary Music". The Berkshire Edge. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
7. Tiarks, Mark (July 16, 2021). "One Summer, Two Worlds of Chamber Music". Pasatiempo. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
8. Gereben, Janos (March 2, 2021). "Cabrillo Festival Persists in Presenting Newest of New Music". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
9. Rabinowitz, Chloe (June 14, 2021). "BMI Celebrates the 69th Annual Student Composer Awards". Broadway World. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
10. "Sean Shepherd | Music Department". music.uchicago.edu. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
11. "Composer Sean Shepherd Wins $200,000 Charles Ives Living Award". theviolinchannel.com. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
12. "Sean Shepherd: Biography". www.boosey.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.