Dan Forrest
Encyclopedia
Daniel Ernest Forrest, Jr. (born January 7, 1978) is a composer
and teacher.
and received a B.Mus. and an M.Mus. in Piano Performance from Bob Jones University
. He completed a D.M.A. in composition at the University of Kansas
in 2007 and has studied composition with Joan Pinkston
, Dwight Gustafson
, James Barnes
, and Alice Parker
. He serves as chairman of the department of music theory and composition at Bob Jones University. Forrest's compositions include choral, instrumental, orchestral, and wind band works. His church music appears in the catalogs of ten publishers, including Hinshaw, Hal Leonard, Beckenhorst, Shawnee Press, and Chorister’s Guild.
In 2005 Forrest won the John Ness Beck
Foundation composition award (with noted composer John Rutter
taking second place). His winning composition, a choral setting of "The King Of Love My Shepherd Is" (Beckenhorst Press) has sold over 40,000 copies. In 2005 Forrest also won the American Choral Directors Association
Raymond Brock Composition Competition. His winning piece, Selah, was premiered at the ACDA convention in 2006. In 2006, he won a first prize in the 2006 Vanguard Voices Choral Composition Contest (Emerging Composers category). His winning piece, "You Are The Music," was premiered in June 2007. In May 2006, Forrest won an ASCAP Morton Gould
Young Composers Award for selected movements from Words From Paradise, an extended work for a cappella
choir, and was presented his award at Lincoln Center. On Christmas Day 2008, National Public Radio featured Forrest's "Carol of Joy" on Performance Today
. In May 2009, Forrest's "Arise Shine" and "You Are The Music" were performed at Lincoln Center's
Avery Fisher Hall
. In 2009 Forrest also won the Raabe Prize of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians for his "In Paradisium" and was a finalist in the Frank Ticheli International Wind Band Composition Contest.
On February 11, 2007, Forrest's "Arise, Shine!" was given its world premiere at Carnegie Hall
, and in celebration of his return to the faculty of Bob Jones University later that year, the BJU University Chorale and Concert Choir presented the first all-Forrest concert on October 19, 2007 before the composer's thirtieth birthday. Besides his concert works, Forrest has also composed "sing-able, Bible-based songs" for children.
In May 2012 Forrest plans to leave the BJU faculty to become assistant editor to Craig Courtney at Beckenhorst Press while devoting more time to composition.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and teacher.
Biography
Forrest was born in Elmira, New YorkElmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
and received a B.Mus. and an M.Mus. in Piano Performance from Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University is a private, for-profit, non-denominational Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina.The university was founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr. , an evangelist and contemporary of Billy Sunday...
. He completed a D.M.A. in composition at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in 2007 and has studied composition with Joan Pinkston
Joan Pinkston
Joan Jacobson Pinkston is a composer, choral arranger, and music teacher.-Biography:Pinkston was born in Chicago, Illinois and reared in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she early displayed unusual musical gifts. She began serving as pianist of her church at age ten and appeared regularly as a pianist...
, Dwight Gustafson
Dwight Gustafson
Dwight Leonard Gustafson is a composer, conductor, and dean emeritus of the School of Fine Arts, Bob Jones University.-Biography:...
, James Barnes
James Barnes (composer)
James Charles Barnes is an American composer.Barnes studied composition and music theory at the University of Kansas, earning a Bachelor of Music in 1974, and Master of Music in 1975. He studied conducting privately with Zuohuang Chen...
, and Alice Parker
Alice Parker
Alice Parker is an American composer, arranger and conductor. Many of her arrangements were done in cooperation with Robert Shaw....
. He serves as chairman of the department of music theory and composition at Bob Jones University. Forrest's compositions include choral, instrumental, orchestral, and wind band works. His church music appears in the catalogs of ten publishers, including Hinshaw, Hal Leonard, Beckenhorst, Shawnee Press, and Chorister’s Guild.
In 2005 Forrest won the John Ness Beck
John Ness Beck
John Ness Beck was a composer and arranger of choral music. He was best known for his very popular and accessible settings of traditional Sacred music. Beck was a conductor and arranger of international renown...
Foundation composition award (with noted composer John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
taking second place). His winning composition, a choral setting of "The King Of Love My Shepherd Is" (Beckenhorst Press) has sold over 40,000 copies. In 2005 Forrest also won the American Choral Directors Association
American Choral Directors Association
The American Choral Directors Association , headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music...
Raymond Brock Composition Competition. His winning piece, Selah, was premiered at the ACDA convention in 2006. In 2006, he won a first prize in the 2006 Vanguard Voices Choral Composition Contest (Emerging Composers category). His winning piece, "You Are The Music," was premiered in June 2007. In May 2006, Forrest won an ASCAP Morton Gould
Morton Gould
Morton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.Born in Richmond Hill, New York, Gould was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities in improvisation and composition. His first composition was published at age six...
Young Composers Award for selected movements from Words From Paradise, an extended work for a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
choir, and was presented his award at Lincoln Center. On Christmas Day 2008, National Public Radio featured Forrest's "Carol of Joy" on Performance Today
Performance Today
Performance Today is a Peabody Award-winning classical music radio show, currently hosted by Fred Child. It is the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million listeners on 237 stations...
. In May 2009, Forrest's "Arise Shine" and "You Are The Music" were performed at Lincoln Center's
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
. In 2009 Forrest also won the Raabe Prize of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians for his "In Paradisium" and was a finalist in the Frank Ticheli International Wind Band Composition Contest.
On February 11, 2007, Forrest's "Arise, Shine!" was given its world premiere at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, and in celebration of his return to the faculty of Bob Jones University later that year, the BJU University Chorale and Concert Choir presented the first all-Forrest concert on October 19, 2007 before the composer's thirtieth birthday. Besides his concert works, Forrest has also composed "sing-able, Bible-based songs" for children.
In May 2012 Forrest plans to leave the BJU faculty to become assistant editor to Craig Courtney at Beckenhorst Press while devoting more time to composition.