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About Carlos Simon
"Carlos Simon is a young composer on the rise, with an ear for social justice."
Carlos Simon is a GRAMMY-nominated composer, curator and activist. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, his compositions range from concert music for large and small ensembles to film scores with influences of jazz, gospel, and neo-romanticism. Simon is the Composer-in-Residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Latest Album
The Best Cuisine
The Best Cuisine: Music of Carlos Simon, recorded by Washington DC’s Chiarina Chamber Players, highlights the power of Carlos Simon’s storytelling through his chamber music. Centered around The Best Cuisine, a work commissioned by Chiarina, the album features music for combinations of strings, piano, and baritone. Released by Azica Records in August 2025.
See album details
Works
“A modern major composer: an artist whose windows are thrown wide open to the world, and whose musical scope of late lands like a grand panorama of American life.”
Schedule
January 13-15, 2026
Houston Symphony Orchestra
J. P. CONTRERAS La Silla for Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Suite from The Nutcracker
DUKAS Fanfare to La péri
WILLIAMS Nimbus 2000 from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J. MONTGOMERY Strum
C. SIMON Ring Shout from Four Black American Dances
W.A. MOZART Symphony No. 35 in D major
BIZET/GUIRAUD Les toréadors from Suite No. 1 from Carmen
ELGAR Moths and Butterflies from The Wand of Youth
ELGAR The Wild Bears from The Wand of Youth
WILLIAMS Harry’s Wondrous World from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone