Carlos Simon (composer)

Carlos Simon (born 1986) is an American composer of Western classical music. He is the composer-in-residence at the Kennedy Center, inaugural composer chair for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and associate professor at Georgetown University. Early life and career Simon, who is of African American heritage, was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Atlanta. He is the son of a preacher and grew up in a household where he was forbidden to listen to anything other than gospel music. He said that gospel’s improvisatory nature was a critical influence in the development of his own compositional style, He completed degrees at Morehouse College and Georgia State University; he continued doctoral studies at the University of Michigan with Michael Daugherty and Evan Chambers. Formerly on the music faculty of Spelman College and Morehouse College, in 2019 Simon became a professor in the department of performing arts at Georgetown University. In 2024, the Boston Symphony Orchestra appointed Simon the inaugural Deborah and Philip Edmundson Composer Chair, a position lasting three-seasons in which he will lead educational and outreach concerts, collaborate with Andris Nelsons to curate program