ZACK BROWNING

Zack Browning (b. 1953) is a composer whose music has been described as ¡°way-cool in attitude¡¦speed-demon music¡± (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) and ¡°propulsive, giddy, rocking¡¦ a rush of cyclic riffs and fractured meters¡± (The New York Times). The Irish Times has proclaimed he is ¡°bringing together the procedures of high musical art with the taste of popular culture¡±. His solo CD Banjaxed on Capstone Records contains eight of his original compositions for voice, instruments and computer-generated sounds and has been called ¡°dramatic, exciting, rhythmic, high-energy music¡±.  Browning¡¯s recent composition awards include the 2013 Directors Choice Award from Boston Metro Opera, a 2011 Individual Artist Project Grant from the Illinois Arts Council for a CD of his music titled Secret Pulse (Innova Recordings, released in January 2012),  and a 2010 University of Illinois FAA Creative Fellowship for research and performances in China, Taiwan, and South Korea.  In 2010 Innova Recordings released his solo CD Venus Notorious and the San Francisco Chronicle called it ¡°ebullient, infectiously bright¡± and ¡°bouncy and exuberant - some of the music sounds like dance tracks for androids with varying numbers of feet¡±.  His most recent solo CD Secret Pulse also on Innova and released in 2012 was labeled ¡°infectious¡± by the American Record Guide and ¡°perfectly varied, perfectly represented by top notch ensembles, and perfectly presented¡± by Perspectives on Sound.  

Performances of Browning¡¯s music has taken place at Bang On A Can (New York),  Bonk Festival of New Music (Tampa), the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival (Miami), International Computer Music Conference (New Orleans), Spark Festival (Minneapolis), Gaudeamus Music Week (Amsterdam), Composers Choice Festival (Dublin), Sonorities Festival (Belfast) , Skinneskatteberg Festival (Sweden), Asian Contemporary Music Festival (Seoul), and National Chiang Kai Shek Cultural Center (Taipei). Recent lecture performances include Trinity College Dublin, and University College Cork in Ireland; Jilin University, Northeast Normal University, and Nanjing Normal University in China; Seoul National University and Ewha Women¡¯s University in South Korea; and National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei National University of the Arts, Fu-Jen Catholic University, and Tunghai University in Taiwan.

Active as a composer, conductor, andperformer, Browning has played trumpet with the Atlanta

Symphony Orchestra andserved as co-director of the Atlanta New Music Ensemble. Browning

received hisBachelor¡¯s Degree in music composition from Florida State University where he

studied with Krzysztof Penderecki, and John Boda and his Master¡¯s and Doctoratein music

composition from the University of Illinois where his compositionteachers were Benjamin Johnston, Salvatore Martirano and Paul Zonn. Browning is an Associate Professor Emeritus of Music at theUniversity of Illinois and the director of the Salvatore Martirano MemorialComposition Award. More information is available at www.zackbrowning.com