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U P N E X T
Vita nuova [WORLD PREMIERE] October 25, 2026 | Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY Benjamin Truncale |
U P N E X T
Orfeo September 25–26, 2026 | Park Avenue Church, New York, NY Tenet Vocal Artists |
ABOUT JACOB
Jacob Beranek (b. 1998) is an American composer, conductor, and educator. Hailed as “refreshingly upbeat and infectiously melodic” (Fanfare), his compositions are infused with his love of melody and craft, his Czech heritage, and above all, his deep devotion to his Catholic faith. A firm believer in the power of Beauty to transform hearts and minds, Jacob views each of his compositions as an opportunity to reveal goodness, hope, and truth, and to reignite wonder and nostalgia for God in the souls of his audience.
Jacob’s compositions have recently been performed by orchestras such as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, Peninsula Music Festival, and Wisconsin Philharmonic; by vocal ensembles such as the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Compline Choir of Seattle, Gesualdo Six, and Musica Sacra; by chamber ensembles including ALIAS, the Chelsea Music Festival, Dolce Suono Ensemble, Milwaukee Musaik, and Music Northwest; by soloists including flutist Mimi Stillman, mezzo-soprano Tivoli Treloar, violist Leslie Ashworth, and organist Marco Jimenez; and with choreography at the New York City Ballet's New York Choreographic Institute (choreography, Julia Antinozzi) and at Juilliard's New Dances (choreography, Sidra Bell). Other recent performances of Beranek's music have taken place in Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Nashville, Philadelphia, Prague, and Seoul.
A recipient of the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Beranek received his B.M. summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University, his M.M. from The Juilliard School, and is currently pursuing his D.M.A. at Juilliard where he studied with John Corigliano. He served as the inaugural composer-in-residence of the Midsummer’s Music Festival (Door County, WI) from 2017–2020, and in 2018, during a performance of his music for the Czech national centenary, was honored by the U.S. Ambassador to Czechia in Prague Castle.
In addition to his compositional work, he was recently appointed Interim Adjunct Professor of Composition at the University of Connecticut and is also the conductor of the Higher Word Orchestra, a Catholic ensemble based in New York City. He lives in Connecticut with his wife Amanda, a Baroque and modern harpist, and their son Clement.
Jacob’s compositions have recently been performed by orchestras such as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, Peninsula Music Festival, and Wisconsin Philharmonic; by vocal ensembles such as the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Compline Choir of Seattle, Gesualdo Six, and Musica Sacra; by chamber ensembles including ALIAS, the Chelsea Music Festival, Dolce Suono Ensemble, Milwaukee Musaik, and Music Northwest; by soloists including flutist Mimi Stillman, mezzo-soprano Tivoli Treloar, violist Leslie Ashworth, and organist Marco Jimenez; and with choreography at the New York City Ballet's New York Choreographic Institute (choreography, Julia Antinozzi) and at Juilliard's New Dances (choreography, Sidra Bell). Other recent performances of Beranek's music have taken place in Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Nashville, Philadelphia, Prague, and Seoul.
A recipient of the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Beranek received his B.M. summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University, his M.M. from The Juilliard School, and is currently pursuing his D.M.A. at Juilliard where he studied with John Corigliano. He served as the inaugural composer-in-residence of the Midsummer’s Music Festival (Door County, WI) from 2017–2020, and in 2018, during a performance of his music for the Czech national centenary, was honored by the U.S. Ambassador to Czechia in Prague Castle.
In addition to his compositional work, he was recently appointed Interim Adjunct Professor of Composition at the University of Connecticut and is also the conductor of the Higher Word Orchestra, a Catholic ensemble based in New York City. He lives in Connecticut with his wife Amanda, a Baroque and modern harpist, and their son Clement.
ABOUT AMANDA
Active as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician, harpist Amanda Beranek (née Kengor) performs both on the modern pedal harp and the Baroque triple harp. She regularly appears with Tenet Vocal Artists, and has also recently performed with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Blue Heron, Chamber Orchestra of New York, Harlem Chamber Players, Juilliard Orchestra, Juilliard415, Silentwoods Collective, Midsummer’s Music Festival, and the United Nations Symphony Orchestra, in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 2019, she was named a Young Artist for the Pittsburgh Concert Society and was a prizewinner in the American Harp Society National Competition in Winston-Salem, NC. A former member of both the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra, she won both orchestras’ concerto competitions in the 2019–20 season and was invited to participate in the USA International Harp Competition at Indiana University in 2025. She also frequently performs contemporary works, including those by Harrison Birtwistle, John Corigliano, Tania León, Jorg Widmann, and her husband, Jacob Beranek, but maintains first and foremost a particular passion for early music.
She holds two degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Nancy Allen and Charles Weaver, and currently lives in Connecticut with her husband, composer Jacob Beranek, and their infant son.
In 2019, she was named a Young Artist for the Pittsburgh Concert Society and was a prizewinner in the American Harp Society National Competition in Winston-Salem, NC. A former member of both the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra, she won both orchestras’ concerto competitions in the 2019–20 season and was invited to participate in the USA International Harp Competition at Indiana University in 2025. She also frequently performs contemporary works, including those by Harrison Birtwistle, John Corigliano, Tania León, Jorg Widmann, and her husband, Jacob Beranek, but maintains first and foremost a particular passion for early music.
She holds two degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Nancy Allen and Charles Weaver, and currently lives in Connecticut with her husband, composer Jacob Beranek, and their infant son.
