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Jacob Beranek (b. 1998) is a composer and pianist from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. His compositions, rooted in melody and organic structure, regularly emphasize a unique perspective in honoring traditions—musical, religious, or even his own heritage. Beranek currently serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Midsummer’s Music Festival, which has commissioned four new pieces to-date, including his Piano Trio No. 1, Midsummer, premiered virtually in August 2020.
Recent performances of his music have taken place in London (The Gesualdo Six), Oxford (Oxford University Wind Orchestra), Prague (Band of the Castle Guards & Czech Police), Nashville (ALIAS Chamber Ensemble), and Philadelphia (Dolce Suono Ensemble). His work has also garnered international recognition in competitions such as the American Prize for Composition, ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, NFMC Emil & Ruth Beyer Awards, and The Gesualdo Six Composition Competition, in which he received first place for ages 21-and-under worldwide. Upcoming performances include Seoul, South Korea (Euterpe Wind Quintet); Berlin, Germany (Vanderbilt Musik Akademie); and Chicago (Chicago Philharmonic Chamber Series). In addition to composition, Beranek is a dedicated scholar of Czech music due to his heritage. After two study trips to Czechia, he returned in 2018 for the European premiere of his Památník in Prague Castle as part of the country’s centenary celebration, the only American composer on the program. Beranek has served as a Composition Fellow at the Talis Festival & Academy (Saas-Fee, Switzerland), studied at the Curtis Institute of Music Young Artist Summer Program, and was accepted to the Vanderbilt–Royal Academy of Music Exchange Program (postponed). He is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, and currently studies with Dr. Michael Alec Rose. |
Artist Statement
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In all of my compositions, I strive to achieve one main goal: to uplift the audience and the performers. I believe that music should be a journey, a beacon of hope and direction, for all involved. This is not to say that my work is necessarily programmatic, nor does it mean I write exclusively "happy" music. Rather, in upholding a tradition of craftsmanship, I intend to convey that hope and direction by making every piece the best version of itself: music full of integrity and meaning for the audience and the performer alike.
I stress the performer's role, because I view them as co-creators, artists who bring my art to life. I am just as invested in writing music that is idiomatically challenging and edifying for the performers, as I am in writing music that will communicate to audiences. In fact, I believe a composer cannot have one without the other—for if the performer's time is wasted, the performance will not communicate; and if the audience is alienated, what use is a well-rehearsed performer? More than anything, though, it is my ardent wish to glorify God with what I write, to employ the gifts of the Creator in a creative way. Thus, it is my conviction that music provides the most powerful, spiritual method of communication available to me, and it is through this that I feel called to bring harmony into a dissonant world. |
"Bohu díky," the Czech phrase meaning "Thanks be to God," can be found at the end of all my pieces. This not only reflects my heritage, but also my Christian faith, which I pray guides every note I write.
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