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Jacob Beranek (b. 1998) is a Wisconsin-born, New York-based composer and pianist. His compositions, hailed as “refreshingly upbeat and infectiously melodic” (Fanfare), are infused with his love of craft and traditions—musical, religious, or even his Czech heritage.
Beranek’s 2024-25 season includes orchestral performances by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, as well as choral performances at St. Paul’s Cathedral (London) and Canterbury Cathedral. Other recent performances have taken place in Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Milwaukee, Nashville, New York, Prague, Seattle, and Seoul, by such performers as the ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, Chelsea Music Festival, Dolce Suono Ensemble, The Gesualdo Six, the Juilliard Orchestra, Milwaukee Musaik, and the Wisconsin Philharmonic, as well as choreographers Sidra Bell and Kannen Glanz. Mikel Toms and the Brno Philharmonic recorded his Pilgrimatic Overture as part of ABLAZE Records’ ninth “Orchestral Masters” album, released in 2023. A recipient of the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Beranek received his Bachelor of Music from Vanderbilt University, his Master of Music from The Juilliard School, and is currently pursuing his doctorate at Juilliard studying with John Corigliano. A dedicated scholar of Czech music, Beranek was honored by the American Ambassador to Czechia in 2018 during a performance of his music in Prague Castle for the country’s centenary celebration. He was also the first composer at Juilliard to have music featured in Juilliard’s New Dances series while still a student and was one of the winners of Juilliard’s 2022–23 Orchestra Composition Competition, earning a premiere in Alice Tully Hall. Beranek served as the inaugural composer-in-residence for the Midsummer Music Festival (Door County, WI) from 2017–2020. |
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 each piece of music is a living organism, which should point towards truth, beauty, and goodness. This is not to say that my work is necessarily "happy" or programmatic. Rather, in upholding a tradition of craftsmanship, I strive to convey hope and direction by making every piece the best version of itself possible—music full of integrity.
I trust performers 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. |
