About Brett Carson
Brett Carson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a focus on piano performance from Kennesaw State University and a Master of Arts in Composition from Mills College. He has studied piano performance with David George and David Watkins, and music composition with Roscoe Mitchell, Fred Frith, Zeena Parkins, and Laurence Sherr. Additionally, he has received chamber music coaching from Joan Jeanrenaud and Robert Schwartz, and studied computer music with Les Stuck. People with whom he has participated in masterclasses include Jason Kwak, Jeri-Mae Astolfi, Steven Bryant, Mehmet Ali Uzunselvi, Özgür Ulusoy, and chamber music group eighth blackbird. In 2014, he won the Elizabeth Mills Crothers Award for Music Composition, and received a scholarship from the Cobb County Music Teachers Association from 2007-2010.
Brett’s experience as a performer and composer is eclectic, with him working in the fields of classical music, new music, jazz, and free improvisation. As a performer, he has collaborated with many living composers, including Brian Baumbusch, Nicolas Collins, Sidney Corbett, Vinny Golia, George Lewis, Nicole Mitchell, Roscoe Mitchell, Bill Noertker, Zeena Parkins, and Rent Romus. He has performed as a pianist throughout the USA, Europe, and South America; festivals and venues include the Chicago Jazz Festival, Sons d’hiver (Paris), Roulette (NYC), the Barbican (UK), the Kennedy Center, the Broad (LA), and SESC Pompeia (Brazil). His focus as a composer is in modern experimental opera and pieces for improvising musicians. Recent significant premieres include a multi-media song cycle, “The Secret Life of the Paramecium” (2022), and a chamber opera for voices, string quartet, and drums, “Tell Me a Bedtime Story, ABRAXAS” (2024).
As a teacher, he is interested in working to meet the needs of each individual student, with an equal emphasis on technical mastery, musicality, and creativity. Drawing from his diverse background, he brings different elements of musical focus to the table in order to give students a well-rounded artistic experience as performers or composers.
