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Mendelssohn PSALM 2 SMCA14

The works of Boston-based composer, Joshua Shank (b. 1980), have been widely performed by educational and professional ensembles alike.  His music has been called “jubilant…ethereal” (Santa Barbara News-Press) and “evocative and atmospheric” (Gramophone).  The Boston Classical Review  called his Magnificat for the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo “powerful” and “emotionally charged.”

His music often features the human voice and focuses on social justice or the amplification of marginalized communities.  His work, capable of anything, celebrated the nationwide passage of marriage equality in the United States, and his oratorio, "Magnificat for the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo," tells the story of the organization of Argentine mothers who campaigned for their children who had been “disappeared” by the military junta that formally governed the nation.  His work, "Primavera en silencio," is based on American conservationist Rachel Carson’s landmark writing on climate change, and his "alleluia (from quarantine)" was commissioned by a consortium of 35 ensembles from across the United States as a way to raise money for gigging musicians whose livelihoods have been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has been commissioned by ensembles such as True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Lorelei Ensemble, and The Choral Project. From 2004-2014 he served as Composer-In-Residence for the Minneapolis-based professional choir, The Singers: Minnesota Choral Artists, where he collaborated annually to expand and invigorate the repertoire for professional-caliber ensembles through innovative programming as well as new works written specifically for the choir.  In 2002, he became the youngest composer ever awarded the prestigious Raymond W. Brock Composition Award by the American Choral Directors Association. The winning piece, "Musica animam tangens" (“Music touches the soul”), was premiered in Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center and has since been performed and recorded all over the world.  His music was featured in the 2009 documentary about the extensive choral tradition in the Upper Midwest, "Never Stop Singing," and his published works have sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. 

Joshua received his undergraduate degree in Music Education from Luther College where he studied conducting with Weston Noble.  He has also earned master’s and doctoral degrees in Musicology and Composition from the University of Texas at Austin where he studied with Charles Carson, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Donald Grantham, and the late opera composer Daniel Catán.  A fierce advocate for students’ access to music education, he served as a public school teacher in Minneapolis/St. Paul for many years and he has taught on the faculties at Gonzaga University, Valley City State University, and Eastern Washington University.

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