b'Program NotesCarlos Simon(b. 1986) Fate Now ConquersComposed 2020Having grown up in Atlanta, with a long lineage of preachers and connections to gospel music to inspire him, Carlos Simon proves that a well-composed song can indeed be a sermon. His compositions span genresjazz, gospel, and contemporary classical music are noticeable influencesand can be found everywhere from film scores to concert music. My dad, he always gets on me. He wants me to be a preacher, but I always tell him, Music is my pulpit. Thats where I preach, Carlos Simon reflected for The Washington Posts Composers and Performers to Watch in 2022 list.Simon is the current composer-in-residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He frequently writes for the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera, with the 2022-23 season seeing premieres with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Art Song Society, and Minnesota Orchestraa large-scale tribute to George Floyd and the ongoing movement for racial justice.Simon was named as a Sundance Composer Fellow in 2018 as a part of the Sundance Institute, which was held at the historic Skywalker Ranch. His string quartet, Elegy, honoring the lives of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner was recently performed at the Kennedy Center for the Mason Bates JFK Jukebox Series. With support from the US Embassy in Tokyo and US/Japan Foundation, Simon traveled with the Asia/America New Music Institute (AANMI) on a two-week tour of Japan in 2018 performing concerts in some of the most sacred temples and concert spaces in Japan including Suntory Hallin Tokyo.Simon earned his doctorate at the University of Michigan, where he studied with Michael Daugherty and Evan Chambers. He has also received degrees from Georgia State University and Morehouse College. Additionally, he studied in Baden, Austria at the Hollywood Music Workshop with Conrad Pope and at New York Universitys Film Scoring Summer Workshop.'