Dan Forrest is a man who believes “all good things, including any beauty that we encounter, are from God, through God, and ultimately to God.” It is from this basis that he has made his career as a composer. During his early days at Bob Jones University pursuing piano performance, Forrest’s love of composition began to become apparent. He found that, to him, nothing compared to the sounds and musical dynamics of a choir.
With that in mind, Forrest launched his career in composition – a career that has brought us many beloved pieces of both secular and religious themes. The best-known of these pieces is the five-movement Requiem for the Living. Though usually a genre reserved for the departed, Forrest’s Requiem is unique in its dedication to those still living. “Requiem,” meaning “rest,” is needed by the dead and the living alike, Forrest argues. It is hard to argue against the point, and Forrest follows through on his assertion with one of the finest requiems written to date.
On January 19th, several of Forrest’s most popular pieces were performed in the fabled Carnegie Hall. Dr. Jo-Michael Schiebe conducted Dan’s Te Deum and In Paradisum, while Jamie Meaders conducted Requiem for the Living.
Pepper was honored to speak to Forrest about his music and how he came to compose, as well as his influences and inspirations. Please enjoy this video playlist from our interview. And, you can read more about the composer in Pepper’s 2011 Interview with Dan Forrest.
I was in the same Choral Writing and Arranging class with Dan. It obviously did him more good than me 🙂 What a blessing and encouragement!