A composer of music of "high drama" and "intense emotion" (BBC), "at once, ingenious, hypnotic, brave, and beautiful” (Festival Internazionale A.F. Lavagnino), Eugene Birman (b. 1987) has written for symphony orchestras (London Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra), choirs (BBC Singers, Latvian Radio Choir, Eric Ericsons Kammarkör), and leading ensembles and soloists across four continents in venues ranging from London's Southbank Centre to Carnegie Hall to above the Arctic Circle. His highly public career, with appearances on CNN, BBC World TV, Radio France, and others, is characterized by a fearless focus on socially relevant large-scale compositions covering the financial crisis, Russian border treaties, and more. A 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, Fulbright scholar, and D.Phil recipient from the University of Oxford, he also holds degrees from Columbia University, the Juilliard School, and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana. At the MacDowell, Birman commenced writing Russia: Today, a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship-awarded large-scale composition based on Russian propaganda and the real stories of people living on the Russian border in the Baltic region. The piece will premiere in 2019 in twin concerts in Moscow, Russia and London, UK, with the award-winning EXAUDI vocal ensemble.
Eugene Birman
Studios
Van Zorn (formerly Kirby)
Eugene Birman worked in the Van Zorn (formerly Kirby) studio.
Constructed thanks to a bequest from Sarah L. Kirby, Kirby Studio was the last new building to be erected during Mrs. MacDowell’s leadership (1907-1951). The load-bearing masonry walls were laid by local mason Augustus Beaulieu atop a fieldstone foundation. A 1995 renovation preserved the brick fireplace with wooden mantel and…