Kennedy Center Extends Contract of Composer-In-Residence 

The GRAMMY-nominated composer Carlos Simon will continue the role through the 2026/27 season

Carlos Simon began his three-year residency at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the 2021/22 season. Since then, 19 of his works have been programmed, including nine commissions.

His three-year contract extension will see him continue collaborations with various organizations that perform at the Kennedy Center, including the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Additionally, Simon will resume his work with the Kennedy Center’s Social Impact program, which aims to advance social justice and equity through the arts. 

Listed in the Kennedy Center’s “Next 50,” Simon’s recent commissions have been granted by the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, PBS, and Washington National Opera. His works have also featured at the Washington Ballet and American Ballet Theater.

Simon is signed to Decca Records/Classics, on which he was nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY Award for his Requiem for the Enslaved. 

“When Carlos Simon joined the Kennedy Center, he had big ambition, insatiable curiosity, and a voracious hunger to write music across disciplines, making him a perfect fit for this position,” said Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter in the press release. “It has been a great joy for all of us at the Kennedy Center to collaborate with Carlos and share in his artistic triumphs both here and on stages around the world. 

“We are proud to give artists, especially artists like Carlos—whose works reflect the most salient issues of our time—a platform to share their voices. If you know Carlos, you know he is a prolific composer, and it became clear to us that Carlos had much more to say here in the Nation’s capital. He wasn’t done yet and we can’t wait to hear what’s next.”

“My time here at the Kennedy Center has been amazing. It’s been rewarding creating many new works in partnership with the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, and the many other art forms here,” Simon expressed. “I’m looking forward to the next three years of creating and working with so many accomplished musicians and artists. I am grateful that I continue to be supported in my growth in my career and in my artistic expression.”