Biography
Reviewers have described Randall Shinn’s music as “lyrical,” “compelling,” and “lusciously beautiful.” His compositions range in mood from witty to fiercely passionate, and reviewers have praised their expressive power, calling them “stunning” and “spell-binding.”
Shinn’s compositional style is grounded in the traditions of classical music, from the Renaissance to the present. He often incorporates vernacular elements into his musical language—from sources such as American roots music, Latin American music, and American speech rhythms. When used, such vernacular elements are integrated with classical influences into what one reviewer called “a sound that is uniquely his.”
His orchestral music has been performed by the Phoenix Symphony, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Mesa Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, Arizona State University, and the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies. His operas have been staged by Arizona State University, New Mexico State University, and the University of Colorado. His choral, vocal, and chamber works have been performed in the United States and Europe. He has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts (as both librettist and composer), the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and ASCAP.
Randall Shinn completed a doctorate in music composition at the University of Illinois, taught for three years at the University of New Orleans, and then joined the faculty of Arizona State University. He has had composer residencies at New Mexico State University and at the University of Colorado. He retired as Professor Emeritus in 2006 to compose and write full time, and now lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. As a writer Shinn is a chief correspondent for DeepGlamour.net
