Biography

Hello!

My name is Brandon Shen, a rising senior high school multi-reed performer (with a focus on alto saxophone), pianist, and composer based in Loudoun County, Northern Virginia. I study saxophone under Ed Fraedrich and composition under Chris Evan Hass, and I am planning to apply to a music composition program for the rapidly approaching college application season.

I have also studied saxophone with Billy Wolfe, Chien-Kwan Lin, Colin Crake, and composition with David Biedenbender, and have been attended programs such as the 2022 Eastman Summer Saxophone Institute and the 2023 Interlochen Summer Saxophone Intensive. I have also participated in festivals such as All-Virginia band, senior regional orchestra, and all-district symphonic and jazz bands, occasionally as principal alto saxophone. I am the co-founder and soprano saxophone player for the Freedom High School Saxophone Quartet, which has performed publicly at school concerts, school board meetings, and other events.

As a composer, I connect to the rest of the world through music - it is the language that I am most fluent in to understand others' experiences and tell my stories. I currently specialize in composing for winds, although I am trying to branch out into other mediums including vocal, string, and electronic music. My influences include East Asian icons like Joe Hisaishi and Takashi Yoshimatsu as well as other wind band focused composers, namely John Mackey and David Maslanka. Outside of classical, I love genres like drum & bass, future bass, jazz, and hip-hop, and I am committed to breaking the barriers between these genres and contemporary classical music.