Beata Moon

Biography

Moon was born in North Dakota and raised in Indiana. She made her musical debut at age 8 with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Moon trained as a pianist at the Juilliard School with Adele Marcus earning both her bachelor's and master's degrees there. She is self-taught as a composer.

Work

Moon's compositions are compared to post-minimalist, but defy a strict definition of genre.

She released Perigee & Apogee in 2001 on the Albany label and Earthshine on her own label, Bibimbop Records in 2004. In 2007, Naxos Records added a CD of her works for solo piano, performed by Moon herself, to their catalog of important 21st-century composers. Her work has been acclaimed by Kyle Gann, Gramophone, Allmusic, and others.

Moon has frequently collaborated with choreographer Henning Rübsam and his company SENSEDANCE. "After Yet Another Fall" (1992), "Dolphins and Antelopes" (1996), "Moonpaths" (1998), "Dinner is West" (2005) and "Tenancy" (2011) are among her commissions for the company. Rübsam choreographed to other works by Moon, including her "In Transit" from 1999 which was used for the choreographer's "Amaranthine Road" (2007).

She also has gained notability for performing a series of "Whodunit?" concerts at such venues as the Kennedy Center, in which the program notes are not provided until the end of the concert.

The Beata Moon Ensemble

The Beata Moon Ensemble debuted on February 22, 2002 at Columbia University's Miller Theatre with Lara St. John as the featured soloist.

Perigee & Apogee (Jan 1, 2000)

Earthshine (Nov 20, 2004)

Piano Works (Jun 26, 2007)