Sean MacCarthy–Grant, piano
Sean MacCarthy-Grant (he/they) has played piano and percussion in educational, community, and professional settings including the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra. He has contracted as an accompanist with groups such as the American Pops Orchestra and successful applicants to schools such as New York University and the Peabody Institute, and has been heard in venues from Seattle’s Benaroya Hall to the Supreme Court of the United States to the embassies of France and Belgium. Sean is also an accomplished percussionist, and has had principal and secondary roles in ensembles, including the Atlantic Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble and Miami Music Festival Opera Orchestra. Sean toured throughout Europe with the North Stars Chamber Orchestra as principal percussionist, and currently studies multi-disciplinary music at Howard University with faculty such as Dr. Natalia Kazaryan, Chris Barrick, and Charlie Young III.
Not only is Sean a practiced performer, he is recognized as a composer as well. Sean has published works for ensembles from solo instruments to symphony orchestra across classical, rock, funk, and American roots styles. His work “Pulsatio” was premiered in 2021 by members of the Seattle Symphony as part of the Merriman Family Young Composer’s Workshop, and his other works have scored placing positions in festivals throughout the country such as the WSMTA Student Composition Competition, Simon-Fiset Youth Composition Competition and BMI Student Composer Awards Competition. Sean’s work “A Minor Offense” was featured at the Seattle Folklife Festival in 2019, and he has been commissioned by groups across the country such as StreamDMV, for whom he produced a full-length feature film score for their 2023 film “Gimme the Loot,” a tribute to and resetting of the work of hip-hop artist Notorious B. I. G. Sean studies composition with faculty at Howard University such as Dr. Anthony Randolph, Dr. Michael Fili, and Dr. William Kenlon.
Sean performs, composes, and teaches professionally throughout the DMV area, and has been published as an author in the 2023 edition of the National Journal for Music Education. He carries a principal mission of lifelong learning and of the constant development of one’s voice towards a dynamic and powerful musical identity.