Timothy Brown received his early musical training as an oboist, singer, and composer in his home state of Michigan. He subsequently earned his undergraduate degree in music education at The University of North Texas where he was recognized by the faculty honor society (PKL) as the outstanding musician in his class. In the years following, he worked professionally as a teacher and clinician in choral music, as a singer with the Wichita (KS) Chamber Chorale, and as conductor of the Wichita Choral Society.
After moving to New York in 1988, Tim turned his attention again to composition. His combined love of music and theatre kept his main emphasis on composition of stage works for a time. He made his debut in music for the stage with the children’s musical, Curious George at Town Hall in New York in a production by Theatreworks/USA. The show toured nationally for nearly ten years.
After moving to New York in 1988, Tim turned his attention again to composition. His combined love of music and theatre kept his main emphasis on composition of stage works for a time. He made his debut in music for the stage with the children’s musical, Curious George at Town Hall in New York in a production by Theatreworks/USA. The show toured nationally for nearly ten years.
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Tim's songs in the theatre style have otherwise been performed at the BMI Workshop, at the Donnell Library "Songbook," and - most recently - in A Trace of Love, an evening devoted entirely to his music with 6 collaborating lyricists.
Classical output from that period includes vocal settings of Sonnet Number 1 (choral) and Where the River Ends on poetry of Fred E Brown; Overture in Prose for full orchestra which was read in 2000 by The Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia; and Chant and Canticle for ten brass instruments, read by the brass ensemble of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.
Tim was pleased to make his New York debut in a concert of “classical” works by “theatre” composers presented by 'The Other Side of Broadway' at Merkin Concert Hall. His Incidental Dance Suite for solo piano was premiered alongside pieces by renowned Broadway composers, David Amram, Galt MacDermot, and Charles Strouse.
Classical output from that period includes vocal settings of Sonnet Number 1 (choral) and Where the River Ends on poetry of Fred E Brown; Overture in Prose for full orchestra which was read in 2000 by The Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia; and Chant and Canticle for ten brass instruments, read by the brass ensemble of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.
Tim was pleased to make his New York debut in a concert of “classical” works by “theatre” composers presented by 'The Other Side of Broadway' at Merkin Concert Hall. His Incidental Dance Suite for solo piano was premiered alongside pieces by renowned Broadway composers, David Amram, Galt MacDermot, and Charles Strouse.
Returning to school after a number of years in the professional world, Tim completed work toward his masters degree at The Manhattan School of Music where he studied composition with Nils Vigeland. Firsts at The Manhattan School included the premier of Sonatina for Solo Cello by cellist, Robert LaRue; Epitaph - Four Songs on Poems of Dorothy Parker, performed by mezzo-soprano, Theadora Hanslowe, her Metropolitan Opera colleague, Timothy Cobb (contrabass), and Blair McMillen (piano); the Sonata for Oboe and Piano, recorded by Miriam Kapner and Sharon Bjorndahl; and a recording of The Boathouse in Winter - 8 Duos for Woodwind Quintet by Pentasonic Winds. A 2001 concert produced by Tim and colleagues from The Manhattan School at New York’s Riverside Church included three segments from his opera-in-progress, An Heroic Ideal, based on the Cuchulain plays of W.B. Yeats.
In 2002, Tim was commissioned by The Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York for an Easter anthem. Christ Our Passover was premiered there on Easter day, 2003. In 2006, The Heavenly Rest Choirs premiered his Eloi Lama Sabachtani, a choral setting commissioned by (and written in collaboration with) Bo Niles, setting her adapted texts from the Gospel. Other performances of his work at CHR include choral arrangements of Wexford Carol and Irish Carol, both of which were premiered during the Christmas season of 2003.
In 2006, Tim was commissioned by the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company resulting in the completion (but not performance) of his piano quartet Vesalius Body.
Joining New York's outstanding C4 Ensemble (The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective) in 2008 created many opportunities for Tim to return to his lifelong love of choral music. Since, he has conducted numerous works, serving for two seasons as head of the collective's Conductor Committee, and leading the group in performances at many New York venues as well as at the 2016 American Choral Directors Association convention in Boston. He has received C4 premieres of his works Drip Dream, In So Many Words, Take Me Bach, and For a Reason to Live (choral version later withdrawn).
In 2018, Tim self-presented "If Not Now...?" a showcase of his classical chamber music at Saint Peter's Church/Citicorp featuring Nicholas Gallas (clarinet), Theadora Hanslowe (mezzo-soprano), Blair McMillen (piano), Caroline Stinson (cello), and as well as Gina Cufari (bassoon), Chris Komer (horn), Max Mandell (viola), Isabelle O'Connell (piano), Nurit Pacht (violin), John Romeri (flute), Keve Wilson (oboe), and Samuel Zagnit (bass).
Tim is now an empty nester and the gaga father of his daughter, Evann, now in college in LA.