​Joel Suben began his composing career in his 20s as a 12-tone composer. But over the years, his composition style changed, and he became, as he once wrote, “an unapologetically tonal composer.” Even then, his tonal works retained “chromatic spillover” (his words again) from his early works.

 

From the mid-1970s through the 2000s, Suben took long breaks from composing to focus on his conducting career. He began composing in earnest again in 2010. In 2017, he wrote, “The act of composing itself, after such a long hiatus, is enough now to justify my existence.”

 

For a list of his complete works or to purchase a score, go to the American Composers Alliance. 

 

Recordings