Photo by Lauren Nelson

The music of Steven Snowden (b. 1981) has been described as “A visceral evocation of raw communal memories” (GoldenPlec, Dublin), “Beguiling… combining force with clarity” (San Francisco Classical Voice), “Wonderfully dynamic” (Interlude Hong Kong),  “Marvelously evocative”, (Cleveland Plain Dealer), and “The most wildly intriguing sight and sound I have experienced at a concert” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer). Writing music for dance, theater, multi-media installations, and the concert stage, his work often focuses on underground American history and how past events relate to modern society. While his musical influences are deeply rooted in bluegrass, folk, and rock, he utilizes non-traditional techniques and processes to compose works that don’t squarely align with any single genre or style.

A native of the Ozarks countryside, he began studies in music composition in 2002 and received degrees from Missouri State University (BM), University of Colorado at Boulder (MM), and University of Texas at Austin (DMA). In 2012-2013 he was a Fulbright Scholar in Portugal, researching the implementation of motion tracking technology as a means to facilitate collaboration between music and dance. After a decade of working full time as a freelance composer, he joined the faculty of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology where he teaches electronic and acoustic music composition.

American Composers Forum National Commissioning Prize
ASCAP Morton Gould Awards
Aspen Music Festival – Susan and Ford Schumann Fellowship
Austin Critics’ Table Awards
Blank Foundation Commissioning Grant (Richmond, VA)
Composers Conference at Wellesley College
Copland House CULTIVATE – Composer Fellow
Copland House/Hoff-Barthelson Commission
Fullbright Commission, Portugal
I-Park Fellowship
IC Hong Kong – Composer Fellow
Kent Kennan Endowed Fellowship
Left Coast Chamber Ensemble Prize
Lydian String Quartet Commissioning Prize
MacDowell Artist Residency – Norton Stevens Fellowship
MACRO Commissioning Prize
Marble House Fellowship
New Music USA Large Ensemble Commission
Sinquefield Charitable Trust Commissioning Grant
Tesla Quartet Prize
UT Graduate School Continuing Fellowship
Yaddo Artist Residency – Bernard V. Winebaum Fellowship
Appalachian Chamber Music Festival
Atlantic Center for the Arts
Avaloch Farm Music Institute
Copland House
Festival of New American Music
Future Places Portugal
GroundWorks DanceTheater
I-Park
Lake George Music Festival
MacDowell
Marble House
Mizzou International Composers Festival
Nief Norf
Richmond Symphony
Sinquefeld Reserve
Taneycomo Festival Orchestra
Yaddo
~ University Residencies ~
– Boston Conservatory at Berklee
– Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
– Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar
– Truman State University
– University of Central Missouri
– University of Illinois, Chicago
– University of Northern Iowa
– University of Missouri
– University of Tennessee, Martin
– Virginia Commonwealth University

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Upcoming Events

珠玉のリサイタル&室内楽 三村奈々恵 マリンバ&ビブラフォン・リサイタル Resonance Journey

Date: March 13, 2027
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Yamaha Hall
7階, 7 Chome-9-14
Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061
Japan
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Duo Vimári

Date: November 21, 2026
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: SPLENDOR
Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 116
1011 LX Amsterdam
Netherlands

Royal Danish Academy of Music: Music for Percussion and Piano

Date: October 7, 2026
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Rosenørns Alle 22,
1970 Frederiksberg, Denmark

Midday Melodies

Date: September 11, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Hearst Center for the Performing Arts
Cedar Falls, IA

Rocket City New Music: The Railroad Remembers

Date: September 2, 2026
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment
2211 Seminole Drive Huntsville, AL 35805

Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas

Date: June 15, 2026
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas
K. Donelaičio str. 58, 44248, Kaunas
Lithuania

Toho Gakuen Percussion Recital

Date: June 7, 2026
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Toho Gakuen School of Music
Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan

Carpe Diem String Quartet – An American Story: New Beginnings

Date: May 24, 2026
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W Weisheimer Rd, Columbus, OH

Rossana Bribò – Percussions Transformer

Date: May 24, 2026
All-day event
Location: Museo Egizio, Via Accademia delle Scienze, 6, 10123 Torino, Italia

Carpe Diem String Quartet – An American Story: New Beginnings

Date: May 23, 2026
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: The Ross Community Studio at WOSU Public Media, Columbus, OH

Vittorino Naso in concerto

Date: May 21, 2026
All-day event
Location: ex Collegio dei Gesuiti di Vibo Valentia
Via Scesa del Gesù, 18, 89900 Vibo Valentia VV, Italy

Concierto Ensemble de Percusión

Date: May 6, 2026
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: Conservatorio Superior de Música de Badajoz “Bonifacio Gil”
Monesterio, Spain
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Daniel Albertson DMA Recital “Collaborations”

Date: May 4, 2026
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Kansas Wesleyan University
100 E Claflin Ave
Salina, KS 67401

Trio Bolla-Lupano-Montaldi – Conservatorio alessandrino “Vivaldi”

Date: April 29, 2026
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Conservatorio alessandrino "Vivaldi"
Via Parma, 1, 15121 Alessandria AL, Italy

XVIII CICLO DE MÚSICA CONTEMPORÁNEA

Date: April 27, 2026
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: Conservatorio Superior de Música de Badajoz
Plaza Soledad, 8, 06001 Badajoz, Spain

Jake Adame Senior Recital

Date: April 19, 2026
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Stephen F. Austin State University
1936 North St
Nacogdoches, TX 75965

Hong Kong Sinfonietta: 35 Years of Music at HKUST

Date: April 14, 2026
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Shaw Auditorium- HKUST
Clear Water Bay
Hong Kong

9th Street Quartet’s – Sounds of Home at 250

Date: April 13, 2026
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 N. Virginia Ave.
Falls Church, VA 22046

UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL

Date: April 11, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: PLOUGH PERFORMANCE HALL
University of Memphis

Ensemble Aura 场•当代乐团 New Voices Series: Chamber Music Concert

Date: April 11, 2026
All-day event
Location: 凯迪拉克·上海音乐厅
Cadillac·Shanghai Concert Hall
Shanghai, China

The Hartt Graduate Percussion Group

Date: March 28, 2026
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Millard Auditorium, Hartford, CT

Dennis Smith Percussion Recital

Date: March 27, 2026
All-day event
Location: Boston Conservatory at Berklee
Boston, MA

Rossana Bribò • Dalla tradizione alla sperimentazione. Viaggio per percussioni solo

Date: March 26, 2026
Time: 8:30 pm
Location: Teatro Akropolis
Via Mario Boeddu 10
Genova, 16153 Italia

Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra 兵庫芸術文化センター管弦楽団

Date: March 7, 2026
All-day event
Location: 2-22 Takamatsucho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8204, Japan

Hong Kong Sinfonietta: Good Music This Lunch

Date: January 20, 2026
Time: 12:40 pm
Location: Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall