Steven Barnett
Steve Barnett is known internationally as an award-winning independent recording producer for Minneapolis-based Barnett Music Productions. He received his second and third classical Grammy® awards for his production of Chanticleer’s world-premiere recording of Sir John Tavener’s “Lamentations and Praises” with the Orchestra of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, and received his first classical Grammy® for his production of Chanticleer’s “Colors of Love”. Both CDs are on the Warner Classics/Teldec label.
He was also a Grammy®-award nominee for his productions of “Walden Pond” (Dale Warland Singers on the Gothic label), “Our American Journey” (Chanticleer on the Teldec label), and an all-Argento orchestral/choral CD (Philip Brunelle conducting on Virgin Classics). In addition, he received the British Gramophone “Opera of the Year” award in London for his production of the world-premiere recording of Britten’s first opera Paul Bunyan (Philip Brunelle conducting, also on Virgin Classics). His major label production credits include CDs with Warner Classics, Teldec, Archiv, Virgin Classics, RCA/BMG “Red Seal”, Harmonia Mundi, PentaTone Classics, Gothic, Collins Classics (BMG), Avie, and also many independent labels.
Steve's recording productions include such ensembles and soloists as Chanticleer, Anonymous 4, Cantus, The Swingle Singers, The King’s Singers, The Dale Warland Singers, Philip Brunelle’s VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, The San Francisco Girls Chorus, Chicago A Cappella, The Princeton Singers, The Washington Bach Consort, The Cathedral Choral Society of the National Cathedral and Cappella Romana; the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra of London (as both conductor and producer), guitarist Sharon Isbin, the Newberry Consort, Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Sopranos Joyce DiDonato, Susan Graham, Frederica Von Stade, composer/pianist Jake Heggie, members of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne, The Minnesota Opera (a world premiere opera recording), and the Royal Swedish Opera (including two world premiere opera recordings). He was the initial recording producer for the American Composer’s Forum’s independent innova records label.
For 25 years, Steve was music producer of the Peabody- and ASCAP Deems Taylor-award winning, internationally-broadcast chamber music program Saint Paul Sunday® on Public Radio.
As a Composer/Arranger/Conductor, Steve Barnett is also known internationally for his compositions and arrangements published by Oxford University Press, Boosey & Hawkes, Hinshaw Music, Transcontinental (distributed by Hal Leonard), and ADAR Music Ltd.
His orchestral commissions include performances by the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Cantor Benzion Miller and the Barcelona Philharmonic, and the San Antonio Symphony.
His choral commissions include performances and recordings by Chanticleer, The Dale Warland Singers, Philip Brunelle’s Ensemble Singers (VocalEssence), the San Francisco Girls Chorus, the Zamir Chorale and a number of other choruses. The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music chose Steve as one of the selected composer/arrangers whose recorded works appear on the Naxos label’s releases of the largest collection of original American Jewish music ever assembled.
He was Assistant Creative Director at Sound 80 Recording Studios for four years, composing, arranging and producing music for radio and TV commercials and industrial and commercial films.
Steve was also Music Director/Arranger/Conductor for Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, and for both national public radio musical variety programs, Good Evening and First House on the Right.
Steve was a choral director for twenty-two years, an Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Minnesota for two years, and conducted three Twin Cities-area community orchestras over a span of ten years.
Steve is a composition and early music graduate of the University of Minnesota and also studied jazz composition and arranging at the Eastman School of Music.
Compositions: Sevivon (Chanukah song)