Composer Conversations is an online series comprised of 75-minute sessions with two composers in casual conversation, and a Q&A with attendees. Both parts of the event are moderated by an HMA staff member. On September 22 at 8:00 PM (eastern), we welcome composers Brian Childers and Mitchell Eithun.
These events are for HMA members and admission is free. Registration is required and the event link is provided in the confirmation email received after successful registration.
Brian Childers is an accomplished composer, conductor, and clinician. His choral, instrumental, and handbell works are performed frequently throughout the world. He is in demand as a featured clinician and conductor at music conferences, festivals and workshops across the nation. Brian serves as Music Editor for Handbell Musicians of America, helping to promote the wealth of handbell music in the AGEHR Catalog. Brian has earned degrees from Appalachian State University and the M. Christopher White School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb University. He has served several churches throughout the Southeast, building vibrant programs for choirs, handbells and instrumentalists at each. He is on the music staff at Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC. In the spring of 2024, he was named as the Artistic Director of the Charlotte Bronze Handbell Ensemble. Brian’s compositions are published through a variety of publishers, including Bellissimo Publications and Cantate Press. Brian enjoys partnering with others in creating and shaping commissioned music that is meaningful, expressive and timely.
Mitchell Eithun is a church musician, composer, and mathematician. He has over 80 published pieces of handbell music and has written commissioned works from prominent community and church handbell ensembles. Mitchell is interested in developing innovative handbell rehearsal techniques and writing about the history of church music. Currently Mitchell is the handbell editor for Beckenhorst Press, a carillonneur at Duke University Chapel, and the founding director of Bell Durham, a community handbell ensemble in Durham, North Carolina. He recently completed a Master of Divinity with a focus in Theology and the Arts from Duke Divinity School. Mitchell also holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and computer science and a minor in music from Ripon College and a Master of Science in computational mathematics from Michigan State University. In his past life he was a high school mathematics teacher. Mitchell is an associate member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America and a seminar instructor for the Handbell Musicians of America. In his spare time, he enjoys trying new food and traveling to new places.