Forrest Headshot

Featured Work

If I'm up to something, you'll find it here ๐Ÿ˜ˆ

They sang... and ๐Ÿ”๏ธโ›ฐ๏ธ rose from the ๐ŸŒŽ

1+ voices - 2025

This is a zero-barrier-to-entry vocal piece where performers respond to line graphs that resemble mountains.

Forrest with giraffe

A little bit about me

Since starting my journey as a composer in my junior year of college, my music has been focused on lowering the barrier to entry for notation and participation ๐ŸŽถ. One of my primary goals as a composer is to help musically fascinated people realize that they are more musically capable than they likely give themselves credit for ๐Ÿ˜Š. Through creating music that blurs the lines between ensemble and audience, and by immersing those who partake in my music in a unique sound focused scenario, my hope is to broaden our general perspective about what music is ๐ŸŽง. While there's always going to be a place for elite performers we see at concerts and on social media, music making is for everyone ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ. You can learn more about me by un-muting the background video. The skills I've learned through my efforts to create accessible music have also led to interests in web development, and non-linear form. Not only do I use the internet to make my music more accessible, but I also use it to add unique and spontaneous elements to my pieces, creating a one-of-a-kind environment for each performance.

My Portfolio

Click on a work to learn more

I Could've Sworn I've Heard This Somewhere Else ๐Ÿค”

electronics, any number of participants - 2024

Call Center

1+ voices - 2024

And Where Do I Seek My ๐Ÿฌ of Wisdom?

clarinet, electronics + projection - 2023

Digits

keyboard 1+ hands - 2023

Tap tap tap... and I Turn to Answer

clarinet + electronics - 2023

Daily Ostinato

electronics - 2023

Gales

electronics - 2023

Common Tones

electronics - 2022

Earth Time

electronics - 2022

Skyline

electronics - 2022

Particulate

electronics - 2022

Latency

electronics - 2022

My Third Eye

piano - 2022

Plinko

electronics - 2022

Columns, Eroding

marimbas - 2022

Augurs

percussion - 2022

Polyswing

percussion - 2022

Drunk Walk

percussion - 2021

Intersections

electronics - 2020

Babble

voices - 2021

A Giant Tramples Through a Spring Forest

clarinet, horn, viola, cello + electronics - 2021

Study of Shapes: Lines

8 channels - 2020

Dialogues

2+ pitched instruments - 2019

Three Country Dances

string quartet - 2018

Signals

ensemble - 2018

Hidden Voices

2 dancers, 2 celli + electronics - 2017

Lapse

string quartet - 2017

Orphan or Dancer

soprano + piano - 2017

Simon

1+ quartets - 2016

If You Cannot Sing Like Angels

soprano + piano - 2016

Navigator

ensemble - 2016
Forrest with whale

My Resume

Accessible Composer +
Music Teacher

I'm a composer and music teacher with more than 12 years of experience teaching guitar, Western music theory, composition, and music technology. All of my musical involvement is focused on helping musically fascinated people achieve their goals while retaining their musical individuality. People are inherently more musical than they give themselves credit for, and my goal is to help them see that through performance of my low-barrier-to-entry-music, through my accessible teaching practices, or through my content creation. I have a unique set of skills that I continue to hone through my music that translates seamlessly into other professional fields such as web development, social media management, and event planning. If you're looking for an creative, empathetic, and accessibility-focused individual, I'm your guy.

Download my CV for more detailed information.

Professional Experience

Graduate Student Instructor + Researcher

University of California, Santa Cruz, 2023 - present

Disability Resource Center Assistant

University of California, Santa Cruz, 2024 - present

Web Administrator + Social Media Manager

Earplay, 2021 - 2025

Private Guitar, Theory, and Composition Teacher

Forrest Balman's Music Studio, 2011 - present

Artistic Production Manager + Electronicist

San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, 2021 - 2024

Private + Small Group Music Instructor

Myriad School of Music and Dance Academy, 2018 - 2019

Education

Doctor of Musical Arts

University of California, Santa Cruz, 2022 - 2028

Master of Arts

San Francisco State University, 2019 - 2021

Bachelor of Music

San Francisco State University, 2016 - 2019

Selected Skills

Music instruction + curriculum development

Front end web development + design

Ableton Live + Max MSP

Music Notation + Engraving

Adobe Premiere

forrest@forrestbalman.com

forrest
@forrestbalman.com

Send me an email or
get ahold of me on socials