Composer, educator, and musician Simon Brown lives in Brooklyn and has been involved in the USA El Sistema movement since helping start Kids 4 Harmony, Western Massachusetts’ program, in 2011. For Simon, writing and teaching music are similar in that he can’t imagine life without either one. Composition encompasses concert music, electronic music, sound installations, and a new musical style, Realism. He studied composition with Tania León, Morton Subotnick, Douglas Geers, Andy Bonacci and Steve Murray. He plays cello and guitar, and holds degrees from Berkshire Community College (AA), Westfield State University (BA), and Brooklyn College (MM).