About

Forrest Wentzel composes music that blurs the line between the surreal and the natural. His concert music often incorporates electroacoustic elements, creating uncanny spaces where both organic and inorganic sounds can flourish. He uses these elements to form deeply personal narratives, which can be felt either explicitly or implicitly through the music. 

His electroacoustic compositions include Green Heron for violin and electronics, which blends field recordings, granular processing, and extended violin techniques to create a lush sound collage. Another piece – Open Up for string quartet and modular synthesizer – pits the natural against the mechanical by allowing justly tuned strings to freely explore the overtones of a synthesized fundamental tone. 

His song cycle Sanctuary Walls for mezzo-soprano, bass, and piano was performed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Powell Recital Hall in 2023. Knoxville-based music critic Alan Sherrod praised the composition’s “deep emotional underpinnings, descriptive rhythms and textures, and the complex tonal atmosphere.” 

Forrest has written several works for chamber ensembles, including compositions for string quartet and saxophone quartet. Readings for string quartet was recorded by Knoxville’s Three Rivers String Quartet in 2022. The piece is a free-flowing reflection on childhood, full of melodies reminiscent of half-remembered folk tunes and shimmering accompaniment with a loose rhythmic structure. 

Forrest’s recorded work also includes An Awful Lot – a genre-spanning album that he wrote, performed, engineered, produced, mixed, and released in 2021. He has composed, recorded, and produced over 250 short musical cues intended for television, many of which have been used in shows on major networks, including ABC, Food Network, and Investigation Discovery. His expertise extends into the realm of commercial music where he has collaborated with advertising agencies to score television and web advertisements, tailoring his compositions to the unique tone of each project. 

Forrest’s upcoming premieres include works to be performed by the Peabody Conductors’ Orchestra and multiple works for voice and piano, including a piece commissioned by esteemed baritone Stephen Salters. 

Forrest is currently pursuing his M.M. in composition at the Peabody Institute, where he studies with Dr. Sky Macklay. He received his B.A. from Oberlin College, where he studied Russian language.