Charles T. Betz (Charlie or Char to friends) is a composer and lyricist living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Charles studied classical and jazz guitar, brass, music theory, and jazz arranging at the University of Minnesota and the University of North Texas. Has has performed in a wide variety of styles and ensembles (classical, jazz, rock, worship, choral) and as a singer-songwriter.
He was the music director at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community (Minneapolis), 1995-1997, and wrote for the First Universalist Jazz Band.
He recently completed the full year 2022-2023 Core curriculum at New Musicals, Incorporated. This culminated in the staging of his first musical, a 15-minute work entitled "IQ: The Musical" as part of a full evening program produced in Los Angeles (Replaced! Six Short Musicals About Obsolescence). He is now in the second-year "First Draft" program, working with book writer Peter Welkin on an historical musical, The Womanless Wedding. He also was invited back to the Core program 2023-2024 as a guest composer.
Current projects include a commissioned choral/orchestral work ("Wild and Precious") to be premiered March 2024 by Crescendo Community Chorus (Minneapolis), and Five Minutes On The Low Road, a musical exploring near-death experience. He is interested in collaborating on spiritual and multiverse-themed musical theater projects and working on something for the Minnesota Fringe.
Charlie is a member of New Musical Theater Exchange in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Association of Songwriters, and The Playwrights Center. He has studied songwriting, composition, and music production with Diana Grasselli, Andrew Raiher, Peter Mayer, and with the faculty of SongU, and is studying book writing with Elise Dewsberry. He is competent in Dorico and Logic Audio for arranging, part preparation, and production, and is trained (to exacting NMI standards!) in the preparation of Broadway-quality integrated script/scores for musical theater.
Plays
Pass an IQ test or be drummed out of society. Presented Jul 10-11, 2023 at the Broadwater Playhouse in Los Angeles as part of the show "Replaced! 6 Short Musicals About Obsolescence."
Shawn, a 21st century man makes contact with Balthazar, a closely connected soul in 1500 BC Babylon. Both rise and fall in their respective communities, with Balthazar losing his life, traumatically experienced by Shawn via past life regression. Due to the non-linearity of time, they realize together that Balthazar’s apparent fate is only one possibility and the two of them together make different choices leading to freedom for both.
Explores themes of spiritual growth, reincarnation, simultaneous time, materialism, divine feminine, and the New Age movement and its contradictions.
Successes
After completing the New Musicals Incorporated Core program 2022-23, I was asked to assist the new students in the 2023-24 program as a "ringer," (they were short a composer), a nice vote of confidence in my skills.
World premiere of commissioned choral work, "Wild and Precious," by Crescendo Community Chorus, Dr. Randal Buikema, conductor, March 7th, 2024 at Plymouth Congregational Church. See charlestbetz.com.