Award-Winning Composer Gabriel Mann Announced as the 2026 Dillon Moran Musician in Residence

A composer, songwriter, singer, and member of LA-based alternative band The Rescues, Mann has made significant strides in every corner of the music industry.

As the featured Musician in Residence, Mann will share his talents, experience, and perspective with student musicians via workshops and masterclass sessions throughout the day. The 2026 initiative is a one-day event on January 23. Following his work with students, Mann will perform a free concert in Price Auditorium at 7 p.m. This show is open to the entire community.

Equally comfortable in drama and comedy, scoring, songwriting, and production, Mann wrote the iconic theme and scored the award-winning hit comedy series Modern Family, as well as songs and the score for ABC’s breakout drama A Million Little Things. Other credits for Mann include Disney+’s High School Musical:The Musical:The Series, Emily in Paris (Season 4), Nickelodeon’s School of Rock, and the Sundance Channel’s acclaimed prison drama Rectify.

Mann is currently working with his indie band The Rescues on a stage adaptation of The Lost Boys, directed by Tony winner Michael Arden and opening on Broadway this spring.

Mann has won numerous ASCAP and SESAC Film and Television Awards, including the 2015 award for highest performance credits overall. He was a part of the Lester Sills Songwriter Workshop and participated in the ASCAP Songwriter Residency in partnership with America SCORES, for which he co-wrote and recorded a song with students at Braddock Elementary School. He was also asked to compose for ABC’s Yellow Ribbon Campaign, where composers were paired with filmmakers from the armed forces.

The Dillon Moran Musician in Residence program was established in Fall 2012 to commemorate the passion, exuberance, and exceptional musicianship exemplified by Dillon Moran, a member of the Severn School Class of 2013. Dillon's life was tragically cut short in the fall of 2011 as a result of an accident at his home in Davidsonville, Maryland.

The program invites outside musicians to spend a defined period of time at Severn working with students, faculty, and the entire community to inspire, create, and perform great music. The visiting musicians will share their talents with Severn students, providing a fresh approach and new ways of bringing music to life in the Severn community.