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"Dedicated to broadening public appreciation of new American music” —NY Daily News
Congratulations to William Zuckerman of Boston, Massachusetts!
His composition Sinuous Rills for violin, clarinet, and piano has won the New York Art Ensemble 2009 Young Composer Competition.
William is pursuing a degree in music composition from the University of Michigan where he is studying with Bright Sheng and Michael Daugherty. In the summer of 2008 William studied composition at the Freie Universität of Berlin with Juilliard professor Samuel Adler.
As the winner of the New York Art Ensemble 2009 Young Composer Competition, William will receive a $1,000 award, a performance, and CD recording of his Sinuous Rills, for violin, clarinet, and piano. The piece will be performed on the New York Art Ensemble 2009 Tribeca New Music Festival this June in New York City.
Runners Up
Congratulations to everyone who participated in this national competition. In addition to the winning piece, the New York Art Ensemble wishes to acknowledge some of the other exceptional works that were entered:
• The Honorable Mentions category recognizes the top tier of composers that were in contention to win.
• The Emerging Composers category recognizes those who have shown great promise with their entries.
Honorable Mention
(in alphabetical order)
Eugene Astapov for his Piano Trio No. 3 “Les rêves” (for oboe, cello, and piano)
Niccolo Athens for his Quintet (for clarinet and strings)
Jeff Brown for his Savannah Music (for solo flute)
Anteo Fabris for his Three Little Pieces (for string quartet)
Yeeray Daniel Low for his Fantasy (for piano)
Yeeren Immanuel Low for his Sonata for Two Pianos
Dylan Mattingly for his City Light Dreams from a Foggy Pacific (for violin, viola, cello, and piano)
Thomas Reeves for his Chromatic Fantasy (for solo piano)
Chris Rogerson for his Fractured Light (for viola and piano)
Gabriella Smith for her Quintet for String Quartet and Double Bass
Jan Stoneman for his Elegia (for violin and cello)
Siddarth Viswanathan for his Abyss (for flute, cello, and piano)
Emerging Composers
(in alphabetical order)
Megan Grace Beugger for her String Quartet No. 1
Eleanor Bragg for her Seascape (for flute, oboe, violin, and cello)
Nick DiBerardino for his Harmonia (for piano)
Arielle Galler-Rabinowitz for her Undercurrents (for clarinet, violin, vibraphone, bassoon, and piano)
Danielle Galler-Rabinowitz for her Trio (for violin, cello, and piano)
Kenya Gillespie for his Échappée (2008) (for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon)
Jack Hughes for his Rhapsody for Piano Quartet
Jeremy Jordan for his Sonata #1 (for piano)
Jeremiah Klarman for his Rondo alla Zingarese (for violin, viola, cello, and piano)
Todd Kramer for his Para los Portenos (for string quartet)
Jane Lange for her String Orchestra
John Leszczynski for his Obsidian Butterfly (for alto saxophone and piano)
Thomas Mellan for his String Quartet #2 in C T14
Joshua Meyers for his Composition for Flute & Piano
Max Mueller for his The Toybox (for flute, clarinet, celesta, violin, and piano)
Aron Muesing for his Noraa (for string quartet)
Ethan Pakchar for his 10th Street Quintet (for woodwind quintet)
Nathan Prillaman for his (Twenty Seven) for viola and piano
Sam Saunders for his Echoes of Autumn (for solo piano)
Alex Shor for his Knoxville: Winter of 2009 (for string quartet)
Alex Stephenson for his Concert Piece (for cello and piano)
Christian Henderson Traylor for his Mist Opportunities, Falls Hopes (for alto saxophone and piano)
Dale Trumbore for her Disbelief & Suspensions (for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano)
John Van Geem for his Museum of Contemporary Art (for alto saxophone, bass, and piano
Anthony Vine for his Field--Variations for Four Flutes
A number of young composers have asked for a critique of their music. It's not practical to answer everyone individually, but we will offer some general suggestions, both technical and musical.
• Score: You are the score. When you enter a score that looks bad (hard to read, stapled together, notation on only one side of the page, original pencil manuscript, not spiral bound, etc.), it sends a negative message. It says that you don't care about your music. And, that effects the attitude of the musicians who evaluate and perform your work--i.e., “If the composer doesn't care, why should I?” So, make your scores look professional. Even if you feel unsure of yourself, make the score and parts easy to read, spiral bound, and well thought out with logical page turns. The best way to kill a rehearsal of your music is to have an illegible score and parts. Musicians will spend more time asking questions about the score (“Is this an e or an f?”) rather than playing your music.
• Music: Use strong ideas. It doesn't matter if your piece starts soft or loud, fast or slow, you should present strong ideas--music that makes a definite impression, catches one's imagination, and then does something with it.
• Harmony: Harmonic language is all over the map in the 20th and 21st century. And that's great--lots of possibilities. So when you delve into a new harmonic world, make sure you figure out what to do with it. We see music that starts out with very unusual and interesting harmony, but doesn't know where to take it. It becomes static and lost. Evaluate the harmonic language you're using. Experiment with it. Learn what it is that creates tension and resolution within that language.
• Style: Some of you ask, “What kind of style are you looking for?” We see all sorts of musical style and language. Our objective is to select good music--music that works. The best music is usually informed by a well-trained and intuitively driven musician. Use the musical language that best fits what you want to get across.
2010 Young Composer Competition Guidelines
Note: The deadline is January 8, 2010.
“Dedicated to broadening public appreciation of new American music” —NY Daily News
The New York Art Ensemble announces its 11th Annual Young Composer Competition. Its two-fold purpose is to encourage outstanding young composers in America and to provide a prominent forum for their recognition.
Award and Performance
The winning composer will receive a $1,000 cash award and a New York City performance of the winning score during the 2010 concert season, along with a CD recording of the performance. This award is presented at the sole discretion of the NYAE board of directors.
Eligibility
All composers, who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, born after December 31, 1987 are eligible.
Submission Guidelines
Works may be written for solo, duo, trio, quartet, or quintet (from one to five performers).
Instruments may include the following: flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), oboe, bassoon, saxophone (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone), French horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello, bass.
Acoustic works that utilize electronic playback are also acceptable.
All music must be unpublished and no more than fifteen minutes in duration.
Interested composers should submit:
• a legible, bound, full score
• a recording of the piece on a CD
• a biography, with current address, e-mail address, and phone number, and
• a stamped, self-addressed envelope, if they wish their music returned.
Entry Fee and Deadline
The entry fee is $25.00 per work entered. Make checks or money orders payable to the
New York Art Ensemble, Inc.
All entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, January 8, 2010.
The New York Art Ensemble is not responsible for lost or damaged material.
The winning composition will be announced on this website Friday, February 19, 2010.
Send entries or written inquires to:
Young Composer Competition
New York Art Ensemble, Inc.
640 West 139 Street, Suite 60
New York, NY 10031
e-mail: nyae@aol.com