2005 ASCAP FOUNDATION MORTON GOULD YOUNG COMPOSER AWARDS
Honorable Mention
Meade Bernard, 17 – Baltimore, Maryland
Syzygy for Flute, French Horn, Percussion, Vibraphone, Piano, Toy Piano and
Violoncello: 6´
Born in Norwalk Connecticut, Meade’s musical career began with piano studies
at the age of six. In the eighth grade, Meade attended The Walden School, studying
composition, music theory, and other aspects of electronic music/composition,
minimalism, music history, and instrumentation. Since 4th grade, Meade has been
a member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Boys’ and Men’s
Choir, performing widely in the Baltimore/Washington area, and also Charleston,
SC and England, including concerts with the Washington Choral Arts Society and
the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. At age 14, Meade performed with the Baltimore
Opera Company in a production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, where he played
one of the three knaben under the direction of Werner Herzog. Meade is currently
the musical director and principal song arranger of Route 81, a student-run
a capella group at his school. This summer he will once again attend The Walden
School in Dublin, New Hampshire.
Michael Brown, 17 – Oceanside, New York
Aftermath for Timpani, 2 Percussion, Solo Violoncello and Strings: 5´
A native of Long Island, Michael began his piano studies at the age of six and
compositional studies at ten. Since 2000, he has been a student at the Manhattan
School of Music Preparatory Division. He has performed in solo, chamber music,
and original composition concerts. Michael is a two-time winner of the School's
Concerto Competition and performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the
Philharmonic Orchestra last year. That performance was featured on Robert Sherman's
"Young Artists Showcase" on WQXR. Among his many recent accolades,
in April 2005, Michael won First Prize in the Friday Woodmere Music Club’s
Young Artists Competition and Third Prize in the Kosciusko Foundation Chopin
Competition. He recently won the Long Island Philharmonic’s Young Artist
Competition, and last year, he won First Prize for the One-Piano, Four Hands
Ensemble round of the Second New York Piano Competition sponsored by The Stecher
and Horowitz Foundation. As a composer, Michael’s works have been selected
for performance at the New York State School Music Association's conference
in Rochester for five consecutive years and he is a three-time winner of the
Long Island Composer's Alliance Competition. Michael was featured on NPR's From
the Top performing George Perle's Six Celebratory Inventions and will have performed
them yet again at Princeton University this month, as part of a 90th birthday
tribute to the composer.
Julia Scott Carey, 18 – Wellesley, Massachusetts
Piano Concerto for Full Orchestra with Solo Piano: 13´
Presently completing her freshman year at Harvard College, Julia has received
over sixty performances of her orchestral works by nineteen orchestras, including
the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops, the Indianapolis Symphony, Civic Symphony
of Boston, and the New Hampshire Philharmonic. A recipient of eight ASCAP Foundation
Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, the last being an acknowledgement of her
Piano Concerto, a work written for the Etowah Youth Symphony Orchestra in its
2004-2005 season and is expecting its world premiere this month. Julia was also
commissioned through the Bank of America Celebrity Series to compose a new work
for piano, Red, which received its premiered last month at Jordan Hall in Boston.
Julia’s music has been broadcast over radio and television, both nationally
and abroad. Her work has been featured on NPR’s From the Top and network
television’s The Today Show. Her compositions have been heard in the Irish
National Gallery of Art in Dublin, the Glinka Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg,
the Chester Cathedral in England among many locations. This summer, Julia will
attend the European American Musical Alliance Summer 2005 Composition Program,
held at L’Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. Julia’s music is published
by Theodore Presser as well as Blue Heron Press.
Jade Conlee, 12 – Salt Lake City, Utah
Across the Azure Depths for Soprano, Flute and Violoncello: 10´
Jade began writing her first piano compositions at the age of seven. She currently
attends the seventh grade at Rowland Hall/St. Mark’s School in Salt Lake
City, where she is an honor student. In 2003 her first commissioned work, Dancing
with the Wind for vocal choir was heard in Salt Lake City. Other compositions
have been performed in Illinois and Texas. Jade’s compositions have won
in a number of competitions, including Salt Lake City’s City Arts Celebration
in 2001, as well as awards from the Utah Music Teachers in 2001-03, the Utah
Composers Guild in 2003 and the Music Teachers National Association also in
2003. Her recent compositions include Dancing with the Wind, for voice and piano
and Aurora Crystalia, for solo piano. In addition to composing, Jade is an accomplished
pianist, vocalist, poet, artist, lyricist and actress. All of Jade’s vocal
pieces employ original lyrics. Her poetry has been published in local and national
magazines, as well as receiving top honors from the Utah State Poetry Society
in 2004. Aside from poetry, among Jade’s hobbies and interests include
visual art, modern dance, musical theater and drama.
Jacob Cooper, 25 – Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Lunock for 2 Flutes, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Percussion, Electric
Guitar and Electric Bass: 7´
Jacob is finishing up his first year of composition studies with Ezra Laderman
in the Masters of Music program at the Yale School of Music. He graduated from
Amherst College in 2002 with degrees in both Music and Geology. His piece The
Moon Blurred was selected as a regional finalist for the 2005 ASCAP / SCI Student
Competition. In the summer of 2004, he was a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer
Institute in North Adams, Massachusetts. This summer his plans include attending
a residency program at the Banff Centre for the Arts and he expects to take
New Haven by storm as bassist with his rock band The Sabotage.
Ann Fontanella, 16 – West Chester, Pennsylvania
Concerto in D Minor for Violin and Orchestra,
“The Heroic”: 24´
Ann is a composer and violinist, active as a performing artist on the roster
of Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour. Already at age 10, she made her debut
with The Philadelphia Orchestra under David Zinman, and at age 11 she began
her formal study of composition at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. At age14,
she was accepted to the Yale Graduate and Professional School of Music. She
is currently enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania and intends to earn
a degree in Composition/Theory. Ann is a previous recipient of a Morton Gould
Young Composer Award, this for her Piano Trio. In 2003, the Davidson Institute
granted her recognition for a performance she gave at Widener University, this
time for her Violin and Piano Sonata in D Minor. Her CD, Fantasy, will be released
later in 2005 with a Carnegie Hall debut scheduled for March 2006. Ann is also
an avid creative writing student, is active in student government and last year
was a student body representative at Yale School of Music. For further information
please visit Ann’s website at www.annfontanella.com.
Ryan Francis, 23 – Portland, Oregon
Consolations for Piano Solo: 12´
Currently pursuing a Master of Music at the Juilliard School, Ryan holds a Bachelor
of Music Degree from the University of Michigan. His music has been performed
by such ensembles as the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Proteus Ensemble, and he
has received commissions from the Columbia Symphony of Portland and FearNoMusic
Contemporary Ensemble. Ryan has also been the recipient of numerous fellowships
from such institutions as the Juilliard School, the University of Michigan and
the Aspen School of Music, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
In November of 2004, Consolations was premiered at Carnegie Hall’s Weill
Recital hall. Among his current projects include an orchestral cycle inspired
by the paintings of Joan Miro.
Arielle Galler-Rabinowitz, 13 –
Sonata in G Major for Violin, Vibraphone and Bassoon: 11´
Arielle started composing in 2002 at the age of 10. She currently studies at
the New England Conservatory of Music Preparatory School and her compositions
have been performed at the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Festivals for Contemporary Music
(Brown Hall, New England Conservatory), the 100th Birthday celebration of Jordan
Hall and at master classes conducted by Ethel (2005), Chen Yi (2004) and Yehudi
Wyner (2003). Arielle is currently working on a new piece for chamber orchestra,
entitled Hannah’s Song. Aside from composing, Arielle studies piano, improvising
since age 3. She is an accomplished figure skater and a U.S.F.S. gold medallist.
She has been skating since age 2 and is a long-time member of the Skating Club
of Boston and recently won a Pewter medal (4th place) at the 2004 International
Theater on Ice Competition. Arielle is also interested in mathematics, astronomy,
meteorology, languages and international travel, and is an avid reader of current
events, the New Yorker and historical fiction. Arielle is an A student and a
state Math competition winner and even shared first place with her twin sister,
Danielle. This summer she intends to put the final touches on a new orchestral
piece.
Ashley Geo, 11 – Irvine, California
Dare to Rescue for Piano, Violin, Viola and Violoncello: 5´
Ashley began studying piano at the age of 7 and violin at the age of 10. At
age 9 she took her first classes in composition. Ashley has been selected to
perform with the Orange County Philharmonic Society in their Stars of Tomorrow
concert, and was chosen to perform for the Yamaha National Jamboree in Arizona.
She has won 2nd place for the Music Teachers’ Association of California
Composer’s Today statewide competition. Ashley is actively involved as
a violinist as well, selected into a variety of ensembles in her district, including
membership in the All Irvine District Honor Orchestra, the Orange County Santiago
Middle School Strings Orchestra and the All-Southern California Middle School
Honors Chamber Strings. Among Ahsley’s hobbies and interests include sketching,
acting, tennis and swimming.
Jack Gravina, 17 – Allendale, New Jersey
Coercere for Brass Ensemble: 6´
Jack’s musical education began at the age of five with piano lessons as
well as membership in the local church choir as a boy soprano. He has studied
clarinet as well and is a member of his high school marching band and wind ensemble.
He continues to sing in concert choirs, (now as a bass), and has been selected
to perform with the New Jersey All State Chorus as well as the United States
All Eastern Chorus. Coercere was composed at Northwestern University’s
summer high school music institute. This summer Jack intends to teach clarinet
at a middle school summer program. Included among his other interests and hobbies
are scuba diving, fishing and film making.
Judd Greenstein, 25 – New York, New York
Free Speech Zone for Flute, Clarinet, Electric Guitar, Double Bass and Piano:
23´
Judd was born and raised in Greenwich Village and it was there where he began
his compositional life by writing hip-hop beats as a teenager. After turning
to classical music, he received degrees from Williams College and the Yale School
of Music. Judd has attended the Bang on a Can Summer Institute of Music, and
was a Fellow at Tanglewood last summer. Among Judd’s most recent awards
and commissions include a First Music Commission from the New York Youth Symphony,
about to culminate with a world premiere performance of Today and Everyday at
Carnegie Hall on May 29th. The work for which Judd has received an honorable
mention was a ZOOM Emerging Composers Commission and received its first performance
at Merkin Hall in February 2005. Last year Judd was the recipient of an ASCAP
Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award for another chamber work, Beating.
Judd has also received a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy
of Arts and Letters. He is the co-Artistic Director of NOW Ensemble and is a
PhD candidate in Composition at Princeton University. He is currently working
on commissions from violist Megan Fergusson and percussionist Sam Solomon, as
well as writing hip hop beats for a forthcoming animated short film about New
York City bicycle messengers. Judd maintains an active blog and further information
can be found at his website: juddgreenstein.com
Paul Hogan, 29 – Maryville, Tennessee
Five Islands for Piano, Violoncello and Vibraphone: 13´
Paul is a composer, songwriter, keyboardist, and electronic musician currently
residing in New York City, performing regularly while pursuing his DMA at Columbia
University, teaching courses in music appreciation and music production. His
debut CD, Frances, is a collection of lost-love songs for oddball instrumentation
iPod and voice. A graduate of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music,
Paul’s new opera, The First and Last Photograph is in the final stages
of completion. Among his many projects of the last few years, his sound installation,
The Thickening Place, explored the acoustic topography of New York City parks
and had its premiere at Le Petit Versailles in New York City. Paul composes
acoustic and electronic music for the Coin-Operated Orchestra and Current Quartet
(two of his groups), as well as other chamber ensembles, dancers, sound installations,
jazz groups, gamelan, children, theater and film. He has composed for and collaborated
with the Percussion Group Cincinnati, eighth blackbird, Gamelan Son of Lion,
SO Percussion Group and others. His music has been performed at the MATA festival,
Engine 27, the Knitting Factory, Williamsburg Art NeXus, the Indonesian Consulate,
the International Computer Music Conference (Singapore), Aronoff Center for
the Arts in Cincinnati and the Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
Paul’s summer plans include a full teaching schedule.
Alice Hong, 12 - Marietta, Georgia
Spring on the Yangzhi River for Violin and Piano: 5´
Alice is in the 7th grade at the Dodgen Middle School. Born in Asheville, North
Carolina, she started taking piano lessons at the age of six and violin lessons
at the age of nine. She began composing when she was ten years old. Her first
complete composition, Mystic Trilogy received an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer’s
Award in 2004 and the Ludwig Symphony Orchestra granted the first performance
of her fledgling work. The work for which Alice has received honorable mention
this year was premiered in September of 2004 with violinist Douming Ba of the
New York Philharmonic Orchestra. This performance included Alice accompanying
at the piano and it was part of a program held in Atlanta, known as The Autumn
Moon Concert and sponsored by The Organization of Chinese Americans. Alice has
also won the Music Teacher’s National Association Composer’s Competition.
Together with playing violin and piano, she also enjoys dancing, reading paper
folding and web page programming.
Kevin Kim, 15 – Seoul, Korea
Aphorisms – Suite for Solo Oboe: 8´
Kevin Kim (Sunbin Kim) began composing his first short songs at the age of five,
prior to receiving any musical training. The following year, Sunbin began studying
piano at the University of the Arts in Seoul, while continuing to compose on
the computer. At age 8, in his first public recital, Sunbin performed twenty-six
of his own compositions. Encouraged by his teachers, Sunbin moved with his mother
to the US in October 1998 to pursue his studies at the Mannes College of Music
Preparatory Division. Sunbin currently attends the Lakeland Regional High School
in Wanaque, New Jersey, where he plays percussion instruments in the concert
band. Current projects include a Movement for Orchestra, a piece for concert
band, a suite for piano (Cycles), and another work for piano (Elegy). Counting
this year’s honorable mention, Sunbin has been recognized four times by
ASCAP, winning awards in 2002 and 2003 and receiving honorable mention in 2004.
He has also won an award at the Hartt School Young Composers Competition in
2004, and as a pianist won the Flagello Piano Competition in that same year.
Sunbin has had numerous performances in New Jersey and the New York Metropolitan
area. He has also released a recording of piano pieces, among them his own Prelude
for Piano, a project sponsored by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
Angel Lam, 26 – Hong Kong, China
Red Peony Sky in Mid-June for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Violoncello, Vibraphone
and Percussion: 6´
Angel began composing at the age of nine. She is currently completing her doctorate
degree at Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and is already an
active participant at music festivals worldwide. Red Peony Sky in Mid-June was
premiered by the Proteus Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival,
and later choreographed for ballet by Peabody Dance director Carol Bartlett.
Recent honors include: first prize in Prix d'Ete XIII at Peabody; first prize
in Millennium Music Competition for Woodwind Quintet Composition in Hong Kong,
the winning work represented Hong Kong at the International Double Reed Society
conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Aspen Music Festival Composition Fellowship;
awards from NACUSA 26th Annual Young Composer Competition and Southeastern Composer's
League Composition Contest. With Red Peony Sky in Mid-June, Angel has been recognized
for a third consecutive year with an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer honorable
mention. This is also the second year that she has been chosen twice as a regional
winner in The ASCAP/SCI Student Commission Program. She recently attended the
premiere of her orchestra work, Ambush from Ten Directions, performed by the
Hong Kong Sinfonietta. The performance was broadcasted on television and radio
by TVB Pearl and Radio Television Hong Kong. This March she was a finalist at
the Third Seoul International Competition for Composers in Korea, where she
won the Young Composer Audience Prize Award. She will be a composition fellow
at the Pacific Music Festival in Japan this summer. Ambush will have its US
premiere by the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest in Chicago in May of 2006.
For more information refer to her website at: www.angellam.com.
Christopher Lim, 17 – New York, New York
Lost and Found for Violin, Violoncello and Piano: 9´
Currently enrolled as a composition major at The Juilliard School Pre-College
Division, already at age 11, Christopher began piano and composition studies
at the Mannes College of Music, Preparatory Division. Since 2001, Christopher
is in the Honors Program at the Mannes Preparatory Division as a Merit Award
piano major. He attended Hunter College Elementary School and High School before
moving on to The Trinity School, where he is about to finish eleventh grade.
He has already been recognized three times by The ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould
Young Composers Awards Competition, first with an honorable mention for his
String Quartet, secondly as a finalist for his Scenes from a Funeral. Last year
he received an honorable mention for a work for solo piano, Rhapsody for the
Listener. In 2003, one of Christopher’s compositions, Sonatina for Children
was selected for the Fifth Annual New York State School Music Association Young
Composer Honors Concert. Another work, Nocturne for flute, horn, percussion
and bass was commissioned by New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music and received
a performance at CAMI Hall in May of 2003. From 2001 thru 2003, Christopher
was an active participant in Making Score, the composition lab of the New York
Youth Symphony, directed by Derek Bermel and hosted by ASCAP.
Anna Lindemann, 18 – Boulder, Colorado
Hari-Hara for Violin, Flute, French Horn and Synthesized Orchestral Accompaniment:
20´
Currently a freshman at Yale University, Anna began composing at the age of
nine. Numbering among her works are two suites for piano entitled Garden Suite
and Animal Expeditions, a choral work set to three poems by Emily Dickinson
entitled Three Bee Songs, a piece for sestet entitled Goat Herd, and a violin
and piano duo entitled Voodoo. Anna also studies ballet and danced in the premieres
of the two ballets she composed, Persephone (2002) and Hari-Hara (2004), the
work for which she has received an honorable mention in this year’s competition.
Anna is currently writing the music for a short experimental film featuring
the creation and entomological organization of paper cranes. She collaborated
on the concept of the film and is also acting in the piece. Anna has received
awards from the Music Teacher’s National Association, the Pikes Peak Young
Composer’s Competition, the Spokane Music and Allied Arts Festival, and
the Murray Katz Young Composer’s Collage New Music Competition. She has
enjoyed two summers composing at the Walden School summer camp and one summer
studying composition at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
Theresa Martin, 25 – Tempe, Arizona
Solar Flair for Clarinet Duet: 3´
Originally a native of Appleton, Wisconsin, Theresa received two masters degrees
from Arizona State University in 2004 in music composition and clarinet performance
and a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2002 with a double major
in composition and clarinet performance. In the fall of 2005, Theresa plans
to pursue her DMA in composition at the University of Michigan with a teaching
fellowship award. Her intense involvement with the clarinet has led her to compose
numerous works for the instrument: Solar Flair (2004) for clarinet duet, Character
Sketches (2003) for clarinet and piano; Mingling Contradictions (2003) for clarinet,
violin, piano and electronics; Autumn Art (2001) for four clarinets, and Caricature
(1999) for clarinet, piano, and percussion. Other works include: Aspirations
(2004) for chamber orchestra, Imprints (2002) for full orchestra, A Dream (2004)
for soprano and piano, Love’s Philosophy (2000) for mezzo soprano, alto,
and piano; and Little Voices (2001) for unaccompanied trumpet. Recently, Solar
Flair has received several successful performances from well-known clarinetists,
including clarinet virtuoso Robert Spring, who commissioned the work. In June
of 2004, Theresa received a New York debut performance of Character Sketches
at the American Composer's Alliance 2004 American Music Festival. She is the
recipient of the Grant Fletcher Memorial Award for Composition for Imprints,
which was premiered by the Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra in February
of 2004. Theresa is currently working on several commissions, including a work
for Samuel Pilafian, Professor of Tuba at Arizona State University. Further
information is available at www.theresamartin.net.
Robinson McClellan, 28 – Taos, New Mexico
The Woman Turns Herself into a Fish for Vocal Trio: 5´
Robin grew up in Colorado and earned his BM in composition from Vassar College.
He is currently pursuing his Masters degree in composition at the Yale School
of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He received the Jean Slater
Edson Prize in Music Composition in 1997 and 1998 and in 2003 he participated
in the Oxford Summer Institutes hosted by Oxford University Press. More recently
he has received commissions from Yale Schola Cantorum, the New York-based women’s
vocal trio Eos, and organist Carson Cooman. The piece for which he has received
an honorable mention in this year’s The ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould
Young Composer Awards was written for Eos. It was published in spring 2005 by
the Yale graduate school’s annual arts magazine, Palimpsest. In June 2005,
he will participate in the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium. Prior to
his studies at Yale, Robin worked as an orchestra manager of the S.E.M. Ensemble,
editorial assistant at music publisher G. Schirmer/AMP, and as a freelance choral
singer and music engraver. He recently began playing the Highland bagpipes,
and he is especially interested in the 18th century "classical" pipes
repertoire known as piobaireachd.
Benjamin Pesetsky, 16 – Boston, Massachusetts
Changing Moods for Soprano, Violin, Violoncello and Piano: 10´
Currently an 11th grade student at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Ben’s first important contact with music began with cello lessons at the
age of five. He is now studying at the New England Conservatory Preparatory
School and is currently working on a new piece for string quartet to be premiered
this month. He has spent the previous two summers studying composition at the
Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. His composition Concert Sketches for String
Orchestra (2002) was awarded a prize at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association
All-State Conference, 2004. Changing Moods, the composition for which Benjamin
has received an honorable mention in this year’s ASCAP Foundation Morton
Gould Young Composer Awards was recently featured on a gala performance at the
Longy School of Music. The texts utilized are by Robert Frost: Dust of Snow,
Blue-Butterfly Day, and, Nothing Gold Can Stay. Ben will be attending the Boston
Tanglewood Institute for composition this summer and among his other hobbies
and activities involve literature and film as well as taking care of his two
pet guinea pigs.
Karl Pestka, 21 – Lansing, Michigan
Devastation Sandwich for Electric Violin with Live Electronic Manipulation:
11´
Active as a composer and improvising performer, together with an avid interest
in recording and producing as well, Karl is currently enrolled at the University
of Michigan. His musical style includes elements as diverse as the North Indian
raga, 70’s jazz-rock fusion, and western minimalism. He directs his own
film orchestra and performs with his own post-Zappa fusion band, and on his
own, fashions a one-man orchestra from his solo electric violin and electronics.
Karl was raised on classical violin repertoire from the age of four and his
first compositions at the age of five were written for his DOS-based computer.
He has self-published and self-produced an art techno album, Endoplasmic Ridiculum.
Karl also finds time to perform regularly with his jazz-rock fusion band The
Sexual Pantalones, this eventually leading to the release of the progressive
rock narrative Crackpants! Shortcut, a commercially released CD inspired by
the work of Yes, Eugene Ysaye, and Gentle Giant. During the summer of 2004,
Karl traveled to Varanasi, India for several months to train in classical violin
and tabla at Banaras Hindu University. Within the past year, the Youn Cello
Quartet of South Korea commissioned Karl to produce the jazz-inspired Sugar
Plum Daddies. Near the end of 2004, Karl has been touring extensively with his
solo electric violin piece Devastation Sandwich, the work for which has received
an honorable mention in this year’s ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young
Composer Awards. Upon graduation, Karl intends to seek further education in
Varanasi, India, and later pursue a Master’s Degree in music.
Armand Ranjbaran, 15 – Garden City, New York
String Quartet: 20´
Originally from Queens, New York, Armand is currently studying composition at
The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division. Armand began playing the
violin at age 4, attending the Suzuki Program at Queensborough Community. At
age 11 he took up the viola and entered the Juilliard Pre-College Division the
following year, studying viola as well as composition. Armand has enjoyed many
performances of his works in Juilliard including the premieres of his song cycle
Reflections, Rhapsody for cello and piano, Duo for violin and viola, Composition
for trombone and piano, Dance for solo double bass and Adagio (from Suite) for
Solo Viola. Upcoming performances include Elegy for flute and harp and String
Quartet No. 1, the work for which he has received an honorable mention in this
year’s ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Armand’s
orchestra piece, Twilight received a reading by the Pre-College orchestra in
2004. He has been the recipient of the Nassau County Reflections Award for Student
Composers at age 9 and the New York State Reflections Award at age 10. Armand
recently received a commission from the New York Young Musicians Ensemble to
compose a string orchestra piece for the 2005-2006 season. Among his recent
activities, he conducted an interview with the composers for the hit shows Justice
League Unlimited and Teen Titans for the popular animation site, Toon Zone.
This summer he is planning to attend several music festivals and among his hobbies
are included reading, writing, animation and comic books. He is currently working
on an orchestra piece.
Philip Rothman, 28 – New York, New York
Departure Point for Piano Solo with Wind Ensemble: 10´
Philip’s compositions have been performed by the Utah Symphony, Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, National Philharmonic of
Lithuania, Juilliard Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, United States Military
Academy Band, and numerous other ensembles. His music has been heard at major
venues including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and it has been broadcast
on over 200 radio stations in America on NPR’s Performance Today, on the
syndicated radio program Indianapolis on-the-Air, and the McGraw Hill Companies’
Young Artists Showcase. His work has been featured at prominent conferences,
including The Midwest Clinic and an international symposium at the New England
Conservatory. Philip Rothman was selected to participate in the Music Alive
program as Composer-in-Residence with the Eugene Symphony Orchestra in 2004-05.
Music Alive is a national residency program of the American Symphony Orchestra
League and Meet The Composer. Philip’s endeavors have earned him numerous
honors including three ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards,
a Renée B. Fisher Foundation Award, the Brian M. Israel Prize, a fellowship
from the American Symphony Orchestra League, a Meet The Composer Fund grant,
and annual ASCAP Special Awards since 1998. Philip’s summer plans include
composition of a new work for orchestra to be premiered live with film in July
at the Colorado Music Festival; other interests and hobbies include arts management,
consulting, teaching, cooking and running.
Carl Schimmel, 29 – Wakefield, Rhode Island
The Blatherskite’s Comeuppance for Wind Ensemble: 5´
Born in Pensacola, Florida, Carl spent his formative youth in Wakefield, Rhode
Island. He attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where
he received a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and music and went on to
receive his Master’s degree in Composition from the Yale School of Music
in New Haven, Connecticut. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree from Duke
University. He has twice attended the Aspen School of Music and later participated
as a fellow in the Master Class conducted there by Christopher Rouse and Poul
Ruders. He is the recipient of the Woods Chandler Prize from Yale University
and the 1999 Bearns Prize from Columbia University for his orchestral work Capa
Cocha. His woodwind trio Pieces of Eight was a finalist in the 2001 Seoul International
Composition Competition, and his quintet Harold and the Purple Crayon was commissioned
by the Cross Sound Music Festival. His work Five Lies has received the Emil
and Ruth Beyer Award from the National Federation of Music Clubs, a First Music
Award from the New York Youth Symphony, and Third Prize in the SCI/ASCAP Commissioning
Competition. And, his wind ensemble work The Blatherskite’s Comeuppance
together with receiving an honorable mention in this year’s The ASCAP
Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, also recently received an honorable
mention for the ASCAP Frederick Fennell Band Prize. Carl’s works have
been performed throughout the United States and as far away as Korea and Alaska,
and he has received commissions from the Society of Composers, Inc. and ASCAP,
the New York Youth Symphony, the Renee B. Fisher Foundation, the University
of North Carolina Wind Ensemble, trombonist Aaron Misenheimer, Battery Four
Percussion Quartet, and others. Currently residing in Oakland, California, Carl
plans to attend the Oregon Bach Festival Composer Symposium and will be a California
E.A.R. Unit Composer-in-residence at Arcosanti in Meyer, Arizona. Among his
hobbies and other interests include mathematics, travel and bird watching. mong
his interests and hobbies include mathematics, rcosanti, Meyer, Arizona
Sean Shepherd, 25 – Reno, Nevada
Metamorphoses for Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, Violin,
Viola and Violoncello: 10´
A recipient of the 2005 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of
Arts and Letters, Sean has earned degrees from Indiana University and The Juilliard
School, where he studied both composition and bassoon. He is currently pursuing
a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Cornell University. He is a recipient of
the Dean's Prize at Indiana, the Palmer Dixon and Orchestral Competition awards
at Juilliard, and as the 2005 winner of the Ensemble X competition at Cornell,
he will write a new work for the Ithaca-based professional new music group's
2005-06 season. Recent performances include surface tension with the Juilliard
Symphony at Alice Tully Hall in April 2004, and the Juilliard/Royal Academy
of Music-commissioned Metamorphose with the combined New Juilliard/Manson Ensembles
in New York and London, in October 2004. He will attend the Tanglewood Music
Center as a composition fellow this summer. Among Sean’s other hobbies
and interests include skiing, biking and travel.
Daniel Tacke, 19 – Auburn, Washington
String Trio: 9´
Daniel began his musical studies at the age of three with piano lessons and
already showed an interest in composition. At age nine he began receiving professional
guidance and after entering several competitions sponsored by the Washington
State Music Teachers Association, Daniel submitted works to the Music Teachers
National Association Composition Competition, receiving the first national alternate
in 2001 and winning the national prize in 2002. Daniel has had his work performed
by members of the Seattle Symphony. He is currently studying at the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music and last year was one of seven students selected to represent
Oberlin Conservatory at the annual Midwest Composers Symposium. He is currently
the manager and rehearsal assistant for the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble.
In addition to his activities as a composer Daniel is active as a pianist, having
experience as a freelance accompanist and piano instructor and he was awarded
the Advanced Certificate with Distinction in Piano Performance from the Associated
Board of the Royal Schools of Music, England. Among his list of works to date
include works for solo piano--Presto con fuoco, Le Jardin Carnivore; for choir--Three
Madrigals for SATB, as well as; works for voice with varying instrumental accompaniment--misere
for high soprano and large organ, or Three Songs of Love and Madness for tenor
and solo cello.
Shanlyn Tse, 8 – Milton, Massachusetts
Suite for Violin and Piano in 3 Movements: 3´
Shanlyn is the youngest among all The ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer
Awards entrants to receive an award with her merit of honorable distinction.
She has already participated in the Festivals of Contemporary Music held at
the New England Conservatory and in master classes there as well. Shanlyn was
a 3rd place winner at the Music Teachers National Association Competition in
Massachusetts in 2004. Her older brother Douglan composes as well, and has also
received an award in this year’s competition. Prior to her Suite for Violin
and Piano, Shanlyn has composed a number of characteristic pieces for piano
alone, with descriptive titles such as: Thunder Storm, Rainbow, Birds, Kitten,
and Flying Cowboys.
