Schorr as Wotan, Bayreuth

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, founder and chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up, honorable mentions and citation recipient of The American Prize in Vocal Performance—men in art song, 2018-19—The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com

The American Prize in Vocal Performance—Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award honors the memory of the greatest Wagnerian baritone of his age, Friedrich Schorr, who commanded the operatic stage between the world wars, and his wife, Virginia Schorr, who taught studio voice at the Manhattan School of Music and the Hartt School of Music for nearly fifty years. The Prize recognizes and rewards the best performances by classically trained vocalists in America in 2018-19, based on submitted recordings.

The American Prize in Vocal Performance—men in art song (professional division),  2018-19, The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards

The American Prize winner:
Justin John Moniz
Springfield IL    

Justin John Moniz

Two-time winner of The American Prize in Vocal Performance, Justin John Moniz’s “superb high tenor” (South Florida Classical Review) and “commanding stage presence” (TalkinBroadway.com) has been thrilling audiences in opera houses, theaters, and concert halls across the nation, among them Opera Grand Rapids, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Sarasota Opera, Florida Grand Opera, the Opera Company of Middlebury, Opera New Jersey, DreamCatcher Theatre/Adrienne Arsht Center, Orchestra Miami, Gulfshore Opera, Palm Beach Dramaworks, the Orchestra of Northern New York, and Chicago Symphony Center. His unique style and versatility have afforded him an active career in opera, concert, and musical theatre, having sung over 80 roles to date. Most recently, Moniz’s star turn as Prince Karl Franz in The Student Prince with Opera Grand Rapids received high praise and great acclaim, the press hailing his performance as “simply outstanding…glorious” (Encore Michigan). His performance also earned him the prestigious BroadwayWorld Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Dr. Moniz currently serves as Coordinator of Vocal Studies at Millikin University and most recently served on the faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. In addition, he is Executive Director of the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival and a member of both the voice and directing faculties. He holds degrees from Florida State University, the University of Miami, and SUNY Potsdam. For more information, please visit www.justinjohnmoniz.com.


2nd Place (there was a tie):
Tomas Dominguez
Green Bay WI  

Tomas Dominguez

Tomás Dominguez received his BM from UW- Eau Claire and his MM from DePaul University, where he studied with Metropolitan Opera tenor Michael Sylvester.  He was heard recently as Prince Ramiro in Lyric Opera Studio Weimar's La Cenerentola in Weimar, Germany and portraying Jimmy Reno in Opera for the Young's “The Elixir of Love”. He teaches voice lessons in the Green Bay area including at the Birder Studio in DePere, WI and as adjunct faculty at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. 



2nd Place (there was a tie):
David Tayloe
Tuscaloosa AL  

David Tayloe

A native of North Carolina, tenor, David Tayloe has been praised for his “lovely tenor that sings with Mozartean finesse.”  David has made appearances with the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Louisiane, Opera Birmingham, Naples Philharmonic, Virginia Arts Festival, Piedmont Opera Company, the A.J. Fletcher Institute, LSU Opera, and Frost Opera Theater. His recent roles include Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, Jason in Farbermann’s Medea, Albert in Albert Herring, Gastone in La Traviata, Student in Michael Torke’s Strawberry Fields, Rinucchio in Gianni Schicchi, Candide in Bernstein’s Candide, and Mozart in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri. As a concert singer, he has performed as Obadiah in Elijah, the Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion as well as the tenor soloist in the Magnificat, Finzi’s Dies Natalis, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, Lord Nelson Mass, Paukenmesse, and Theresianmesse, Schubert’s A-flat Mass, and Britten’s Serenade.

Mr. Tayloe has performed with the Grammy nominated ensemble Seraphic Fire and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and Voices, among other professional ensembles.  He has been a performer at the Magnolia Baroque Festival in North Carolina, the Duffy Composers Institute at the Virginia Arts Festival and was twice awarded the Stern Fellowship at Songfest in Los Angeles where he will return for the summer of 2017. He has collaborated with Martin Katz and participated in master classes with Julius Drake, Christoph Pregardien, Graham Johnson, Renee Fleming, Wolfram Rieger, and Roger Vignoles. David holds degrees from University of Miami, Louisiana State University, and the Eastman School of Music. Additional studies at the Britten-Pears Institute at Snape Maltings in Aldeburgh, England.


3rd Place:
Michael Hix
Albuquerque NM  

Michael Hix

Baritone Michael Hix has been praised by critics for his "expressive voice" and "commanding stage presence." His career highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood Music Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Vienna’s Musikverein. Hix is a sought after performer of concert/orchestral works with over 50 oratorio/cantata/concert roles in his repertoire. Recent European performances include the bass solos in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Heligmesse at the International Haydn Festival in Vienna, Austria and song recitals in Leipzig and Dresden, Germany.  He has been featured as a soloist in concerts with the Oregon Bach Festival, Arizona Bach Festival, Boston Pops, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Georgia Symphony, and the New Mexico Philharmonic, among others.


Honorable Mention / Special Judges' Citation: Exceptional Recital Concept
Bryan Pinkall
Manhattan KS

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Dr. Bryan Pinkall is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Kansas State University. Pinkall is a Grammy-winning soloist and chorister with Kansas City Chorale, winners of the 2013 & 2016 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance and Best Engineered Album, Classical in 2013. He was an rtistic manager for the 2016 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and for the Emmy-winning production of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony in Sochi, Russia.

Pinkall was a Kauffman Scholar at the University of Missouri Kansas City (DMA) and an Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellow at Yale University. He received his solo Carnegie Hall debut in 2014 with the National Festival Chorus, and was a featured soloist at the Grand Opening of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in 2011 along with Placido Domingo, Itzhak Perlman, and others.  Pinkall was named Distinguished Kansan of the Year in the Performing Arts by the Topeka Capitol Journal in 2014.  www.bryanpinkall.com


The American Prize in Vocal Performance—men in art song (college/university division),  2018-19, The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards

The American Prize winner:
Benjamin Howard
Denton TX

Benjamin Howard

Marked as a “standout” (Chicago Tribune) and praised for his “intelligence, nuance, and heart-melting tone” (Chamber Music in Historic Sites), baritone Benjamin Howard is quickly becoming a sought-after young talent to watch. Equally at home in opera, musical theatre, oratorio, and art song, Mr. Howard was named a winner of The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award in the spring of 2018. Shortly thereafter, he made his debut with Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, singing the roles of Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods and the Sergeant in The Barber of Seville. Other recent roles include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro at Opera in the Ozarks and the title role in Don Giovanni at the University of North Texas. At Fort Worth Opera, Mr. Howard has performed in Don Pasquale and The Barber of Seville. He has also sung with the Dallas Opera Education & Outreach program. As a concert soloist, Mr. Howard has performed with such organizations as the Abilene Philharmonic, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and Chicago’s Main Street Opera. The recipient of an Opera Buffs Inc. grant, Benjamin Howard is a Los Angeles native. He received his Bachelor of Music and Musical Theatre Certificate from Northwestern University and Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas. For more information, visit www.bhowardbaritone.com. 


2nd Place:
Austin Sinclair Harris
Missouri City TX   

Austin Sinclair Harris

Austin Harris is a recent graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he received a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. He plans to begin graduate study in voice in the fall of 2018.  He has performed at various venues including Jones Hall, the White House, and the Library of Congress.  His debut opera role was Top in Copland’s “The Tender Land”, and he has also played The Representative in Barab’s “A Game of Chance”, and Car Man in Ching’s “Speed Dating Tonight!” He won first place in the Junior Men Division at Texoma NATS.  He won second place in the Senior Men Division at Texoma NATS, making him eligible for national NATS, where he got seventh place in Senior Men.  He won first place at the South Texas NATS competition in both the Junior Men and Senior Men Division.  


The American Prize in Vocal Performance—men in art song (high school division),  2018-19, The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards

The American Prize winner:
Pablo Rubin-Jurado
New York NY  

Pablo Rubin-Jurado

Pablo Rubin-Jurado is a vocal major at Juilliard pre-college, studying with Lorraine Nubar. He’s been in the NYYS Composition Program since 2015. In 2012, he sang “Amahl” in "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by Menotti at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. In 2013, he was the understudy for "Real Jake" in the Met Opera’s "Two Boys" by Muhly. As an invited guest artist at HPAF In 2014, he played “Miles” in “The Turn of the Screw” by Britten. In the American Protégé International Vocal Competition, he won first place and a judges’ distinction award in 2014, second place in 2016, and was selected for the 10th Anniversary Showcase at Stern Auditorium in 2017. In 2017, he also won 2nd place in the Hal Leonard Vocal competition and 2nd place in the New York Lyric Opera competition. He'll perform in the Gershwin International Music Competition 2017-2018 Outstanding Young Artists’ Concert Series. In 2018, he won the grand prize, best vocal technique, and most expressive performer awards in the Forte International Music Competition. This year, he also won a grand prize in the Enkor International Music Competition, a first place in the Rondo Vanguard Competition, and a second place in the New York Lyric Opera competition.


2nd Place:
Carl Ho
Houston TX  

Carl Ho

Carl Ho has been exposed to classical music from the moment he was born, with two older brothers always practicing piano and violin. After having also played piano and violin for 10 years, he began vocal training at the age of 12. He has placed 2nd place in the Greater Houston National Association of Teachers of Singing in both Classical and Theater Singing Division before finally placing 1st in Men's 10thgrade Classical Singing Division in April 2018. In addition to his singing achievements, Carl still plays violin, and was a 2017-2018 Houston Young Artist recipient. He is also an officer and performer in A-HOPE performance ensemble, a student club at the Clear Lake High School dedicated to raising money for charity. Most recently, he helped organize and perform in a benefit concert, raising over $6,000 to help the Houston Grand Opera repair damages suffered after Hurricane Harvey.



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Congratulations!

The American Prize is honored to announce the winners, runners-up, honorable mentions and citation recipients of The American Prize in Piano Performance (solo),2018-19, in professional, college/university and high school divisions. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com


The American Prize inPiano Performance (solo),2018-19
(professional division)

The American Prize winner:
Svetlana Belsky
Northbrook IL  

Svetlana Belsky

Critically acclaimed as "a passionate pianist and scholar," Svetlana Belsky is an in-demand recitalist and chamber pianist, noted for her remarkable rapport with audiences and stylistic versatility. She has appeared in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Canada, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and throughout the United States. Dr. Belsky has received awards both for her performances in international piano competitions, and for her advocacy of new American music.

Dr. Belsky’s annotated translation of Busoni as Pianist has been nominated for an American Musicological Society award. She has championed the music of Busoni internationally and has been interviewed by BBC Radio as the foremost American Busoni scholar.

Following emigration from the Soviet Union, Dr. Belsky studied with Emilio Del Rosario in Chicago. She earned her Bachelor of Music summa cum laude and Master's degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, studying with Ann Schein. Later, she earned her Doctorate in Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, working with Nina Svetlanova. As the Coordinator of Piano Studies at the University of Chicago, Dr. Belsky teaches students from four continents, among many other academic responsibilities.


2nd Place and Special Judges' Citation: "Outstanding Commitment to Music of Our Time"
Reed Tetzloff
Forest Hills NY

Reed Tetzloff

Reed Tetzloff (www.reedtetzloff.com) has distinguished himself as one of the brightest stars of a new generation of musicians.  He enthralls audiences with his “magical tone” (The Cincinnati Enquirer) and “ebullient” virtuosity (Gramophone). 

He made his New York debut at Alice Tully Hall in 2012, and now showcases his gifts in concert across three continents.

At the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015, Reed Tetzloff’s career received a major boost after being named one of twelve semifinalists.  His performances were praised in Russian media, which dubbed him “the lyric hero of the competition” and noted by music connoisseurs worldwide. 

He won prizes from other international competitions, including the Beijing International Music Festival and Academy, Cincinnati World Piano Competition, Cleveland International Piano Competition, and the Tbilisi International Piano Competition.

His debut solo album, “Sounds of Transcendence,” featuring music of Griffes, Scriabin, and Franck, was released in 2017 to wide critical acclaim.
 

3rd Place (there was a tie): 
Matthew Bengtson
Saline MI  

Matthew Bengtson

Versatile pianist, fortepianist, and harpsichordist Matthew Bengtson has a unique range of musical talents including composer, analyst, writer, and scholar of performance practice. An advocate of both contemporary and rarely performed music, he commands a rich and diverse repertoire spanning five centuries. He has performed across Europe and the US as recitalist, concerto soloist, and collaborator, including recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. His recordings can be heard on the Romeo, Arabesque, Griffin Renaissance, Albany, Musica Omnia, and Navona record labels. Mr. Bengtson is best known as an authoritative interpreter of the music of Scriabin and Szymanowski. On his recordings of the complete Scriabin Piano Sonatas, the American Record Guide writes: “Big-boned pianism, rich tonal colors, and dazzling technique are on display here. Has Scriabin ever been played better?” He is Assistant Professor of Piano Literature at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance.


3rd Place (there was a tie): 
Yi-Yang Chen
Johnson City TN

Yi-Yang Chen

Yi-Yang Chen is the assistant professor of piano and music theory at East Tennessee State University. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Mr. Chen has been playing the piano since the age of 8. He holds a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Robert McDonald and Jerome Lowenthal. Mr. Chen is currently a doctoral candidate in Piano Performance at the Eastman School of music, where he also received the Bachelor of Music degree- studying under Douglas Humpherys.

A wealth of experience enables Mr. Chen to become an outstanding performer. In 2017, he won first prize in the Washington International Competition and the Waring International Piano Competition, through which he gave his Carnegie solo recital debut at Weill Hall, and performed two concertos with Avanti Orchestra at Washington D.C. He also has solo/chamber masterclasses with Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Daniel Pollack, Joseph Kalichstein, Glenn Dicterow, Thomas Sauer and with members of the Cleveland, Shanghai, Borromeo, Brentano, Ying, and Guarneri String Quartets. 


Honorable Mention:
Andree-Ann Deschenes
Los Angeles CA

Andree-Ann Deschenes

French-Canadian pianist Andree-Ann Deschenes specializes in familiarly-danceable yet traditionally-influenced classical music from Latin American countries. She has found a calling for her art in Southern California, where she is currently recording and performing. Her recordings have garnered the attention of several radio stations across the country, in addition to being reviewed by publications such as The Whole Note and Fanfare. Her most recent release, “Villa-Lobos / Castro”, features music from Brazil and Argentina, with a special collaboration with renowned Cuban percussionist Calixto Oviedo.

With a keen interest in developing her uniquely diverse repertoire, Andree-Ann regularly performs and lectures in the Los Angeles area. Her training includes a Master of Music degree in Afro-Latin music from California State University Los Angeles, and she is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Claremont Graduate University. Learn more at www.aadpiano.com.
 

Honorable Mention:
Akiko Konishi
Chicago IL  

Akiko Konishi

AKIKO KONISHI received her early training in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and completed her undergraduate studies at Rice University as a double major in Music and English.  She continued her graduate studies at Yale University and University of Houston, under the guidance of renowned pianists Peter Frankl and Abbey Simon.  She has appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the D'Angelo Competition Orchestra, Oakland Symphony, Rio Hondo Symphony, Symphony North Houston, and the Chicago Federation of Musicians Orchestra.  Honors include finalist prizes in the Ima Hogg Houston Symphony Concerto Competition and F. Awerbuch International Piano Competition, and grand prize in the Entergy Young Texas Artist Competition.  

Akiko currently teaches at Triton College in River Grove, IL, and also at the Music Institute of Chicago.  She completes her proposal this year on “Piano Transcriptions of the Romantic Era” as a national recipient of the 2016-2017 MTNA Professional Development Grant.




The American Prize inPiano Performance (solo),2018-19
(college/university division)

The American Prize winner:
John Wilson
Miami Beach FL   

John Wilson

Hailed for his “Virtuosity” (Miami Herald), “elegance and energy” (Classical Miami Magazine),“inventiveness” (San Diego Tribune) and described as a “marvelous, musical mad scientist” (Music Critics Association of North America) American pianist John Wilson performs equally brilliantly as a solo recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral pianist. Most recently Wilson was featured in the San Francisco Symphony’s 2018 Carnegie Hall tour, under the direction of Mo. Michael Tilson Thomas, performing the solo pianoforte part to Stravinsky’s “Petrushka (1947). His playing was subsequently described as “brilliant” by the “Classical Voice” publication. His performances have been broadcast on WQXR, and Wilson has recorded for MSR Classics. Wilson has just been awarded an artist grant from The Belin Foundation which will sponsor a recording during the 2019-2020 season of all American solo piano music, which will include works by Michael Tilson Thomas, George Gershwin, and Aaron Copland, among others.

Wilson has performed extensively in North America, South America and Europe, in recital halls such as the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Center and at The American Academy of Arts and Letters. As a soloist he has performed with the New World Symphony, Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra, and both the New Amsterdam Symphony and Orchestra Camerata Notturna in New York City. He most recently won the prize for the "Best Performance of an American Work" at the 2017 Liszt- Garrison International Piano Competition.

An avid chamber musician, he has appeared in chamber ensembles with musicians of the San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, violin soloist Anthony Marwood, and San Diego Symphony where his pianism was described as “highly inventive” by the San Diego Tribune. He has performed in duo recital with violinist Joshua Bell numerous times, cellist Johannes Moser, and soprano Audra McDonald.


2nd Place:
Hyejin Cho
Ann Arbor MI  

Hyejin Cho

Pianist Hyejin Cho is a versatile artist who is devoted to inspiring audiences through solo, chamber music, and has performed across the U.S.A., Germany, Italy, Austria, England and Korea. She is currently engaged in an all-Mozart Concerti project with Northern Illinois Chamber Orchestra. She is also developing a Schumann piano concert series in Freeport, Illinois, to support the community. She frequently performs with the award winning Koinonia Trio, which has been playing together since 2015. She earned a Master of Music and Artist Diploma in piano at Indiana University where she studied with Menahem Pressler, and she is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, under the guidance of Christopher Harding.


3rd Place: 
Anna Keiserman
Newark NJ  

Anna Keiserman

Russian born pianist Anna Keiserman received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance from Gnessin’s State Academy in Moscow, where she studied with the esteemed Vladimir Tropp. She holds Master of Music Degree from the University of Minnesota, and served as an adjunct instructor at NYU Steinhardt School of Music where she studied with the internationally acclaimed pianist Eteri Andjaparidze. She is currently enrolled in the Doctorate Program at the Mason Gross School of Music in the studio of Dr. Vladimir Valjarevich.

Ms. Keiserman is a prizewinner of several national and international competitions including first prize at the International Piano Competition of Young Musicians in 2002; second prize at the National Chamber Music Competition in 2001; second prize at the International Piano Competition in 1999; and winner of the Concerto Competition at the University of Minnesota in 2012. She has participated in prestigious music festivals including the Fete de la Musique in conjunction with the French-American Piano Society and Steinway & Sons at Sofitel in New York, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival, the Round Top Festival Institute and the New Paltz PianoSummer. After her debut at Carnegie Hall in May 2017 she was praised by New York Concert Review as a "brilliant" pianist. (Website: annakeiserman.com)
 

Honorable Mention and Special Judges Citation: "Recognizing the Artist’s Important Work Helping to Create and Sustain “88Keys to cure”"
Jarrett Takaki
Wilmette IL 

Jarrett Takaki

Jarrett Takaki, age 19, is a freshman at the Cleveland Institute of Music, in the piano studio of Antonio Pompa-Baldi. As a co-founder of 88Keys to Cure, Jarrett found that through music, he has the ability to inspire audiences nad raise funds to support those in need.  While in the studio of Sueanne Metz, Jarrett  performed with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Alicante in Perugia Italy, the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago, the Harper College Symphony Orchestra and the MostArts Orchestra at Alfred University in New York. In 2017, he  was a prizewinner in the YoungArts Competition, the ENKOR International Music Competition, the IIYM International Piano Competition and the New York Piano Festival and Piano Competition.   In the summer of 2016, Jarrett won the Grand Prize in the Senior Solo and Concerto Divisions of the Indiana Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition.  In 2012, Jarrett won second place in the Junior Division of the Cleveland International Piano Competition and was a finalist in the 2013 Yamaha USASU International Piano Competition. 88keystocure.org

Honorable Mention: 
David Kotler
Allston MA

David Kotler

David Kotler is a student of Professor Pavel Nersessian at Boston University, where he is majoring in human physiology with a minor in piano performance. David has been the Division 4 first prize winner of the 2015 Steinway Society of Massachusetts piano competition, a second prize winner at the 2017 NEPTA Alice Hamlet piano competition, a third prize winner at the 2015 NEPTA Ruth Davidson piano competition, and a finalist at the 2014 A.Ramon Rivera piano competition. In 2013, he received a NEPTA’s Wanda Paik Award. David is also a graduate of the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA, where he served as co-president of the Music is Medicine Chapter - an organization committed to bringing music to hospitals and nursing homes, as senior editor of the literary magazine, and as four time captain of the varsity wrestling team.   

Honorable Mention: 
Anthony C  Lee
Cary NC

Anthony C  Lee

Anthony Lee is praised for his “innate sense of music” and “great intensity” in performance. Lee started his piano studies at the age of 7, but it was many years before Lee made his orchestral debut at age 16, and it was not until the following year that he started a competitive school track, attending the Interlochen Arts Academy, the University of Michigan, and the Eastman School of Music, studying with Yoshikazu Nagai, Logan Skelton, and Natalya Antonova, respectively.
Lee would attend the Prague International Masterclasses, Orford Musique, and the Atlantic Music Festival to work with great musicians like John Perry, Martin Canin, William Wolfram, and André Laplante.

As an organizer, Lee founded the Cary Classical Concerts in January of 2017, was featured in many of the concerts, and resides as the artistic director. Performances varied from Steven Spooner, concert pianist to “A Night of Dvorak,” and the Schumann Quintet.



The American Prize inPiano Performance (solo),2018-19
(high school division)

The American Prize winner:
Henry Jiaxiang Huang
Columbia MO  

Henry Jiaxiang Huang

Henry Huang is a senior at Rock Bridge High School. He has won numerous competitions, including 2nd place in the 2019 NFMC Marilyn Caldwell Competition, winner of the South Central Region for the 2019 NFMC Stillman Kelly Competition, Honorable Mention in the 2018 Carmel Klavier – International Piano Competition for Young Artists, First Prize in the North International Music Competition, 2nd place in the University of Florida International Festival’s Pre-College Piano Competition, 2nd prize in the 2017 Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition, 3rd place in the 2017 Kansas City Symphony Young Artist Competition, and Honorable Mention in the 2017 MTNA Senior Missouri State Piano Competition. Henry has also attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Piano Summer Program in 2017.  


2nd Place:
Jasper Heymann
New York NY

Jasper Heymann

Jasper Heymann, 16, is a multi-award winning Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. New York Concert Review lauded his Steinway Hall recital for his “astounding lyricism” and “deep emotional bond with the music”, while Chicago Music Report haled his Millennium Park performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto for his “impassioned delivery” and “dazzling performance that brought the audience to their feet.” Jasper will perform at the Leeds Piano Festival in April 2019 and has been a featured performer at winner’s recitals, charity benefits and galas at Carnegie Hall and other prominent venues. He is National Public Radio “From the Top” finalist, was chosen to study with Dina Yoffe at the Málaga International Music Festival and has received scholarships to festivals in Europe and the United States. Jasper attends Horace Mann School in NYC and studies piano with Elena Rossman. 


3rd Place: 
Jane Bua
New York NY

Jane Bua

JANE BUA attends Hunter College High School in New York City and is in her tenth year at Manhattan School of Music’s Pre-College Division.  Her distinguished teachers include Jeffrey Cohen and Solomon Mikowsky.

She has performed as a solo recitalist and chamber musician at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Great Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, The Kaye Playhouse, The National Opera Center, Decoda and Forum Musikae in Madrid Spain, among others.   Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR’s McGraw-Hill Young Artist’s Showcase.

Winner of Manhattan School of Music's 2017/2018 Chamber Competition, the 2017 Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Young Musicians Competition, the 2016/2017 American Prize for Chamber Music and First Prize Winner of the 2016 International Shining Stars Concerto Competition, Miss Bua debuted at the age of 15 with the New York Concerti Sinfonietta playing the Mendelssohn G Minor Concerto, under the baton of Paul Hostetter.  Music Critic for the Epoch Times, Michael Sherwin, reviewed “It was a big-league performance for one so comparatively young…indeed impressive for her technical command, keyboard facility, powerful tone, and interpretative conviction.”
  
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Congratulations!

The American PrizeNation Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up and honorable mentions of The American Prize in Composition, 2018-19, in the pops/light music division. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

QUICKNOTES: Although The American Prize does not usually provide written evaluations to semi-finalists, some semi-finalist composers will receive in their certificate packets short comments, suggestions or overall impressions made during the judging. We hope they will prove valuable. All finalists receive written evaluations from a member of The American Prize judging panel.

REMINDER: The final postmark deadline for composers to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019.  There is no need to email in advance to take advantage of the June date. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms will not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com


The American Prize in Composition—Pops/Light Music Division (professional division)

The American Prize winner:
Carlo V. Frizzo
Bloomington IN
Chickasaw Cobb

Carlo V. Frizzo

Carlo Vincetti Frizzo is graduating with a doctorate degree in choral conducting and composition at Indiana University. During his studies, he was the associate conductor for NOTUS: Indiana University Contemporary Vocal Ensemble. Mr. Frizzo was a conductor for Double Exposure, a program between IU composers and film students, and was the music director of New Voices Opera. His music has been played by ensembles such as Chamber Project St. Louis, C4, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He was a first place winner of the MTNA National Student Composition Competition, winner of the NOTUS Choral Composition Contest, and second place winner of the C4 Commissioning Competition. In 2016, he was a composition fellow at the Big Sky Choral Initiative where his music was premiered by Donald Nally and members of The Crossing. Mr. Frizzo holds degrees in Keyboard Studies, composition, and French. Prior to his arrival to Indiana University, he taught at Sam Houston State University. He resides in Bloomington, Indiana, where he is the music director at First United Church.
 

2nd Place:
Conor Brace
Round Rock TX
Gettysburg 

Conor Brace

Originally a jazz musician, Conor Brace performed as a trumpet soloist and wrote for big bands and other groups while studying at The University of Texas.  He loves using music to tell stories; for his Master's thesis he wrote a jazz suite following the arc of the Hero's Journey.

The orchestra, with its wide range of colors and long tradition of dramatic music, had its own allure for him.  He began studying traditional orchestration along with media music production, collaborating with student filmmakers and game developers -- fertile ground for spinning musical stories, and for combining a core jazz/pop sensibility with the emotive power of the orchestra.

Since becoming a new father, Conor has narrowed his musical focus.  These days he primarily writes light-orchestral music for video games, the latest being an indie MMORPG "Project: Gorgon."  He also plays trumpet with the Williamson County Symphony Orchestra. 


3rd Place (there was a tie):
Joseph Church / Sheldon Harnick
New York NY
The Tortoise and the Two Ducks  

Joseph Church

Joseph Church is a composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and professor of music.  His career has been eclectic and exciting, collaborating with some of music and the theatre's most remarkable artists, and guiding some of entertainment’s most promising talent.  Joseph was the music director/supervisor/arranger for two of Broadway’s most groundbreaking musicals, The Lion King and The Who's Tommy.  As a composer, he has written for the concert stage, musical theatre, film and television, and many popular songs.

In 1996, Joseph received his doctorate in composition from New York University, and has been on the faculty there since 1998. He holds a Master's in choral conducting from the University of Illinois and a B.A. in music from Swarthmore College.

Mr. Church was born in 1957 in Poughkeepsie, New York. He moved to New York City in 1965, and has remained based there since. His proudest work is his daughter Susannah Church.  www.churchmuse.comviewfromthepodium.com 


3rd Place (there was a tie):
Robert Wendel
New York NY
Caribbean Sleigh Ride

Robert Wendel

Robert Wendel studied composition and orchestration with Hale Smith and Leroy Anderson, and conducting with Harold Farberman and Michael Charry. He has conducted for Harry Connick, Jr., Carol Channing and Rita Moreno, and served as standby conductor at Radio City Music Hall and tours of “Evita” and “Pirates Of Penzance."

Robert has written or arranged music for Cirque de la Symphonie, for QVC and WalMart commercials. His work has been broadcast on PBS-TV by the Cincinnati Pops and several times on the “National Memorial Day Concert.” He has also been recorded by The Cincinnati Pops under Erich Kunzel, The Houston Symphony under Michael Krajewski, and the Tasmanian Symphony under Sean O’Boyle.

He was awarded The American Prize “Judge’s Special Citation” in 2014 for "Music for Use. Well Crafted, Accessible and Performance-Ready" and was named a 2015 “Honored Artist” also by the American Prize. Robert’s web site is: www.wendelmusic.com 



Finalist Honorable Mention: 
Gerald Gurss
Charlotte NC
Stand Up

Gerald Gurss

Dr. Gerald Gurss, native Kansan, received his Bachelor’s degree in voice at Emporia State University where he studied with Terry Barham. He received his master’s degree in voice with a choral cognate from Miami University, where he studied with William Bausano and Ethan Sperry. During his studies at Miami, he was the assistant director for the MU Men’s Glee Club and prepared a chorus for the Cincinnati Ballet’s production of Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” After leaving Miami, Gerald led a successful music program at the Leavenworth Catholic Schools in Leavenworth, KS. Gerald received his DMA in choral conducting from the University of South Carolina, where he studied with Dr. Larry Wyatt and Dr. Alicia Walker. His research focus is the inclusion and pedagogy of transgender singers in the choral rehearsal. This research has granted him speaking engagements at Wingate University and the University of South Carolina. In 2015, Gerald collaborated in the founding of Midlands Men's chorus: The Gay Men's Chorus of Columbia, SC and served as its artistic director until 2018. Currently, Gerald resides in Charlotte, NC where he serves as the artistic director for the One Voice Chorus (Charlotte’s LGBT chorus) and the chamber ensemble, Sotto Voce.

In the spring of 2017, Gurss collaborated with Nashville in Harmony to bring the U.S. premiere of James McCarthy's Codebreaker (The Story of Alan Turning, set for SATB chorus, orchestra and soprano soloist) to the Charlotte and Nashville communities. In April of 2018, One Voice will collaborate with Allen University (an HBCU in Columbia, SC) to present the regional premiere of Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the Dream.

During his studies at the University of South Carolina, Gerald has been a finalist for the American Prize in Choral Composition three times (2015, 2016, and 2017). Most recently, Gerald was appointed as the TTBB Repertoire Chair for the Southern Division of the American Choral Director's Association. Gerald has been commissioned to write choral work for the following organizations: One Voice Charlotte, The Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte, Providence United Methodist Church (Charlotte, NC), The New Jersey Gay Men’s Chorus, The Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego, The Women's Chorus of San Diego, The Richmond Men's Chorus (VA), Turtle Creek Chorale (TX), Sine Nomine (Denver, CO), and the University of South Carolina Women's Chorus. Beginning in the fall of 2018, Gerald will serve as the artistic director for the esteemed Twin Cities Gay men's Chorus. 


Honorable Mention: 
Ander De La Fuente Ibarreche
Syracuse NY
Elkarrekin Gaudela

Ander De La Fuente Ibarreche

Ander de la Fuente Ibarretxe from Bilbao, Spain. Composer, singer and music teacher.  He has collaborated with numerous choral groups in and outside Europe, including the European Academy Choir, the Basque Country University (EHU-UPV) choir, and the Syracuse University Oratorio Society (Syracuse; New York). He has also participated in several operas with the Rossini Choir of Bilbao and the Syracuse Opera of Syracuse, NY.

After completing his studies in Music Education and Musicology at the University of the Basque Country (EHU-UPV) and the University of La Rioja, he worked as a music teacher in Madrid. Since 2014 he has been living in Syracuse, NY teaching and composing. He has written several works for choir, wind, band, and organ. He has  several composition prizes. Including the 1st and 3rd prizes in the 21st “Gran Premio BBK” competition (2017) with his works "The Clock" and "The Hymn to Humor", respectively.
 


*** 
Congratulations!

The American Prize is honored to announce the winners,  runners-up, citation recipients and honorable mentions of The American Prize in Instrumental Performance,2018-19, in professional, college/university, community and high school divisions. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right hand column to find specific results.

REMINDER: The final postmark deadline for instrumentalists to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019.  There is no need to email in advance to take advantage of the June date. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms may not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com

The American Prize 
in Instrumental Performance,2018-19 (professional division)

The American Prize winner:
Kenneth Thompkins
Troy MI  
Trombone

Kenneth Thompkins

Kenneth Thompkins was appointed Principal Trombone of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Neeme Järvi.   Prior to this appointment, he held positions in the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Florida Orchestra.

Thompkins has been invited to perform and conduct master classes at many music schools, including the Curtis Institute of Music, The Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan, and Interlochen Arts Academy.   An active chamber musician, Thompkins performs frequently in recital and is a member of Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings.  Thompkins has performed concertos with both the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony.

Thompkins can be heard on recordings by Detroit Chamber Winds, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  His solo trombone recording; Sonatas, Songs and Spirituals features the music of Alec Wilder, Philip Wharton, Stephen A. Taylor and William Grant Still.

Please visit www.kenneththompkins.com for more information about the musical activities of Kenneth Thompkins.     


2nd Place (there was a tie):
Christine Erlander Beard
Omaha NE
Flute  

Christine Erlander Beard

Noted for her “warm lyricism” (BFS journal, Pan), and “great expressive tone and range” (Christopher Caliendo, composer), Christine Erlander Beard enjoys an active international career as a soloist, chamber artist and teacher, and is in constant demand throughout North and South America and Europe. A champion of American music, Christie strives to showcase expressive music for both flute and piccolo as well as promoting new and original works by living composers. An artist for Sankyo Flutes, she serves the National Flute Association as a member of the Piccolo Committee, and as contributing editor to its journal, The Flutist Quarterly. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Beard is Professor of Flute, International Studies and Music Entrepreneurship at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. www.christiebeard.com   


2nd Place (there was a tie):
Mary Elizabeth Bowden
Winston-Salem NC
Trumpet

Mary Elizabeth Bowden

Mary Elizabeth Bowden, Gold Medal Global Music Award Winner and Yamaha Artist, released her album, “Radiance” and her next album, "Rêverie," will be released in 2019 (Summit Records).
Bowden is the 1st Prize winner of the International Women’s Brass Conference Trumpet Competition. She has performed as a soloist with the Evansville and Laredo Philharmonics, Peninsula Symphony, Croatian Army Band, and others. Bowden is a Resident Artist at UNCSA.
Bowden founded both Seraph Brass and Chrysalis Chamber Players. Seraph was featured at the International Women’s Brass Conference and the Lieksa Brass Week (Finland), and released their album through Summit Records (Silver Medal Global Music Award).
Bowden is Principal Trumpet of the Artosphere Orchestra. She has served as Principal Trumpet  of the Auckland Philharmonia, Daejeon Philharmonic, and Lucerne Festival Academy. Bowden is a frequent guest at the Marlboro Music Festival. Bowden attended The Curtis Institute of Music and Yale School of Music. http://www.marybowden.com


3rd Place: 
Erin Murphy
Stillwater OK
Flute  

Erin Murphy

Erin Kendall Murphy frequently performs with orchestras, in chamber music collaborations, and as a soloist throughout the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Murphy holds degrees in flute performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Doctor of Musical Arts), Northwestern University (Masters of Music), and the University of Michigan (Bachelors of Music, James B. Angell Scholar). In addition, she earned a performance certificate while studying in Kent, England at Trevor Wye’s international flute studio. Erin has performed as a soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, the Ravenswood Community Orchestra, and the Whitewater Chamber Players. She currently performs with the Symphony of Southeast Texas, Lakeshore Rush, and the Analogue Duo. Her album of 17 pieces she transcribed from Marin Marais’ Suitte d’un goût étranger for flute and keyboard was released in 2014. Dr. Murphy joined the faculty at Lamar University as the Instructor of Music – Flute in 2016. Visit www.erinkmurphyflute.com for more information. 


Finalist Honorable Mention & Special Judges' Citation: "Important Commitment to the Music of Our Time"
Denise Tryon
Cincinnati OH
Horn       

Denise Tryon

Denise Tryon has served as the Horn Professor of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore since 2007. Previously, Tryon was fourth horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra (2009-2017). She has also held positions with the Detroit Symphony (2003-2009), Baltimore, Columbus, and New World, Symphonies as well as participated in the Colorado Music Festival and the Pacific Music Festival. An accomplished solo performer, Tryon has performed recitals in Sweden, Norway, Poland, Japan, Canada and the United States.

In 1989 Tryon graduated from the famed Interlochen Arts Academy and in 1993 received her Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) in Boston. She has worked with great composers such as John Harbison, Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, and Elliott Carter.

In 2015, Tryon released her debut solo album, SO•LOW, A Pair of Aces in 2017 with Karl Pituch (Detroit Symphony) and has new commissions coming out soon. Tryon will begin her appointment as Associate Professor of Horn at CCM in the fall of 2018.


Finalist Honorable Mention & Special Judges' Citation: "Unique Skills in Instrumental and Vocal Performance"
Zoe Vandermeer
Gaylordsville CT
WelshTriple Harp & Baroque Triple Harp

Zoe Vandermeer

Zoe Vandermeer is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she was a recipient of numerous prizes and scholarships.  Ms. Vandermeer has been on the faculty at the Hartt School, and a performing artist on the CT Roster of Culture and Tourism.  She won First Place in the B. Alexander International Vocal Competition, First Place Bay Area Vocal Artists Competition, and has been Finalist in the London Young Artists Early Music Competition, and many others.  A proponent of the Bel Canto and Baroque repertoire, Ms. Vandermeer accompanies her singing on Welsh triple harp, Celtic harp, and more recently pedal harp both nationally and internationally.  Previous venues include Carnegie Hall, Glasgow International Early Music Festival, International Festival de Deia Spain, American Harp Society Institute, Sao Paulo Harp Festival, HarpCon2003 Bloomington, Bloomington Early Music Festival, Nairn Theatre Scotland, and the Interdisciplinary Center for Renaissance Studies University of Massachusetts.  Upcoming performances include the Rio International Harp Festival Brasil, King's Chapel concerts Boston, and the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia.  Her CDs 'Handel's Voice, Handel's Harp' and 'Tribute to Jenny Lind' will be released later in 2019 on the Centaur Records label.  Articles about Ms. Vandermeer can be found in the Swiss journal Harpa and Classical Singer Magazine.  http://www.sopranoandharp.com. http://www.zoevandermeer.net
 

Finalist Honorable Mention:
Blanka Bednarz
Carlisle PA
Violin       

Blanka Bednarz

Blanka Bednarz “is… a remarkable violinist” (D. Morrison, Fanfare, 2018). As soloist, she performed with Hunan Symphony, Connecticut Virtuosi, Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta Polonia, etc. In 2007-8 she led the Vega String Quartet-in-residence at Emory University in Atlanta (“marvelous foursome” --Strad). She collaborated with John Novacek, Rita Sloan, Richard Stoltzman, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Alarm Will Sound, Baltimore Symphony; she is on rosters of Beethoven Festival Park City (UT) and Market Square Concerts (PA).  She performs in venues such as Jordan, Miller, Beijing Concert Halls, Weill Recital Hall, Aula UAM, etc. She is concertmaster of Sinfonietta Polonia, and Associate Professor of Music at Dickinson College. 2017 release of Bednarz’s and Matthew Bengtson’s CD of music by Karol Szymanowski (Musica Omnia) was awarded a Global Music Awards Silver Medal (classical /instrumentalists category). Of this CD: “Bednarz’s violin playing illuminates every detail of these sometimes nigh-impossible works.” (O’Connor, American Record Guide).


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Christopher Nichols
Smyrna DE
Clarinet

Christopher Nichols

Critically acclaimed clarinetist Christopher Nichols serves as Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of Delaware’s Department of Music where he instructs applied clarinet, clarinet ensemble, chamber music, pedagogy and literature, and performs with Christiana Winds, New Music Delaware and Tiger Lily Music. In demand as an artist clinician, Dr. Nichols has presented recitals and master classes at universities throughout the United States.

Dr. Nichols has performed as a soloist at conferences and festivals such as the International Clarinet Association, National Flute Association, National Association of Collegiate Wind and Percussion Instructors, European Clarinet Association, and College Music Society. In 2015, he was recognized with an Established Artist Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts. He released his debut compact disc Elegia with pianist Julie Nishimura on Navona Records in September 2017.

As an endorsing artist clinician, Dr. Nichols performs exclusively on Légère Signature Series reeds and Buffet clarinets.


The American Prize 
in Instrumental Performance,2018-19 (college/university division)

The American Prize winner:
Daniel Wolfe
Chambersburg PA
Bassoon

Daniel Wolfe

An active performer and music educator in the Houston area, bassoonist Dan Wolfe is best known for his passionate and exciting performances of contemporary music and the unique instrumentation of his chamber music groups. Well-versed in many styles of bassoonery, Dan performs regularly with several professional orchestras and chamber groups along the American Eastern and Gulf coasts. Dan is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Houston where he studies with Elise Wagner, second bassoonist of the Houston Symphony. Dan holds an MM in Bassoon Performance from the University of South Carolina where he was a student of Dr. Michael Harley, and a BS in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. When he is not busy making reeds or listening to his favorite contemporary bassoon pieces, Dan enjoys reading voraciously, training for marathons, sampling local craft beers, and laughing as often as he possibly can.


2nd Place:
Joe Broom
McLean VA
Euphonium 

Joe Broom

The winner of the first-ever Wynton Marsalis Fellowship for summer brass study awarded by Rodney Marsalis, Joe Broom exists between the polarities of jazz and classical music and views the euphonium as an amazing tool for artistic expression.

Joe is the Euphonium Artist 2016 Gold Medalist of the prestigious Leonard Falcone International Competition. In 2015, he was both a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts and a Davidson Fellow, the first euphonium player to earn either honor.

Joe has performed as a soloist with the Reno Philharmonic and the United States Marine Band. In 2017, he performed for Lin Manuel Miranda at Joe’s Pub in New York City. As a member of the acclaimed University of Michigan Symphony Band, he performed for more than 110,000 football fans with the New York Philharmonic brass section at Michigan Stadium.

Joe is an honor student at the University of Michigan and studies with Fritz Kaenzig.  


3rd Place: 
Taylor Fleshman
Kernersville NC
Harp

Taylor Fleshman

Taylor Ann Fleshman currently attends Indiana University as a Jacobs Fellow, studying under Florence Sitruk. Taylor is a two-time winner of the 3 Arts Competition. Other winnings include first in CCM’s Undergraduate Instrumental Competition, second in the Aspen Music Festival and CCM Harp Concerto Competition. She was also a finalist in many national competitions. For her BM, she studied with principal harpist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Gillian Sella, at the College-Conservatory of Music. As principal harp and assistant, Taylor has performed with the Cincinnati, Richmond, and Kentucky Symphony Orchestras. She’s currently the Associate Member with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In 2018, Taylor made her debut with the Jakarta Simfonia Orchesta performing Mozetich’s The Passion of Angels for the Asia premiere. She’s worked with Evanescence, Betsey Wolfe from Broadway, and Tamara Wilson from the Metropolitan Opera. Taylor’s featured on a Naxos recording with NOI and Grammy-Considered CD with AYHE.



The American Prize 
in Instrumental Performance,2018-19 (community division)
The American Prize winner:
Shan Su
Tyler TX
Viola

Shan Su

Shan Su has played viola for 12 years and is a student of Dr. Susan Dubois. Principal violist of the 2012 Texas All-State Symphony Orchestra and the 2011 and 2012 Honor Orchestra of America, Shan was a member of Carnegie Hall's 2014 and 2015 National Youth Orchestra of the USA (NYO-USA) under Maestros David Robertson and Charles Dutoit. A speaker in the TEDxUTD conference, Shan shared a talk entitled "When Music Meets Medicine." Shan is a first place winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs' Wendel Irish Viola Award and the American Protege's International Competition of Romantic Music, and second place winner of NFMC's Student/Collegiate Auditions and Stillman Kelley Instrumental Awards. A third-year student at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, TX, Shan is a member of the Boulanger Quintet and the World Doctors Orchestra.

    
2nd Place:
Thomas J. Philbrick
Okemos MI
Violin

Thomas J. Philbrick

Thomas Philbrick’s musical journey began with the Suzuki Method at age 5 and many hours of grudging practice incentivized by his mother’s promises of M & M’s as a reward. At age 10, his music-making started in earnest after he realized that he actually might enjoy playing the violin. Since then, his pedagogues have included Shmuel Ashkenazi of the Vermeer Quartet and Eva Gruesser of the Lark Quartet. A few of his notable performances include chamber music at The Lincoln Center, orchestral music at Boston’s Jordan Hall, and a solo performance with the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra. In his spare time, Thomas enjoys reading history, making pencil drawings of wildlife, wood-working, all sports except baseball (which he maintains is not a sport), writing for his blog “Enviroculture,” traveling with his wife Sarah, and attempting to survive law school.


The American Prize 
in Instrumental Performance,2018-19 (high school division)

The American Prize winner:
Pierce Wang
Fremont CA
Violin

Pierce Wang

Pierce Wang started learning the violin when he was 2½. Now 14, he is a freshman at the Stanford Online High School and a scholarship student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), Pre-college Division, where he studies with Ms. Alena Tsoi. Most recently, Pierce appeared with Symphony Parnassus, Solano Symphony, and Saratoga Symphony as soloist. At age 10, Pierce was a guest on NPR’s From the Top nationally syndicated radio program (show #284) and on Backstage Pass with Christopher O'Reilly and Sir James and Lady Galway. When he was 11, Pierce performed the third movement of the Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 1 in F major with the Fremont Symphony. Pierce is a member of The Bach Trio with Josephine Chan, piano, and Ryan Har, cello. The trio was recently awarded first prize in the American Prize Competition for Chamber Ensemble, High School Division. Prior to joining Ms. Tsoi's studio, Pierce studied with Prof. Wei He and Mr. Davis Law at the SFCM, and Mr. Andy Liu in Saratoga.


2nd Place:
Abigail Leong
Fremont CA
Cello      

Abigail Leong

Abigail Leong, age 14, studies cello with Jonathan Koh of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  Abigail made her debut at Carnegie Hall with the Saint­-Saens Cello Concerto at age 10.  She loves chamber music and also studies in the Young Chamber Musicians program.  This year Abigail won first place at ENKOR, KAMSA and DVC/HNU String Competitions.  In 2017 she won first place at MTNA California, VOCE California, Pacific Musical Society and Burlingame Music Club competitions.  She won two first place awards from the United States International Music Competition and was selected as a Fremont Symphony Orchestra Young Recitalist.  She was also selected as a soloist at the Junior Bach Festival.  Abigail enjoys music outreach for retirement homes and hospitals, as one of her goals is sharing music with others.  Abigail also loves to dance tap, hip hop, and jazz, enjoying the beautiful choreography of dance.


3rd Place (there was a tie):
Claire Arias-Kim
Hoffman Estates IL
Violin       

Claire Arias-Kim

Claire Arias-Kim, 16, is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago's Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college students and studies violin with Almita Vamos.  She is a prize winner in many competitions in the Chicagoland area.  She has soloed with many orchestras including the Jacobs School of Music Summer Academy, Elgin Youth Symphony, Ottawa Chamber and Lakeview orchestras.  She was selected for the Brian Lewis Young Artist Program for 12 exceptionally Gifted Violinsts, was a semi-finalist for the Fischoff chamber music competition, is a National YoungArts winner and a 2018 Sphinx competition semi-finalist.  Claire has had violin masterclasses with Ilya Kaler, Kristof Barati, Yair Kless, Vadim Gluzman and Jaime Laredo.  This fall, Claire will be a featured artist on Chicago’s classical radio station, WFMT’s “Introductions”, performing a recital which will be simulcast live.  She has been to many summer music festivals including Bowdoin and Aspen. 


3rd Place (there was a tie):
Grace Huh
San Jose CA
Violin       

Grace Huh

Grace Huh, age 15, began playing the violin at the age of five and is currently studying with Ian Swensen and Elbert Tsai. Her previous teachers include Li Lin and Wei He. Grace will perform with the Diablo College Philharmonic Orchestra and has made solo debuts with the Palo Alto Philharmonic Orchestra, the ECYS Sinfonietta Orchestra, and the California Youth Symphony. As the first violin soloist, Grace performed Bach Concerto for Three Violins with San Francisco Chamber Orchestra. Grace won the top prize at the Korea Times Youth Music Competition, American Fine Arts Festival International Concerto Competition, Pacific Musical Society Scholarship Competition, CMTANC Youth Music Competition, Fremont Symphony Young Artist Competition, and DVC/HNU Young Artist String Competition. Grace serves as second violin principal in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. She has performed in master classes led by Midori Goto, David Kim, Jan Sloman, and William van der Sloot.  

*** 
Congratulations!

The American Prize is honored to announce the winners, runners-up, citation recipients and honorable mentions of The American Prize in Chamber Music Performance,2018-19, in professional, college/university and high school divisions. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

REMINDER: The final postmark deadline for chamber ensembles to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019.  There is no need to email in advance to take advantage of the June date. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms may not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

Please make us aware of any misprints:theamericanprize@gmail.com

The American Prize 
inChamber Music Performance,2018-19
(professional division)

The American Prize winner: 
Seraph Brass
Naples FL

Seraph Brass

Seraph Brass is a dynamic brass ensemble drawing from a roster of America's top female brass players. Winner of a Silver Medal Global Music Award, Seraph Brass released its debut album, Asteria, on Summit Records. Seraph Brass will begin their first residency at the Walton Art Center’s Artosphere Festival in June 2019 alongside the Dover Quartet in the festival orchestra.

Seraph has toured throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Europe. Seraph has performed multiple concerts at the Lieksa Brass Week in Finland, and it was the featured ensemble at the International Women’s Brass Conference. Other performance highlights include the Forum Cultural Guanajuato in León, Mexico, Dame Myra Hess Concerts in Chicago (IL), Gettysburg Concert Association (PA), and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach (FL). Seraph has toured extensively as Allied Concert Services artists. Members of Seraph have performed with Adele on her 2016 U.S. tour.

Seraph has commissioned works by Catherine McMichael and Rene Orth, featured on Asteria. Seraph has also premiered Lucy Pankhurst’s Ouroboros with euphonium soloist Hélène Escriva at the International Women’s Brass Conference, and has many original arrangements by trumpeter Jeff Luke, featured on their two albums. http://www.seraphbrass.com/
 

2nd Place (there was a tie):
Ensemble for These Times
Berkley CA

Ensemble for These Times

Ensemble for These Times (E4TT) consists of award-winning soprano Nanette McGuinness, Van Cliburn competitor pianist Dale Tsang, cellist Anne Lerner-Wright, and 2015 American Prize in Composition winner David Garner. E4TT focuses on 20th and 21st century music that is relevant, engaging, original and compelling—music that resonates with today and speaks to tomorrow, that harnesses the power of artistic beauty, intelligence, wit, lyricism, and irony to create a deep understanding of our times and the human condition. The group performed at the Conservatorio Teresa Berganza in Madrid in 2017, the 2016 Krakow Culture Festival, was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Budapest in 2014 for a tour in Hungary,  made its international debut in Berlin, and has commissioned over 20 works, A fiscally-sponsored affiliate of InterMusicSF since 2011, E4TT has released two award-winning recordings on the Centaur label: The Hungarians: from Rózsa to Justus and Surviving: Women’s Words. E4TT.org


2nd Place (there was a tie):
Sheridan Solisti
Highland Park IL  

Sheridan Solisti

Steinway Artist Susan Merdinger, who Fanfare Magazine has hailed for her “magic touch” and for keeping audiences “spellbound from first note to last”, recently performed at the Logan Center for the Arts on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chamber Music Series in her sixth engagement on the CSO series. Merdinger has graced the New York stages of Carnegie and Merkin, as well as many of the finest venues of Europe, Canada and Mexico, performing with orchestras such as The Chicago Philharmonic and the Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico.

Michaela Paetsch’s playing has been described as “gloriously charged…beguilingly velvety” (The Strad).  Her captivating artistry is celebrated for the soaring vitality and the personal commitment she shows her audiences.  Michaela garnered international attention and numerous awards, including first prize in the G.B. Dealey International Competition, a bronze medal in the Queen Elisabeth International Competition, and the prize for the Russian Composition by Juri Falik at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Steven Honigberg is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music where he studied with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins.  Hired under the leadership of Mstislav Rostropovich, he is currently a member of the National Symphony Orchestra.   Mr. Honigberg has given recent recitals in Washington, DC on the Dumbarton Concert Series, at the Phillips Collection, at the National Gallery of Art, and recitals in New York and throughout the United States. In Chicago (his home town) he has appeared on radio WFMT, at the Ravinia Festival, and as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ars Viva Orchestra, Lake Forest Symphony and New Philharmonic Orchestra among others.

Charles Pikler joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a first violinist  and, in 1986, he was named principal violist. Upon his retirement in October 2017, he received the Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service. Pikler studied the piano with his parents and violin with Ben Ornstein, Bronislaw Gimpel at the University of Connecticut and Roman Totenberg at the Tanglewood Young Artist Program at the Berkshire Music Center. He launched his musical career as a violinist with the Minnesota Orchestra in 1971, later becoming a member of the Cleveland Orchestra (1974 to 1976) and the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1976 to 1978). In 1978, at the invitation of Sir Georg Solti, Mr. Pikler became a member of the first violin section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Following the retirement of the longtime principal violist Milton Preves, Pikler was named his successor in 1986, as the Prince Charitable Trust Chair, eventually becoming the Paul Hindemith Principal Viola Endowed Chair.


3rd Place and Special Judges' Citation:
"Excellence in the Performance of Music of 
Roberto Sierra"
The Sierra Duo
Saline MI 

The Sierra Duo

The Sierra Duo (John Haines-Eitzen, cello, and Matthew Bengtson, piano) formed in 2015 through a multi-year project to record all of composer Roberto Sierra’s works for cello and piano for Albany Records.  With roots in Philadelphia where Haines-Eitzen was a member of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Bengtson taught at Haverford and the University of Pennsylvania, their shared musical values and passion are apparent in their interpretations of Sierra's music, in classics by Beethoven, Chopin, and Brahms, in contemporary music, and in the works of lesser-known composers such as Arthur Foote, whose music they have featured in recent concerts.  Currently, Haines-Eitzen is a Senior Lecturer and Artist in Residence at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and Bengtson resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he is Assistant Professor of Piano Literature at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance.


Finalist Honorable Mention:
EStrella Piano Duo
Northbrook IL      

EStrella Piano Duo

The EStrella Piano Duo burst onto the musical scene in 2011 with a series of concerts celebrating the great Russian masterpieces for piano duet.  Their first performance evoked raves of “technical brilliance” and “infectious joy in music making”. The second drew a standing-room-only crowd.  Since then, they have performed widely to enthusiastic audiences and critical acclaim.  The 2015-16 concert season alone took the Duo to 6 states plus the District of Columbia in the US and to several cities in China. 2017 featured both a Canadian and an orchestral debut.  In 2018 the duo was awarded a Global Music Award Silver medal for their new CD, Tales from the East, featuring stories of adventure, magic and romance by Russian composers. EStrellas's upcoming year will again take the Duo all over the United States, with numerous repeat engagements.

The Duo's repertoire includes, besides the usual favorites, many rarely-heard, fascinating works that most duos fear to touch.  Their programs are always musically profound, but also virtuostic, often acrobatic, and occasionally humorous, always with introductions which draw the listeners into the music. 


Finalist Honorable Mention:
District5
Takoma Park MD

District5

District5 is a daring Washington DC-based wind quintet that specializes in new music and new transcriptions. They are recipients of a 2016 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant with Cypriot composer Evis Sammoutis. District5 has recently performed at the U.S. Department of State, Library of Congress, Barns at Wolf Trap, Kosciusko Foundation, Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, and Washington Arts Club. They gave the U.S. premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's ROTARY Woodwind Quintet in 2014 and the world premiere of Evis Sammoutis's J.II.9 fragments in 2018. They recently recorded their debut album: the complete Chopin preludes transcribed by David Plylar. Upcoming projects include the launch of a new contemporary chamber music series in the DC Metro area.  www.district5quintet.org


Finalist Honorable Mention & Special Judges' Citation:
"Excellence in Ancient & Modern Music"
duoSeraphim
Brooklyn NY  

duoSeraphim

Soprano Sarah Hawkey and viola da gambist Niccolo Seligmann are duoSeraphim, an ensemble bringing new perspectives to old repertoire, performing rarely heard music with intimacy and verve, and approaching historical performance with masterful ease and delightful enthusiasm.

They are taking a fresh look at baroque repertoire, touring the US with their programs of music centered on the songs of Moulinié, as well as their program of Italian songs exploring the mastery of Monteverdi, Strozzi, and the predecessors to their monody.  In their newest program, they follow this thread, diving deep into Strozzi’s magnificent oeuvre.

duoSeraphim is devoted to championing new works for gamba and voice.  During their recent new music residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, they began workshopping Matriarch, a song cycle for gamba and voice, with their composer-in-residence Abraham Z. Morrison.

The 2018-2019 season marks the release of their first album, featuring the duo's core baroque repertoire, as well as premieres by contemporary composers.  Please visit duoseraphim.org to learn more.   


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Ensemble 365  
Bayside NY  

Ensemble 365

Ensemble 365 (Sara Paar and Mary Hubbell, sopranos / Alice Jones, flute / Karen Rostron, violin / Marta Bedkowska-Reilly, cello / Mirna Lekic, piano) was founded in 2012 at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Its members, who met as doctoral students at their alma mater, perform regularly in concert halls and festivals in the US and abroad. Collectively they have, as individuals and as collaborators, commissioned, premiered, and recorded over 150 new works by living composers. The ensemble presents themed concerts, combining both new and standard chamber and solo repertoire.


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Mackenzie-Williams Duo
Tallahassee FL 

Mackenzie-Williams Duo

The Mackenzie-Williams Duo celebrates its forthcoming Albany Records release, VOCALISMS, a 2-disc album of premieres by Daniel Crozier, John Harbison, James Primosch and Ned Rorem.  A passionate performer of contemporary vocal music, soprano Mary Mackenzie works closely with composers to develop and premiere new works for voice. Notable solo appearances include the premiere of James Primosch’s A Sibyl with Collage New Music; Reinbert De Leeuw’s Im wunderschönen Monat Mai at the Bravo Vail Festival, and with The Knights at the Smithsonian; John Harbison’s Closer to My Own Life with the Albany Symphony; and Héctor Parra’s Hypermusic: Ascension at the Guggenheim Museum.  Praised by New York critic Harris Goldsmith for her ‘impeccable soloistic authority’ and ‘dazzling performances’, pianist Heidi Louise Williams has appeared in solo and collaborative performances across the United States and internationally, and has recorded solo, concerto and chamber music on the Naxos, Albany and Neos labels.  http://marymacksoprano.com/          https://www.heidilouisewilliams.com/

 

The American Prize 
inChamber Music Performance,2018-19
(college/university division)

The American Prize winner:
Koinonia Trio
Ann Arbor MI  

Koinonia Trio

The Koinonia Trio was formed in Ann Arbor in September 2015. Their mission is closely related to their trio name, “Koinonia,” a transliterated form of a Greek word, which means “communion, joint participation.’ Since its formation, the trio has won 1st Prizes at the 2017 Briggs Chamber Music and the East Central MTNA Chamber Music competitions, and was awarded the University of Michigan Performing Arts EXCELerator Grant Fellowship as well as a $10,000 grant from the Binkow Endowment for Chamber Music. In the past year, Koinonia has performed in New York City, Florida, across the Midwest, toured Europe, and was an ensemble in residence at the Innsbrook Institute and the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival. In addition to performing, the trio has given masterclasses at the University of Minnesota Duluth School of Music and has engaged in the Ann Arbor community by giving outreach concerts and workshops at retirement homes and schools.


2nd Place:
Aruna Quartet
Lubbock TX

Aruna Quartet

The Aruna Quartet formed at Texas Tech University in the Fall of 2015. Since then, the quartet has performed concerts at South Plains College, Eastern New Mexico University, West Texas A&M University, and the University of Illinois. Aruna was selected twice as the alternate at MTNA State Competition, and as the 2017 winner. At the 2016 NASA Biennial Conference, the quartet competed in the semifinals of the NASA quartet competition. The quartet also was selected to perform at the 2017 NASA regional conference. In 2018, Aruna advanced to the finals of the Coltman Chamber Competition. Aruna competed in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and advanced to the semifinals of the 2018 competition. The current members in Aruna are William Pyle on soprano, Tony Guzman on alto, Ryan Hill, on tenor, and Andrew Schoen on baritone. The Quartet is under the instruction of professor David Dees.
  

3rd Place:  
Estampe Trio
Savoy IL  

Estampe Trio

The Estampe Trio is a rising chamber group in Midwest area. Formed in the Fall of 2016 by Yeonwoo Seo (cellist), Eunjeong Choi (violin), and Mickey Chien (piano) in University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, The Estampe Trio has been playing series of recitals in Peoria, Carbondale, and Champaign, IL since 2016. The original idea of the piano trio “Estampe” was to enhance the knowledge of chamber music literature. In 2016-2017, they reached a variety of audiences throughout different venues across the state. The Estampe Trio combines traditional chamber music repertoire along with some newly composed literature. 


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Zelos Quartet
San Jose CA 

Zelos Quartet

Members:
Julian Salazar, Soprano
Johnny Selmer, Alto
Robin Lacey, Tenor
David Cortez, Baritone

The Zēlos Quartet is dedicated to performing a wide array of repertoire ranging from underrepresented contemporary works to transcriptions from the baroque, classical, and romantic eras. Committed to performing on saxophones that fit the acoustical specifications of its inventor Adolphe Sax, the Zēlos Quartet looks to connect with a variety of audiences to show the wide range of sounds and colors of the saxophone.



The American Prize 
inChamber Music Performance,2018-19
(high school division)

The American Prize winner:
The Brahms Piano Quintet
New York NY     

The Brahms Piano Quintet

Jane Bua (piano), Coco Mi (violin), Ari Boutris (violin), Daniel Rafimayeri (viola) and Alexander Rohatyn (cello) met at Manhattan School of Music’s PreCollege Division and formed a quintet the fall of 2017. Described as possessing a “Beautiful range of colors, expressiveness, balance and maturity”, these dedicated and dynamic young musicians have received national and international recognition for solo, ensemble and orchestral work and have performed at concert venues in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Israel, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and New York City, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Great Hall and the United Palace Theatre.

Winners of Manhattan School of Music’s 2018 Chamber Music Competition, the members have enjoyed featured appearances with The Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center, National Public Radio’s “From the Top”, Aspen Music Festival, Decoda, Heifetz Music Festival, The New York Concerti Sinfonietta, New York Youth Symphony and The York Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Additionally, their performances have been broadcast on WQXR's McGraw-Hill Young Artist's Showcase hosted by Robert Sherman who referred to the musicians as "Remarkable teenagers, already artists capable of fashioning a dramatically mature account of the Brahms Piano Quintet".


2nd Place (there was a tie):
Trio Cantare
Santa Clara CA

Trio Cantare

Trio Cantare, formed under the auspices of Young Chamber Musicians program (http://youngchambermusicians.org), consists of three dedicated classical musicians from the Bay Area: Kevin Yang (piano), Aaron Hsia (violin), and Abigail Leong (cello). A winner of the 2018 Galante Chamber Music Competition in the Yehudi Menuhin Seminar and Festival for Chamber Music, Trio Cantare takes pride in making exquisite music, philanthropy through benefit concerts, and community service via public performances. The members have debuted at Carnegie Hall, and have performed regularly at Davies Symphony Hall. Celebrated for their solo, chamber, and symphonic renditions, they have collectively performed in notable venues at Aspen, Colorado, Westport, New York, and Lenox, Massachusetts.


2nd Place (there was a tie):
Firefly Quartet
Ridgewood NJ

Firefly Quartet

The Firefly Quartet, founded in 2015 as a part of the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program, has explored a wide variety of string quartet repertoire, with pieces ranging from Debussy and Mendelssohn to Schulhoff and Britten. Coached by Adam Meyer, Associate Dean and Director of the Juilliard School, the Firefly Quartet has performed twice in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In 2017, the Firefly Quartet received the New York Youth Symphony Director’s Award. Most recently, the members of the Firefly Quartet—high school students Abigail Nishiwaki, Jack Shigeta, Brian Isaacs, and Francis Fedora—have delved into the works of Bartok and Haydn. In addition to performing, the Firefly Quartet takes part in various outreach programs in New York City to inspire young children through chamber music. In their spare time, members of the quartet enjoy swimming, running, and composing.


3rd Place:  
Quantum Quartet
Carrollton TX    

Quantum Quartet

Formed in the summer of 2016 in Carrollton, Texas, the Quantum Quartet consists of Bruce Moe, Ekdev Rajkitkul, Austin Dreyer, and Peyton Joffre. Members of the group have received many honors, including first prize in the 4th Edition of the ENKOR International Music Chamber Music Competition, selection to participate in the 2016 North American Saxophone Alliance High School Saxophone Ensemble, various top finishes in the Houston Underground Saxophone Competition (Junior Division and High School Division), Texas All-State Band placement, and more. Quantum Quartet are members of the award winning Hebron High School Band.



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Congratulations!

Schorr as Wotan, Bayreuth

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, founder and chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up and citation recipient of The American Prize in Vocal Performance—men in opera, 2018-19—The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

REMINDER: The final postmark deadline for vocalists to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019.  There is no need to email in advance to take advantage of the June date. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms may not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com

The American Prize in Vocal Performance—Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award honors the memory of the greatest Wagnerian baritone of his age, Friedrich Schorr, who commanded the operatic stage between the world wars, and his wife, Virginia Schorr, who taught studio voice at the Manhattan School of Music and the Hartt School of Music for nearly fifty years. The Prize recognizes and rewards the best performances by classically trained vocalists in America in 2018-19, based on submitted recordings.

The American Prize in Vocal Performance—men in opera (professional division),  2018-19, The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards

The American Prize Winner
Career Encouragement Citation Winner:
Logan Tanner 
Lawrence NJ   

Logan Tanner

American countertenor, Logan Tanner, has been praised for his “striking musicality, clarity, and strong coloratura” (Opera Canada, 2018). Mr. Tanner has been an award recipient in several competitions, including first place in both the New York Classical Music Society International Competition, and the Choralis Young Artist Competition. Recently, he was honored to be selected as the winner of the American Prize in the Opera division- a national competition. Logan has been engaged as a leading soloist with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, Choralis, Chorus Austin, New York Chamber Choir, the Henry Purcell Society of Boston, La Fiocco, the Arcadia Players, Monmouth Civic Chorus, the Westchester Oratorio Society, and the Sparkill Concert Series.

Equally comfortable in opera, Mr Tanner has performed on operatic stages throughout the United States and abroad. Recent roles have included Ruggiero with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival as a professional fellow. In his international opera debut, he received critical acclaim for his interpretation and performance of Oberon, King of the Fairies, in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Halifax Summer Opera Festival. An article in Opera Canada later praised Mr. Tanner as being a performer who “commanded the role of Oberon charmingly” (Opera Canada, 2018). This summer, Logan looks forward to attending The Music Academy of the West as a vocal fellow, where he will work with internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists, including famed mezzo-soprano, Marylin Horne. For more information about Logan, visit www.logantanneropera.com


2nd Place:
Charles H. Eaton III 
Storrs CT    

Charles H. Eaton III

American baritone Charles H. Eaton, makes his debut with Minnesota Opera as William Dale in Silent Night in the 2018-2019 season. In February, he returns to Madison Opera as Carl-Magnus in their A Little Night Music. He returns to Minnesota Opera in March to create the roles of Arnold Rothstein and George Gorman in the world premiere of Joel Puckett's The Fix. In the 2017-2018 season, Mr. Eaton made multiple company debuts, including German Sentry/Soldier #3 in Silent Night with The Glimmerglass Festival as a member of the young artist program, Samuel in The Pirates of Penzancewith Park Square Theater, and Moralès in Carmen with Madison Opera. He also made his concert debut with The Mankato Symphony Orchestra as Riff in West Side Story.

In May of 2017, Charles completed a second year as a resident artist with Opera Colorado, where he performed Figaro in the touring production of The Barber of Seville, Bello in La fanciulla del West and Enrico in the student matinee of Lucia di Lammermoor.  In the previous season, he sang the Father in the touring production of Hansel and Gretel and Governor Bellingham in the student matinee of the world premiere of The Scarlet Letter. He returned to Des Moines Metro Opera in 2017 for a second summer as an apprentice, where he sang Mr. Linquist and covered Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music.  In their 2015 season, he covered Lescaut in Manon and participated in the ensemble of Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice.  

Mr. Eaton has extensive experience with new American works; in addition to his assignments in Silent Night at The Glimmerglass Festival, he performed a staged version of Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles in a concert featuring a talkback with Jamie Bernstein (Leonard’s daughter).  In September of 2017, Charles participated in Minnesota Opera’s Act I workshop of The Fix, a new American opera by Joel Puckett (to premiere in the 2018-2019 season). He also participated in their Act I workshop for The Shining (premiered 2016), where he prepared the role of Horace Derwent. In May of 2014, he shared the lead baritone role (Hurstwood) in a workshop performance of Sister Carrie at Florentine Opera (premiered 2016).


3rd Place:
Jeff Byrnes 
Detroit MI   

Jeff Byrnes

Baritone Jeff Byrnes recently completed his second year as a Studio artist at the Michigan Opera Theatre. This past season he was seen as Dancairo in Carmen, William Dale in Silent Night, John Brooke in Little Women, and Sonora in La Fanciulla del West. Previously at MOT, Jeff performed the role of Old Servant in Elektra, The Bonze in Madama Butterfly, and Schaunard in La Bohème. Prior to joining MOT, he performed the role of Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking with Dayton Opera, and he covered Germont in La Traviata and Balstrode in Peter Grimes with Des Moines Metro Opera. Other operatic highlights include Leporello in Don Giovanni and the title role in The Mikado with the Natchez Opera Festival, and Figaro  in Le Nozze di Figaro, Sprecher  in Die Zauberflöte, and Pilate in St. John Passion with CCM Opera. He was a National Semi-finalist of the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in 2016, a regional finalist in the Rocky Mountain Region  in 2014, and he was awarded the Encouragement Award in the New Orleans district in 2010. Most recently, Jeff was a Grant recipient of the 2018 Gerda Lissner Internation Vocal Competition, a Finalist in the 2017 Mildred Miller International Vocal Competition as well as the 2017 Shreveport Opera Competition. Jeff has participated in the young artist programs at Michigan Opera Theatre, Martina Arroyo's Prelude to performance, Dayton Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Seagle Music Colony. Last summer, he was a Gerdine young artist at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where he will be returning this summer to perform the role of Baron in La Traviata. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Louisiana State University.


The American Prize in Vocal Performance—men in opera (college/university division),  2018-19, The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Awards

The American Prize winner:
Ian Murrell 
Vandalia IL   

Ian Murrell

Hailed as a "powerful" and "resonant baritone" by Indiana Public Media, Ian Murrell is a native of Vandalia, Illinois. He is currently pursuing his Masters of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana.

Murrell has quickly acquired several operatic and musical theatre credits with both professional and educational institutions. Role credits include Enrico Aston in Indiana University Opera Theatre's production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Harry Bailey in Jake Heggie's It's A Wonderful Life with IU Opera Theatre, Ned Keene in Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes with IU Opera Theatre, Count Gil in Ermano Wolf-Ferrari's Il segreto di Susanna with University of Evansville's Schmidt Opera Series, Bob in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief, and Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, each with University of Evansville's Schmidt Opera Series. He has also portrayed Yamadori in Puccini's Madama Butterfly in a staged production with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. Ian is an alumnus of the Asheville Lyric Opera young artist program, Aspen Music Festival and School, and most recently the Chautauqua Opera Company Studio Artist Program where he performed as a Judge and the Prefect while covering Maximilian in Leonard Bernstein's Candide. Mr. Murrell also covered the role of Hannah Before in Laura Kaminsky's chamber opera, As One, while appearing on several concerts and recitals at the Chautauqua Institution.

In addition to his operatic work, Murrell excels in operetta and musical theatre repertoire, having played Anselmo and the Captain of the Inquisition in Asheville Lyric Opera's production of Man of La Mancha. He has also played the role of Stewpot in addition to covering the role of Emile de Becque in Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific with Asheville Lyric Opera.


2nd Place:
Benjamin Howard 
Denton TX 

Benjamin Howard

Marked as a “standout” (Chicago Tribune), baritone Benjamin Howard is quickly becoming a sought-after young talent to watch. Howard was named a winner of the 2018 American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award, culminating in a performance as the bass soloist in Rossini’s Stabat Mater at St. James Cathedral. In the summer of 2018, Howard makes his debut with Utah Festival Opera as a Young Artist, singing the roles of Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods and the Sergeant in The Barber of Seville. Recent roles include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro at Opera in the Ozarks and the title role in Don Giovanni at the University of North Texas. As a concert soloist, Howard most recently sang with the Abilene Philharmonic, performing Broadway love songs. In the 2017-2018 season, Howard returned to the Fort Worth Opera stage in its production of Don Pasquale, and also sang for the Dallas Opera Education & Outreach program.

Howard has additionally sung roles with Chicago’s Main Street Opera including Joaquín Rodrigo’s Ausencias de Dulcinea. A Los Angeles native, Howard received his Bachelor of Music and Musical Theatre Certificate at Northwestern University and Master of Music degree at the University of North Texas.
  

3rd Place: 
Bradley Bickhardt 
Columbia NJ  

Bradley Bickhardt

Tenor, Brad Bickhardt is a native of Columbia, New Jersey.  He is in the first year of graduate studies at the Jacobs School of Music as an Associate Instructor of Voice, where he also received his Bachelor’s in Voice Performance.  At IU, he has appeared as Goro (Madama Butterfly), Hérrison (L’étoile), and Tony (West Side Story).  He has also sung in a masterclass held by Lawrence Brownlee.  He has previously sung with Charlottesville Opera, Opera Saratoga, and will appear as a Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, singing the Officer (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Hanif (Merlin’s Island) this summer.  In 2018 he was awarded the Winston-Rabb Scholarship from the National Society of Arts and Letters, and also was named a winner of the Indiana District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions.  Upcoming engagements include a role debut as Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) with IU Opera.  He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.      



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Congratulations!

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, founder and chief judge, is pleased to announce FINALIST bands/wind ensembles for 2018-19 in all divisions. Congratulations!

Runners-up and winners will be selected from this list. To know the exact date when results will be announced, please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter #AmericanPrize, where that information will be published first.

All contestants are reminded they are responsible for the viability of their online links to audition materials. Those links must remain active until the end of the contest year. Questions, or to make us aware of any misprints in the listings below, please email: theamericanprize@gmail.com

"At The American Prize, there is never a set number of finalists in any category or division. We also try hard to not be about "winners" and "losers," but always seek to encourage excellence, creativity and imagination. That is one reason why we post the following statement with every finalist listing."—DK

If you are not a finalist this year, please remember that the contests are not yet over. The American Prize reserves the right to award Honorable Mentions and Citations for Special Achievement to any contestant, regardless of final placement. TAP has honored a number of semi-finalists and quarter finalists in the past--to recognize a unique talent or focus, unusual repertoire, vital programming or outreach. Citations and Honorable Mentions are usually awarded at the same time as winners and runners-up, but can be presented at any time up to the last winners' announcement of the contest year.
 
We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on their facebook page, tweeting the news, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. A sample announcement may be found at the end of the post.

REMINDER: The postmark deadline for band and wind ensembles to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019, with extensions available to Monday, July 1, 2019 for those who need more time.

"Wonderful bands! The college/university division is especially competitive—and the repertoire! Impressive on so many levels. Very eager to discover the outcome."—DK

NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—college/university division,  2018-19


CSUSB Symphonic Band
Nicholas Bratcher
San Bernardino CA 
 
University of Houston Wind Ensemble
David Clemmer
Houston TX 
 
NEC Symphonic Winds
William Drury
Boston MA 
 
Capital University Symphonic Winds
Jeffrey D. Gershman
Columbus OH 
 
Slippery Rock University Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Jonathan Helmick
Slippery Rock PA 
 
University of Arkansas Wind Ensemble
Chris Knighten
Fayetteville AR 
 
Sacramento State Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Matthew C. Morse
Sacramento CA 
 
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Wind Ensemble.
Devin Otto
Oshkosh WI 
 
Wichita State University Wind Ensemble
Timothy Shade
Wichita KS 
 
UNC Charlotte Wind Ensemble
Shawn Smith
Charlotte NC 
 
Missouri State University Wind Ensemble
John Zastoupil
Springfield MO 



NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—community division, 2018-19


The Allentown Band
Ronald Demkee
Allentown PA  
  
Westchester Symphonic Winds
Curt Ebersole
Tarrytown NY  
  
Quincy Concert Band
Dr. Trent A. Hollinger
Quincy IL  
  
Quad City Wind Ensemble
Brian Hughes
Davenport IA  
  
Camellia City Flute Choir
Martin Melicharek III
Sacramento CA  
  
Los Alamos Community Winds
Ted Vives
Los Alamos NM



NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—high school division, 2018-19

Huntley High School Wind Ensemble
Philip Carter
Huntley IL 
 
Charlotte Catholic Symphonic Winds
Timothy Cook
Charlotte NC 
 
North Hills High School Wind Ensemble
Len Lavelle
Pittsburgh PA 



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We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on social media, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog.

Here is a sample announcement:

"Great News! Our ensemble has just been selected as a finalist in the (blank) division of The American Prize national non-profit competitions in the performing arts. Here's the link: (copy link here). The American Prize will be announcing results in the division soon. You can learn more about this prestigious national competition here: www.theamericanprize.org or follow the news on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-American-Prize-celebrating-American-excellence-in-the-arts/214320622728 or Twitter: https://twitter.com/americanprize"

Please feel free to modify or expand this announcement to suit your needs.

Congratulations to all finalists.


  

The American PrizeNation Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up and honorable mention of The American Prize in Composition, 2018-19, in the choral music division (octavos). Winners in the choral division (major works) will be announced separately. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

QUICKNOTES: Although The American Prize does not usually provide written evaluations to semi-finalists, some semi-finalist composers will receive in their certificate packets short comments, suggestions or overall impressions made during the judging. We hope they will prove valuable. All finalists receive written evaluations from a member of The American Prize judging panel.

REMINDER: The final postmark deadline for composers to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019.  There is no need to email in advance to take advantage of the June date. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms will not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com


The American Prize in Composition—Choral octavos (professional division), 2018-19

The American Prize winner:
Kyle Pederson
Eagan MN
Can We Sing the Darkness to Light? Psallite; In the Beginning; Stars; A Mighty Fortress is our God   

Kyle Pederson

Kyle Pederson is a Minneapolis-based composer, lyricist, pianist, and educator. He enjoys working at the intersection of the sacred and secular, and his lyrics and music invite the choir and audience to be agents of hope, grace, and compassion in the world. Kyle has won awards for his choral works from Cerddorion Choral Ensemble of NYC, National Lutheran Youth Choir, and Little Singers of Armenia.  Recent commissions include AMIS International High School Honors Choir, TAISM International Choral Festival, Minnesota ACDA All-State High School Treble Chorus, and Choral Arts Initiative.  Several of Kyle’s choral pieces are featured in the commercially released New Choral Voices Volume II and III by Ablaze Records. Kyle’s work also includes two critically acclaimed piano-based albums, Renewal and 12.25, both collections of acoustic hymn arrangements. Kyle has an undergraduate degree from Augustana University, a Masters Degree in Education from University of St. Thomas, and an MFA in Music Composition from Vermont College of Fine Art. Additional information and links to Kyle’s music can be found at kylepederson.com, with select scores available from Walton, Santa Barbara, Galaxy, and Carl Fischer music publishers.


2nd Place:
Paul David Thomas
Denton TX
Out Damned Spot   

Paul David Thomas

Paul David Thomas is an assistant professor and coordinator of music theory at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX. Paul's acoustic and electronic music has been presented at venues, conferences, and festivals throughout the North America and Europe. His wide range of compositional interests include writing for performer and live electronics, group improvisation,
and choral ensembles of all skill levels. Additionally, Paul is an active new music performer, regularly performing his own works for accordion and computer. Originally from northeastern Ohio, Paul holds degrees in composition from Bowling Green State University (MM) and the University of
North Texas (PhD). Paul's choral music is published through Hal Leonard, Carl Fischer, and BriLee Press.


3rd Place (there was a tie):
Daniel Elder
Nashville TN
Three Nocturnes (Ballade to the Moon; Star Sonnet; Lullaby) 

Daniel Elder

As a prolific writer of vocal and instrumental music, Daniel Elder (b. 1986) ties these genres together to create forms and aesthetics that are at once lyrical and textural, drawing its roots particularly from the impressionist movement. Critics have hailed his works as “deeply affecting” and "without peer," with emotional evocations ranging from lush lyricism to jagged polyphony. Daniel’s compositions have won recognition from The American Prize, The Simon Carrington Chamber Singers, Cantus, and many others, including a recording by the Grammy-award-winning Eric Whitacre Singers made at Abbey Road Studios as part of their 80th Anniversary Anthem Competition. The first commercial album of Daniel's choral works, "The Heart's Reflection: Music of Daniel Elder," was released in October 2013 by Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ) and Naxos of America, and debuted at #53 on the overall classical Billboard chart. Daniel currently resides in Nashville, TN as a full-time freelance composer. 


3rd Place (there was a tie):
Michael Rickelton
Baltimore MD 
Psalm

Michael Rickelton

Michael Rickelton’s music "seizes the ear" (Gramophone). An experienced composer of solo, chamber, and orchestral works, Michael has a particularly strong and critically-acclaimed affinity for the voice. "There is a quality that distinguishes his music, catching one's ear in beauty and style" (soprano Phyllis Bryn-Julson). Michael's works have been performed throughout the United States and abroad. Recently, his works have been played by the Nashville, Baltimore, and Peabody Symphonys, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, the Pacific Chorale, and the Choir of the Washington National Cathedral. Recent seasons have included stints as composer-in-residence with The Bridge Ensemble and St. David's Episcopal Church in Baltimore. His composition Pentecost for SATB chorus and piano was recently recorded by The John Alexander Singers and released on Delos records. Albany Records recently released “Time and Memory”, an album dedicated to Michael’s works for voice and piano. For more information, please visit www.michaelrickelton.com.


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Michael Bussewitz-Quarm
Sound Beach NY
My Name is Lamiya—Don't Call me “Refugee”

Michael Bussewitz-Quarm

Michael Bussewitz-Quarm has become one of America’s most recent emerging composers, specializing in choral works commissioned by consortiums around social and environmental issues.

After recently awarded a performance of “I’ll Fly Away” in the International Society of Contemporary Music’s New Music Days 2017 in Vancouver, BC, Michael is newly published by Peermusic Classical.

Michael’s most recent works include the commissioned work “The Road That Has No End", “Nigra Sum", and the final edition of Requiem Dies Magna, premiered by Long Island Voices and Sound Symphony under Michael’s direction in 2017. Michael is currently under commission by the Women’s Voices Chorus of Chapel Hill, NC. for “Only Time to Love: Gaaggee Zaag’aa" and The First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh with Calvary United Methodist Church for the former’s 125th anniversary celebration, for “Awake!”.

Current choral projects include the “Child Refugee Awareness" Choral Consortium Project and “The Great American Choral Reef Challenge”, both actively recruiting choirs and the latter to be premiered on and around Earth Day, 2019. With these songs, Michael hopes to bring attention to the children of the global refugee crisis as well as the urgency to respond to climate change.

Michael has recently launched three additional consortiums, one for Women’s and Treble Choirs at the Collegiate and High School levels called "Radium Girl" Commissioning Consortium which will be written to bring attention to women’s and worker’s rights, the commissioning choirs of The Unarmed Child, to be premiered during the 2019-2020 choral season, and the commissioning choirs of Mass of the Refugee for SATB choir, violin, cello, oud, piano and percussion for state premieres in 2020-2021.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Michael grew up as a baritone saxophonist and as accompanist and a tenor in the school’s chorus. Michael attended Ithaca College (BM ’94), for piano performance and music education, and Queen’s College (MM ’99) for music education.

Michael is also active in advocating for the transgender community. “It is my fervent wish to spread knowledge and understanding of the transgender community through guest speaking and by simply being present in the lives of the talented musicians and artists surrounding me.”





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Congratulations!

The American PrizeNation Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up and honorable mentions of The American Prize in Composition, 2018-19, in the orchestra music division. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

QUICKNOTES: Although The American Prize does not usually provide written evaluations to semi-finalists, some semi-finalist composers will receive in their certificate packets short comments, suggestions or overall impressions made during the judging. We hope they will prove valuable. All finalists receive written evaluations from a member of The American Prize judging panel.

REMINDER: The final postmark deadline for composers to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019.  There is no need to email in advance to take advantage of the June date. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms will not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com


The American Prize in Composition—Orchestra (professional division), 2018-19

The American Prize winner:
Wayne B. Horvitz
Seattle WA
Those Who Remain—Concerto for Orchestra and Improvising Soloist

Wayne B. Horvitz

Recipient of the 2016 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, composer Wayne Horvitz own ensembles include The Snowghost Trio, Sweeter Than the Day, and the Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble. Mr. Horvitz’s commissioners include The Kitchen, The Seattle Symphony, Kronos, BAM, New World Records, The Flynn Theater, and Vienna Jazz. He has received 3 MAP Fund awards, the NEA American Masterpiece Award, 3 Artist Trusts fellowships and more. As a collaborator or producer, he has worked with Bill Frisell, Robin Holcomb, Butch Morris, Bobby Previte, George Lewis, Reggie Watts, John Zorn (Naked City etc.), World Saxophone Quartet, Fontella Bass, John Adams, and Eddie Palmieri. Collaborators in theater, dance and film include Carey Perloff, Bill Irwin, Gus Van Sant, Paul Taylor and Paul Magid. http://www.waynehorvitz.com/
 
“there's nobody else out there I hear even attempting to cover some kind of similar range, and do it so convincingly” — All About Jazz
 

2nd Place:
Nan Schwartz 
Angels Among Us  

Nan Schwartz

Nan Schwartz has finally realized her lifelong dream of releasing a symphonic album of her orchestral compositions (Divine Art Records/Naxos). A proponent of melodic, harmonically-rich music, Nan’s unique style has made its mark in film, television, the recording industry, and symphonic performance. Her diversity and depth of experience have helped create her sterling reputation. Nan is a Grammy winning (Natalie Cole) and five time nominated Grammy arranger, as well as a seven time Emmy nominee for her composing work for TV/film. She is also an orchestrator ( “Godzilla,”  “Argo,” “Benjamin Button,”), a songwriter for the Latin market, and most recently, composer of a Broadway-bound musical. There’s not a musician in Hollywood, London, Vienna, or Berlin who doesn’t look forward to working under Nan’s baton.  They know the notes will be great and will remind them “This is why we play music!” http://www.nanschwartz.com
 

3rd Place (there was a tie):
Saad Haddad
New York NY
Takht    

Saad Haddad

Saad Haddad is a composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, and electroacoustic music who achieves a “remarkable fusion of idioms” (New York Times), most notably in his work exploring the disparate qualities inherent in Western art music and Middle Eastern musical tradition. His music delves into that relationship by transferring the performance techniques of traditional Arab instruments to Western symphonic instruments, while extending their capabilities through the advancement of technology.

Recent highlights include the premiere of Haddad's first major string quartet, commissioned by the Lydian String Quartet, the premiere of Risala, co-commissioned by the Columbus and Princeton Symphony Orchestras, and performances of Takht by the China National Symphony Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra, among others. Born in Georgia and raised in California, Haddad holds degrees in composition from the Juilliard School and the University of Southern California. For more information, visit www.saadnhaddad.com.


3rd Place (there was a tie):
Meira Warshauer
Columbia SC
Symphony No. 1 Living Breathing Earth   

Meira Warshauer

Meira Warshauer’s music, performed worldwide, is inspired by her love for the earth and her personal spiritual journey. Symphony Living Breathing Earth, commissioned by Dayton Philharmonic, South Carolina Philharmonic, and Western Piedmont Symphony (NC) and published by Lauren Keiser Music Publishing, was profiled by Aileen LeBlanc for Public Radio International’s Living on Earth. Tekeeyah (a call), Concerto for Shofar, Trombone, and Orchestra, a five-orchestra commission, was aired twice on American Public Media’s Performance Today, and by NYC Public Radio’s Symphony Hall (WQXR). Both works are featured on the 2011 Navona Records release Living Breathing Earth (NV5842), which was praised by Hadassah Magazine as “a shimmering, joyous and soothing ode to the world’s beauty.” In addition to composer awards from the MacDowell Colony, ASCAP, Meet the Composer, SC Arts Commission, and others, Meira received the SC Sierra Club’s 2016 Silent Footprinter award for environmental activism. A graduate of Harvard, New England Conservatory, and University of South Carolina, Dr. Warshauer divides her time between Columbia, SC and Wrightsville Beach, NC. More information at meirawarshauer.com.


Finalist Honorable Mention: 
Lee Actor
Monte Sereno CA
Prelude to a Tragedy  

Lee Actor

Composer and conductor Lee Actor (http://www.leeactor.com) has received numerous commissions, and has won many awards for his compositions, which are characterized by their dramatic impact and emotional expressivity. Since 2001, he has created an extensive catalog of works for large
ensembles, including 3 symphonies and 9 concertos, which have been performed by nearly 80 orchestras and bands in the U.S. and around the world.  He has studied composition with Donald Sur, Brent Heisinger, Charles Jones, and Andrew Imbrie, and conducting with Angelo Frascarelli, David Epstein and Higo Harada.  Actor has been Composer-in-Residence of the Palo Alto Philharmonic since 2002, following his appointment as Assistant Conductor in 2001.  In 2014 he was one of the first five composers selected as an "Honored Artist of the American Prize".  In March 2018 he was invited to conduct two all-Actor programs with the top professional orchestras in Ankara and Izmir, Turkey.


Finalist Honorable Mention: 
Luke Carlson
Hollister MO
Creations 

Luke Carlson

The music of composer and conductor Luke Carlson (b. 1983) has been called “magical” and “otherworldly” (Philadelphia Inquirer); “personal and strong” (New York Times). He is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2013 Jacob Druckman Prize, the grand prize in Symphony Number One’s 2017 Composer Competition, the Edward T. Cone Composition Institute and first prize in the MACRO Composers Competition (2016 and 2014).

His music has been performed by various artists including the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Daedalus String Quartet, Network for New Music, and the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra.

He holds a BM, magna cum laude, from the University of Oregon, a MM from Rice University, and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. He is Assistant Professor of Music at College of the Ozarks in Branson, MO where he directs the composition & theory programs and conducts of the College of the Ozarks orchestra. www.LukeCarlsonMusic.com


Finalist Honorable Mention: 
Dorothy Hindman
Miami FL
Setting Century Symphony    

Dorothy Hindman

Described as “bright with energy and lilting lyricism” (New York Classical Review), “dramatic, highly strung” (Fanfare), and “utterly rich with purpose and heart” (Huffington Post), Dorothy Hindman’s compositions have been performed at Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, the American Academy in Rome, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, Havana Contemporary Music Festival, Australian Flute Festival, and many others.  She has been commissioned by Bent Frequency, Empire City Men’s Chorus, Goliard Ensemble, Caravel String Quartet, Corona Guitar Kvartet, and more.

Awards and recognition include a 2017 Seaside Escape2Create Fellowship, Iron Composer 2015, a 2015 Artist Access Grant from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Nancy Van de Vate International Composition Prize for Opera, International Society of Bassists Composition Competition, NACUSA, and more.

Hindman’s CDs include innova’s Tapping the Furnace and Tightly Wound (Spring 2017). Publishers include Subito, NoteNova, and dorn/Needham. She is Associate Professor of Composition at the Frost School of Music. dorothyhindman.org


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Steven Winteregg
Dayton OH
Resolution    

Steven Winteregg

Steven Winteregg is a Professor of Music at Cedarville University. Holding degrees in music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Wright State University and The Ohio State University, he studied composition with William Steinhort, Gregory Proctor and Thomas Wells.

Dr. Winteregg is an award-winning composer and has received awards from such organizations as the International Horn Society, the International Trumpet Guild, and the Ohio Arts Council. He has also received an Ohio Senate Resolution commending him for his contribution to the arts in Ohio.

Winteregg's compositions have been performed throughout the world, and these performances have included International Horn Symposiums, International Tuba and Euphonium Conferences, the International Brass Festival in Narbonne, France, the national convention of the Music Educators National Conference, and the International Trumpet Guild Conference. His recordings can be found on the Albany, Integra, Equilibrium, ERM Media, MMC, and the Navona labels.


The American Prize in Composition—Orchestra (student division), 2018-19

The American Prize winner:
Jack Frerer
New York NY
On-Again, Off-Again   

Jack Frerer

Jack Frerer (b. 1995) is an Australian-American composer of music for concert, film and dance, as well as a producer and filmmaker based in Manhattan, currently pursuing a B.M. in Composition at The Juilliard School where he studies with John Corigliano. His work has been performed by a variety of ensembles around Australia, Europe, and the US, and has won awards including a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Brian Israel Prize from the Society for New Music, and competitions including the Vincent C. LaGuardia Jr. Competition, Illinois State University’s Red Note Competition, the Lake George Music Festival Competition, the Alba Rosa Viëtor Competition, and both the Juilliard Orchestra and Gena Raps Chamber Music competitions. He is currently Composer-in-Residence with the Arapahoe Philharmonic.


2nd Place (there was a tie):
Martin Hebel
Hamden CT
Symphony No. 3  in E Minor: Concert in Three Acts

Martin Hebel

Martin Hebel composes expressive, emotionally direct music for a wide variety of ensembles.

In his orchestral compositions, Martin explores strategies for engaging new audiences, seeking to enrich and enhance concert experiences for contemporary listeners, combining varied traditional symphonic forms with his contemporary chromatic language.

Martin Hebel’s Symphony No.3 in E Minor: Concert in Three Acts, a Finalist in the 2015 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, was recorded by Mikel Toms and the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra and released internationally in August 2016 by ABLAZE Records.

Born in Hamden, Connecticut in 1990, Martin Hebel received his M.M. in composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2018 where he studied with Douglas Knehans and Ellen Ruth Harrison. He graduated with honors from the University of Connecticut in 2015, where he studied composition with Dr. Kenneth Fuchs and trumpet performance with Dr. Louis Hanzlik. 


2nd Place (there was a tie):
Patrick O'Malley
Los Angeles CA
Between Two Chasms   

Patrick O'Malley

Patrick O’Malley (1989) is a composer whose works explore the musical interplay between emotion, color, energy, and landscape, seeking to find balance between past influences and new ideas. His pieces span many of the contemporary mediums for classical music, and have been performed across the United States as well as in Europe. Often when writing a new piece, O’Malley considers the listener’s imagination as much as every other musical element – an admittedly and enjoyably subjective endeavor.

Most recently, O’Malley has been recognized and/or performed by organizations including ASCAP, the Hear Now Festival, the Columbus and Milwaukee Symphonies, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Next On Grand National Composers Intensive with wild Up, and The American Prize (1st place for orchestral music, 2015). He was named Composer of the Year by the Sioux City Symphony for 2018, and he has been a fellow at various music festivals and residencies. O’Malley is pursuing a doctoral degree in music at the University of Southern California where he studies with Andrew Norman and Sean Friar. He divides his time between living in Los Angeles, California, and Lake Charlevoix, Michigan.



3rd Place (there was a tie):
Ching-Shan Chang
Brooklyn NY
When the Sun Rises    

Ching-Shan Chang

Ching-Shan is a composer based in New York City. She got her bachelor’s degree in composition from Eastman School of Music and is currently majoring in scoring for film and multimedia at NYU Steinhardt studying with Chris Hajian. On top of all the national and international prizes, the first prize, best variations music and best tonal music of The 7th International Antonín Dvorák Composition Competition in the junior group truly highlights her classical composition career. Additionally, her works In History, in memory and Path to Limbo were also chosen in the final round of the The 3rd International Ravel Composition Competition (special edition for film music) in Italy and her choral work, My Soul is Awakened from Sleep, was chosen to the final round of The 1st Jean Sibelius Composition Competition. Her music has been widely performed around the world including Taipei, San Francisco, Beijing and more. Large ensemble works such as When the Sun Rises… not only won the 2nd prize of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Composition Competition, but was also performed by them in 2016. In 2017, her soundtrack, In History, in memory for violin solo and orchestra was premiered by Prague Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jakub Zicha and Marie Mátlová on the violin solo in Prague.


Finalist Honorable Mention: 
Clare Glackin
Santa Fe NM
Archaea

Clare Glackin

Clare Glackin is a composer of instrumental and vocal concert works whose music has been commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Alarm Will Sound, and others. She seeks to craft music that is engaging, unique, and fulfilling for both performers and audiences. Born and raised in Mount Vernon, WA, she currently lives in Santa Fe, NM, where she works for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and writes on commission.

Clare’s music has been performed across the United States at festivals such as the Brevard Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium, and Mizzou International Composers Festival. Upcoming projects include a wind ensemble piece to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Mount Vernon High School Band program in 2019.

Clare graduated with an MM from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She also holds a BM from USC’s Thornton School of Music, where she was named a Discovery Scholar and Outstanding Graduate of the composition program.    


Finalist Honorable Mention: 
Xuesi Xu
Urbana IL
The Song of Roland

Xuesi Xu

Born in Shanghai, China, Xuesi Xu holds a BM from Shanghai Conservatory of Music. During his undergraduate studies, his primary teacher was Musheng Chen. He has received numerous awards in China, including the Third Rivers Composition Competition Award (2011), and Third Prize in the 2013 Chinese Instruments Composition Competition in Music Universities and Colleges (2013). In 2014, he worked and studied with Chen Yi and James Mobberley in University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance as a student intern. Currently, he is pursuing his Masters degree in music composition at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying music composition with Rick Taube, Reynold Tharp, and Stephen Taylor, and electronic music with Eli Fieldsteel.



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Congratulations!

The CBASO, CBA Chorus and Guest Choirs at Symphony Center, Chicago

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the 2019 winners of The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Awards.

For the eighth consecutive year, in addition to the national voice competitions outlined on The American Prize website, contestants for The American Prize in Vocal Performance, 2019-20, were invited to also apply for The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award, the opportunity to be selected as soloists to appear under Maestro David Katz's baton in concert with the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra, the CBA Chorus and guest choirs—more than three hundred lawyer-musicians and friends in all—this season performing the choral finale (4th movement) of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, in concerts entitled "ODE to JOY!"

Performances will be Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 3pm at St. John Brebeuf Church, Niles, IL, and Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 8pm at Symphony Center / Orchestra Hall, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the Beethoven, the concerts will feature three orchestra-member soloists in concerto movements, the Chicago premiere of "Celebration Overture" by The American Prize laureate composer, Christoper Lowry, and selections by the massed choirs, those under the baton of CBA Chorus Director, Stephen Blackwelder.

The Symphony Center performance marks the third time that the CBASO and CBA Chorus have presented major concerts in that hallowed hall, having performed "Carmina Burana" there in 2011 and "Something Wonderful" a concert of the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, in 2015.

Here are ticket links:
June 2nd—bit.ly/OdeToJoy_Nilesbit.ly/OdeToJoy_Niles
June 22nd—bit.ly/OdeToJoy_Orchestra Hall 


REMINDER: The postmark deadline to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019, with extensions available to Monday, July 1, 2019 for those who need more time. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms may not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

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2019 Winners of 
The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award

AMY PFRIMMER, soprano

AMY PFRIMMER, soprano

Soprano AMY PFRIMMER has sung across the US, Europe, and Canada including appearances with the London Symphony, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Baltimore Choral Arts, Montréal Opera, New Orleans Opera, Bulgarian State Opera Stara Zagora, Illinois Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, Mississippi Opera, Atlanta Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and Virginia Symphony. She collaborated frequently with the late pianist/composer Dave Brubeck in his Mass, To Hope! A Celebration, and La Fiesta de la Posada and soloed regularly with Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band.

Pfrimmer is Tulane University’s Lillian Gerson Watsky Professor in voice. She serves as Tulane’s voice area coordinator/concert vocal series director. She is sought after for high energy, interactive master classes, and is a respected contest adjudicator. Awards for the soprano include Tulane University's USG Crest Award for Outstanding Faculty Member, Louisiana Division of the Arts Fellowship, Metropolitan Opera Education Fund and Florida Grand Opera’s Gilbert Artist of the Year.

With MSR Classics label, Pfrimmer has released two recordings: Souvenance: Mélodies and Organ Works of César Franck and Eternal Life: Sacred Songs and Spirituals.

Specific projects in 2014-2018 have included Schönberg’s expressionist mono-drama Pierrot Lunaire (Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra), the tragic title characters in Verdi’s La Traviata and Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly (State Opera Stara Zagora Bulgaria), and Mozart’s heroine Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Lawrence Opera Theatre Kansas). With New Orleans Opera she appeared as Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen, Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld as Juno, Kitty Hart in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, and the title character in Friedl.

She also gave concerts featuring the music of César Franck, St. Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Händel’s Messiah, and sang Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. National/international recitals include Absolutely American!, American Summer Dream, and From New Orleans to Bulgaria featuring the works of American composers Amy Beach, Leonard Bernstein, William Bolcom, Carlisle Floyd, Moses Hogan, Rudolf Friml, Cole Porter, and Richard Hundley and Bulgarian composer Parashkev Hadjiev. With pianist Dreux Montegut, Pfrimmer created and performed a solo program Cabaret Soirée! featuring the American songbook composers Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Kurt Weill. She has been a regular soloist with the Marine Corps Band-New Orleans, and New Orleans Chamber Orchestra. Additionally, Pfrimmer has appeared in several French concert series: Vendredi Soirées at St. Pierre le Jeune and Les Estivales de St. Guillaume in Strasbourg, L’Abbaye de Royaumont, as well as The American Cathedral and St. Eustache in Paris.


ANN CRAVERO, mezzo-soprano

ANN CRAVERO, mezzo-soprano

Ann Belluso Cravero, acclaimed mezzo-soprano recitalist and soloist, has been heard on stages in Italy, China, and throughout the United States including repeat performances at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall.  Cravero's vocal engagements include The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, The Heartland Festival Orchestra, The International Lyric Academy Orchestra Italy, The Rome Festival Orchestra, The Alexander and Buono Festival Italy, Festivale Cantus Angeli Italy, The Lyric Symphony Orchestra CA, The Bach Festival IL, The Hancher Center for the Performing Arts, The Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, the Des Moines Civic Center, IA, and The Overture Center.

Ann Cravero has performed lead opera roles including the staged adaption of The Diary of Virginia Woolf under the direction of Håkan Hagegård honoring Dominick Argento who was in attendance (Source Song Festival), The Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theatre at the University of Iowa, the Northland Opera Theatre, and the Rome Festival Opera in Rome, Italy. Ann also participated as an apprentice artist for the Des Moines Metro Opera.  Cravero has served on the faculty of Milnes' Savannah Voice Festival, and the International Lyric Academy Italy with Stefano Vignati and Claudio Ferri.

Highly sought after for her interpretation of New Music, Dr. Cravero has performed with the Center for New Music in Iowa City, IA, including performances of works by Scott Dunn, Geoffrey Gordon, Bernard Rands, and Raffaele Grimaldi. Cravero also coached with Stephen Paulus and soloed two performances of his work, To Be Certain of the Dawn. In the fall of 2009 she was commissioned by the Iowa Composers’ Forum to tour IA with pianist Miko Kominami, and also premiered works for ICF in 2015. Ann has been featured on RAI TV in Italy and frequently broadcast on Iowa Public Radio.

Ann is the district winner of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award competition, and the recipient of honorable mention for the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Audition. She is the recipient of the Donald Walker Vocal Scholarship for outstanding vocal achievement at the University of Iowa, and receiver of outstanding academic achievement in the field of Music Education from Bradley University, and winner of the Bradley University Piano Concerto Competition. She has performed in master classes with Frederica von Stade and Michèle Crider, and coached with Cheryl Studer and Richard Boldrey. Cravero recently presented Mahler's 2nd Symphony with soprano, Michèle Crider for the re-dedication of Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City at the University of Iowa under the direction of William L. Jones.

Dr. Cravero is Associate Professor of Voice at Drake University, and an active participant of The National Association of Teachers of Singing. Ann released an album of duets with soprano Camelia Voin and pianist Nicholas Roth (‘Endless Noise’ Studio) in Santa Monica, CA Dr. Cravero holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Iowa where she studied with Stephen Swanson and Katherine Eberle, and a Bachelor of Music Education with emphasis on Piano and Voice from Bradley University. For further information on the artist please visit anncravero.com or at https://www.facebook.com/anncraveromezzosoprano/



PATRICK MUEHLEISE, tenor

PATRICK MUEHLEISE, tenor

Praised for his “real musicality and finely executed coloratura,” Patrick Muehleise is an acclaimed American tenor specializing in a wide variety of concert soloist repertoire and known for his “beautiful, evenly produced lyric tenor” and “pure tone.” Recent engagements include Mozart’s Requiem with Xian Zhang at the Aspen Music Festival, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 under the baton of Jane Glover, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with both Elmhurst Symphony and Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Bach’s B Minor Mass with Bach Akademie Charlotte, Reich’s The Desert Music with New World Symphony, the role of Pan in the fully-staged period performance of Cavalli’s La Calisto with Haymarket Opera Company of Chicago; and continues this season performing Handel’s Messiah with Winston-Salem Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem with True Concord of Tucson, Bach’s B Minor Mass with Back Bay Chorale of Boston and Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In addition to his work as a concert soloist, Patrick is a regular member of Grammy-nominated and award winning ensembles such as Seraphic Fire, True Concord, Chicago Symphony Chorus, as well as Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Grant Park Symphony Chorus, and has taken the stage with Aspen Chamber Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, and The Cleveland Orchestra.

This season Patrick continues his residency at the University of California-Los Angeles for the second academic year and will return to the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival for his second year as Artist-Faculty in partnership with the Grammy-nominated Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute.

In 2016, Mr. Muehleise was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category for his collaboration on True Concord’s album “Far In The Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus” which won the award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. An active member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Patrick can be heard on six nationally released recordings with Grammy-nominated ensembles.


LEO RADOSAVLJEVIC, bass-baritone

LEO RADOSAVLJEVIC, bass-baritone

Recent Third-Prize Winner of the International Klaudia Taev Competition in Estonia and winner of The American Prize Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award in Voice in 2014, Bass-Baritone Leo Radosavljevic is making a name for himself as a unique performer in the world of opera. Born in Chicago Illinois, Leo spent his childhood playing piano and singing in the children's chorus at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where his love for opera first began. He attended Juilliard from 2007-2013, receiving both BM and MM degrees in voice under Dr. Robert C. White. While at Juilliard, he sang several operatic roles including Bottom in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Simone in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, and Tobia Mill in Rossini's La Cambiale di Matrimonio. In addition to his operatic roles, Leo received composition lessons from Dr. Phillip Lasser for much of his time at Juilliard, and received Scholastic Distinction in 2010 for his thesis, The Lieder of Ludwig van Beethoven: Introductory Studies in an Infrequently Performed Opus. In 2011, he gave the U.S. premiere of the role of Willi Graf in Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Kommilitonen!, where he played piano and sang simultaneously from the stage, winning him critical acclaim from The New York Times. Since his time at Juilliard, Leo has performed around Europe and the United States, most recently as Don Alfonso in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte with DuPage Opera, as Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Opera Colorado, in recital at the Ravinia Festival, as soloist with Juilliard 415, in their west coast tour and Canadian Broadcasting Company recording of Telemann's rarely heard Die Tageszeiten. This summer he will join the roster of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, performing in Regina and La Traviata. He will then participate in the inaugural season of Teatro Nuovo, formally Bel Canto at Caramoor, as Orbazzano in Rossini’s Tancredi, conducted by Will Crutchfield. Leo currently resides in Chicago, Illinois, and is continuing his vocal studies with Julia Faulkner.

Graphic by Carl Klein

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, founder and chief judge, is pleased to announce FINALIST choruses for 2018-19 in all divisions. Congratulations!

"Wonderful choirs! I am delighted that so many fine choral ensembles have advanced. Regardless of the final outcome, all deserve finalist recognition and the written evaluations that come with it."—DK

Runners-up and winners will be selected from this list. To know the exact date when results will be announced, please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter #AmericanPrize, where that information will be published first.

All contestants are reminded they are responsible for the viability of their online links to audition materials. Those links must remain active until the end of the contest year. Questions, or to make us aware of any misprints in the listings below, please email: theamericanprize@gmail.com

"At The American Prize, there is never a set number of finalists in any category or division. We also try hard to not be about "winners" and "losers," but always seek to encourage excellence, creativity and imagination. That is one reason why we post the following statement with every finalist listing."—DK

If you are not a finalist this year, please remember that the contests are not yet over. The American Prize reserves the right to award Honorable Mentions and Citations for Special Achievement to any contestant, regardless of final placement. TAP has honored a number of semi-finalists and quarter finalists in the past--to recognize a unique talent or focus, unusual repertoire, vital programming or outreach. Citations and Honorable Mentions are usually awarded at the same time as winners and runners-up, but can be presented at any time up to the last winners' announcement of the contest year.
 
We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on their facebook page, tweeting the news, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. A sample announcement may be found at the end of the post.

REMINDER: The postmark deadline to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019, with extensions available to Monday, July 1, 2019 for those who need more time. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms may not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.


NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Choral Performance—professional division,
2018-19

Constellation Men's Ensemble
Ryan Townsend Strand
Chicago IL 
 
San Diego Pro Art Voices
Katie Walders
San Diego CA 
 
Vocal Essence Ensemble Singers
Elissa Weller
Minneapolis MN  



NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Choral Performance—college/university division,  2018-19

University of Redlands Chapel Singers
Nicholle Andrews
Redlands CA           
  
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Madrigals
Michael B  Boswell
Saint Mary of the Woods IN           
  
Mansfield University Concert Choir
Peggy Dettwiler
Mansfield PA  
  
NOTUS
Dominick DiOrio
Bloomington IN  
  
UW Milwaukee Concert Chorale
Zachary Durlam
Milwaukee WI           
 
UNebraska-Lincoln University Singers
Peter A  Eklund
Lincoln NE           
  
Buena Vista Concert Choir
Merrin Guice
Storm Lake IA              

Wichita State University Concert Chorale
Michael Hanawalt
Wichita KS           
  
Muskingum University Concert Choir
Zebulon M  Highben
New Concord OH           
  
Miami University Men's Glee Club
Jeremy D  Jones
Oxford OH           
  
William Jewell College Concert Choir
Anthony J  Maglione
Liberty MO           
  
Saint Mary's College Women's Choir
Nancy Menk
Notre Dame IN         
 
Winthrop University Chorale
Dr  Jeremy Mims
Rock Hill SC              

Westminster Kantorei
Westminster Choir College
Amanda Quist
Princeton NJ           
  
Clark University  Concert Choir and Chamber Choir
Daniel P  Ryan
Worcester MA           
  
Wheaton College Concert Choir
John William Trotter
Wheaton IL           
  
The College of Wooster Chorus
Lisa Wong
Wooster OH                    ,       



NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Choral Performance—community division, 2018-19

Choral Chameleon
Nicole Belmont
Brooklyn NY  
  
SONUS
Tyler Evick
Nashville TN 
Timbre Cierpke conductor

Ensemble Companio
Erik Peregrine
Niskayuna NY     

Oregon Repertory Singers
Ethan Sperry
Portland OR     

First Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir
Joshua Taylor
Dallas TX  
  
Plymouth Choir
Tom Trenney
Lincoln NE



NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Choral Performance—youth and school  division, 2018-19

North Shore HS Madrigal Singers
Jared Berry
Glen Head NY     

Brockton HS Concert Choir
Matthew Cunningham
Brockton MA  
  
LHS Chamber Choir
Rika R  Heruth
Liberty MO     

Roosevelt HS Concert Choir
Robyn Starks Holcomb
Sioux Falls SD  
  
Arvada West HS Vocal Showcase
Chris Maunu
Arvada CO  
  
Graham-Kapowsin HS Concert Chorale
Jason Saunders
Graham WA  
  
Firebird Singers
Adalberto Yanes
Miami FL  

New World Singers
Jeanne M  Wohlgamuth
Columbus OH   

SPECIAL FINALISTS (elementary school choirs):         
Fifth Avenue Falcons
Shawn M  Small
Lebanon PA     


***

We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on social media, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog.

Here is a sample announcement:

"Great News! Our ensemble has just been selected as a finalist in the (blank) division of The American Prize national non-profit competitions in the performing arts. Here's the link: (copy link here). The American Prize will be announcing results in the division soon. You can learn more about this prestigious national competition here: www.theamericanprize.org or follow the news on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-American-Prize-celebrating-American-excellence-in-the-arts/214320622728 or Twitter: https://twitter.com/americanprize"

Please feel free to modify or expand this announcement to suit your needs.

Congratulations to all finalists.


  

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts continues to search for ways to assist its laureates after the competitions conclude. One way TAP does this is to designate "Honored Artists of The American Prize," contestants who have displayed sustained excellence over multiple contest seasons. The next group of "Honored Artists" will be announced this summer.

A number of The American Prize laureate conductors and ensembles have engaged TAP winners as soloists or guests. We hope to expand this program in the future, making it easier for TAP laureates in all divisions to contact fellow artists to arrange concerts and other collaborations.

Among the group of conductors providing additional opportunities is the competitions' own chief judge, David (Volosin) Katz, who is founding music director of The Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra. Over the last eight years, the CBASO, the midwest's unique ensemble of lawyers, judges and law students, has hired many vocalist soloists directly through the contests, all winners of The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Awards. The latest group, four singers who will perform the Beethoven 9th Symphony under Maestro Katz's baton, were announced earlier this week. Here is a link to that announcement.

http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2019/05/winners-of-chicago-oratorio-awards-2019.html

In addition, Katz and the CBASO have selected works by several TAP laureate composers for performance, including works by Robert Wendel and Nancy Bloomer Deussen. Two more composers will be highlighted as part of June's Beethoven concerts.

TAP laureate composer Christopher Lowry's "Celebration Overture" will be featured in performances by the orchestra in Niles, IL on June 2nd and again on June 22nd in Orchestra Hall, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. TAP Composer Jamie Wind Whitmarsh has been commissioned by TAP and the CBASO to create added percussion parts for Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, the grand finale of the concerts. Whitmarsh's new percussion edition will be published by DelGatto Press, soon to go live online; the edition will be available for sale later this year.

You can read more about the concerts at these links:
https://odetojoyniles.brownpapertickets.com/
https://cso.org/ticketsandevents/production-details-2018-19/rentals/chicago-bar-association/

We are happy to publish bios and photos of Lowry and Whitmarsh below and look forward to more such TAP laureate interactions in coming seasons.

REMINDER: The postmark deadline to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019, with extensions available to Monday, July 1, 2019 for those who need more time. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms may not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.


CHRISTOPHER LOWRY

CHRISTOPHER LOWRY

Nashville native Christopher Lowry is emerging as one of the leading violists and most performed composers of his generation. His music has been performed by the Nashville Symphony, Nashville Philharmonic, Imperial Symphony, Austin Peay State University Symphony, Middle TN State University Symphony, Vanderbilt Wind Symphony, Blair Chamber Choir, “The President’s Own” US Marine Band, members of the Taipei Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic, New York All-State String Orchestra, Plainview Old-Bethpage JFK High School String Orchestra, and many youth orchestras from around the country. Lowry has won awards in the Alabama Symphony Call for Scores, BandWidth Music Festival Call for Scores, Missouri Composers Orchestra Project Competition, World Projects Composition Competition, NAfME Composition Competition, Frank Van Der Stucken Award, Nashville Philharmonic Composition Competition, Anton Stadler International Basset Clarinet Composition Competition, among others. Lowry holds a BM degree from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music and a MM degree from LSU, where he is currently working towards his DMA.


JAMIE WIND WHITMARSH

JAMIE WIND WHITMARSH

Jamie Wind Whitmarsh is an American composer, percussionist, and conductor on faculty at Oklahoma City University. He regularly performs with clarinet/percussion duo Duo Rodinia as well as the percussion collective Great Plains Percussion Group, and is Music Director for the Oklahoma Composer's Orchestra. Jamie holds a Master's degree in Music Composition from Florida State University and Bachelor's degrees in Percussion Performance and Music Composition from Oklahoma City University.

His music is performed often at regional, national, and international conventions/conferences, including PASIC, SCI, ITG, ICA, World Saxophone Congress, MTNA National, Regional and State Conventions, and NFA. He can be heard on the compact discs Firefish, the Music of Blake Tyson, Florida State University Percussion Ensemble, Volume II: Not Far From Here and Florida State University Percussion Ensemble, Volume III: Ten Windows, the last of which contains his work NAILS!!!. His work Aqueous Transfusion may be heard on Tyler Tolles’ debut disc In Touch, his work Buckle Up on Rogue Two's debut disc, and his works Portraits and Insights may be heard on Ryan Beach’s forthcoming solo disc. He is on percussion staff with Yukon High School and is also highly sought after as a wind/percussion arranger with A103 Productions. Jame is a member of SCI, ASCAP, and PAS, and serves on the Composition Contest Committee for PAS as well as chair of the Composition Education Subcommittee. Jamie proudly endorses Innovative Percussion products.

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, founder and chief judge, is pleased to announce FINALIST composers of instrumental chamber music for 2018-19 in both student and professional divisions. Congratulations! To know the exact date when winners and runners-up will be announced, please "like" our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter #AmericanPrize, where that information will be published first.

"Much fine music is various genres and styles, each advanced on its merits. We hope to give more than one prize this year in the professional division, organizing the finalists into smaller categories. The American Prize never designates a set number of finalists: the quality of the candidates' work directly influences that outcome. We also try hard not to be about "winners" and "losers," but always seek to encourage excellence, creativity and imagination—one reason we post the following statement with every finalist listing."—DK

If you are not a finalist this year, please remember that the contests are not yet over. The American Prize reserves the right to award Honorable Mentions and Citations for Special Achievement to any contestant, regardless of final placement. TAP has honored a number of semi-finalists and quarter finalists in the past--to recognize a unique talent or focus, unusual repertoire, vital programming or outreach. Citations and Honorable Mentions are usually awarded at the same time as winners and runners-up, but can be presented at any time up to the last winners' announcement of the contest year.

All contestants are reminded they are responsible for the viability of their online links to audition materials. Those links must remain active until the end of the contest year. Questions, or to make us aware of any misprints in the listings below, please email: theamericanprize@gmail.com

We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on their facebook page, tweeting the news, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. A sample announcement may be found at the end of the post.

REMINDER: The postmark deadline to apply for The American Prize, 2019-20, is June 3, 2019, with extensions available to Monday, July 1, 2019 for those who need more time. Please note that although the deadline date on application forms may not be changed, be assured your application will be accepted through the final deadline.

***

NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Composition—Instrumental Chamber Music (professional division), 2018-19

Chris Holly Aa
Awakening, Bloody Tiananmen, Rise Up!
   
Olga Amelkina-Vera
Plano TX
The Heaven's Hundred  
  
William Ashworth
Medford OR
The Air of Other Planets: Variations on a theme by Arnold Schoenberg  
   
Leonard V. Ball Jr.
Winterville GA
ice crystals—lava flows
   
Bjorn Berkhout
Forest Hills NY
Running Towards Empty  
  
Robert J. Bradshaw
Gloucester MA
The Cost of Compassion  
 
Joshua Burel
Huntsville AL
Roanoke 
  
Oliver Caplan
Medford MA
Love Letters  
  
Rodrigo Bussad Cesar
Chicago IL 
Vermilion; Nimbi
 
Jun Yi Chow
Astoria NY
Neighbor    
  
Brian Ciach
Mountain View CA
Chaconne  
   
Judith Cloud
Flagstaff AZ
The Dancing Ghost Lady of Coal Canyon    
       
Alex Cooke
Cleveland Heights OH
Scarcity  
  
Dante De Silva
Tarzana CA
Hungry  
  
Robert Denham
La Mirada CA
Goldgraber    

Cynthia Folio
Wynnewood PA
Winds for Change; When the Spirit Catches You…  
       
Burton Goldstein
Santa Monica CA
Sextet  
   
Arthur Gottschalk
Houston TX
Benny, Zoot and Teddy    
   
Kyle Kindred
Humble TX
Inundacion  
   
David Lipten
Tallahassee FL
Once Was  
   
Samuel A. Livingston
Hopewell NJ
Call to the Mountains   
   
Brian Mark
Brooklyn NY
Several Circles  
   
Jonathan B. McNair
Chattanooga TN
All a-Cryin'    

Lawrence R. Mumford
Laguna Niguel CA
SONATA ALLEGRO  
 
Jonathan Newmark
Burke VA
Secret Atop the Bluff
   
Sean Osborn
Shoreline WA
Trio No. 2
   
Clement Reid
Lakewood WA
Morrell Variations    

Walter Saul
Fresno CA
Quiltings    
   
Thomas Schwan
Dallas TX
Canone Infinito  
   
Andrew Sigler
Knoxville TN
Jacana    
   
Joseph T. Spaniola
Pensacola FL
Dream    
   
Robert Scott Thompson
Roswell GA
METTA
 
David Werfelmann
Saint Louis MO
Suite a l'antique



NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Composition—Instrumental Chamber Music (student division), 2018-19

Jacob Beranek
Oconomowoc WI
Death's Door

Jonathan Booker
Kansas City MO
Divergent Trajectories      
   
Jake Boring
San Diego CA
Miniatures      
   
Josiah Tayag Catalan
Sacramento CA
Wanderlust      
   
Benedetto Colagiovanni
Clayton MO
Night Blossoms    
  
Isak Gaines
Brooklyn NY
In The Heart of the Earth       

Stella G. Gitelman Willoughby
Cambridge MA
Structurae Modorum    

Joseph Foster Harkins
Cincinnati OH
Piano Sonatina No. 2  

Maria Kaoutzani
Chicago IL
jaune doré      
  
Kyle Krause
Marengo IL
Chrysalism      
   
Mikaela Rose
Nashville TN
Weather String Quartet: Transformation of a Caterpillar      
   
Pablo Rubin-Jurado
New York NY
Bats Hunting

Marat Sanatullov
Seward NE
Acts of Remembrance    
  
Avik Sarkar
Chestnut Hill MA
From Voices      
   
Austin C. Smith
Brighton MA
String Quartet No. 2          

Joseph Sowa
Simsbury CT
An Integrity of Clouds          

Zachariah Thomas
Bowling Green OH
Life Words amid corruption

*** 

We encourage finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on social media, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog.

Here is a sample announcement:

"Great News! I've just been selected as a finalist in the (blank) division of The American Prize national non-profit competitions in the performing arts. Here's the link: (copy link here). The American Prize will be announcing winners in my division soon. You can learn more about this prestigious national competition here: www.theamericanprize.org or follow the news on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-American-Prize-celebrating-American-excellence-in-the-arts/214320622728 or Twitter: https://twitter.com/americanprize"

Please feel free to modify or expand this announcement to suit your needs.

Congratulations to all finalists.

The American PrizeNational Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the winners and runners-up of The American Prize in Conducting, 2018-19, in the opera divisions. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

QUICKNOTES: Although The American Prize does not usually provide written evaluations to semi-finalists, some semi-finalist composers will receive in their certificate packets short comments, suggestions or overall impressions made during the judging. We hope they will prove valuable. All finalists receive written evaluations from a member of The American Prize judging panel.

REMINDER: Because of many requests from artists with late spring and early summer performances, The American Prize 2019-20 will accept applications from CLASSICAL VOCALISTS, PIANISTS, CHAMBER ENSEMBLES and INSTRUMENTAL SOLOISTS postmarked or emailed by the new extended deadline date of Monday, July 1, 2019. Applications from COMPOSERS, CONDUCTORS, STAGE DIRECTORS, CONDUCTED ENSEMBLES, ARTS MARKETERS and in the performance of American Music (BACON AWARD) will be accepted until Monday, August 5, 2019. (Please note that although the dates on the application forms may not be changed, rest assured that your materials will be accepted if sent by the new deadline dates in the respective contest areas.)

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com


The American Prize in Conducting—opera (professional division), 2018-19

The American Prize winner:
Joshua Horsch
Pensacola Opera/Penascola Symphony
Pensacola FL
Cipullo: Glory Denied  

Joshua Horsch

American conductor Joshua Horsch is an extremely versatile musician working in both the operatic and symphonic repertoire.  Recently named the winner of the American Prize in Opera Conducting, Joshua’s recent and upcoming conducting engagements include appearances with Michigan Opera Theatre, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Orlando, Mobile Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Tri-Cities Opera, Opera Steamboat, and Pensacola Opera.  With a diverse repertoire of over forty operas and a broad spectrum of orchestral and choral works, Joshua has recently held positions as a conductor/coach/chorus master on the music staff of Florida Grand Opera, North Carolina Opera, Opera Saratoga, Pensacola Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Columbus, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, the Newport Music Festival, Seagle Music Colony, CU New Opera Workshop, and the Colorado Music Festival.  Joshua’s guest and workshop conducting includes work with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Omaha Symphony, the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Filharmonia de Chihuahua, the Lyatoshinsky Chamber Orchestra, the Colorado New Music Ensemble, the Boston Opera Collaborative, and the Boulder Bach Festival.  Joshua studied conducting and piano at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Pennsylvania State University, and Ithaca College.



2nd Place:
Isaac Selya
Queen City Opera
Cincinnati OH 
Don Giovanni

Isaac Selya

A musician of remarkable versatility, Isaac Selya is a conductor, pianist, vocal coach, cellist, and entrepreneur. In recognition of his work as Founder and Artistic Director of Queen City Opera, he was featured in Musical America as a Spotlight Artist. He holds a Doctorate with specialization in Mozart’s operas, and has conducted all of Mozart’s German-language operas. At the Glimmerglass festival, he coached and conducted the first-ever reading of the revised version of Philip Glass’s Appomattox, with the composer present.

Equally at home in symphonic repertoire, Isaac’s guest conducting credits include the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Xiamen Philharmonic, the Dayton Philharmonic, the National Symphony of Guatemala, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and the Chelsea Symphony.

Committed to ensuring that musical education is accessible to all, Isaac teaches cello and conducts orchestras at the MYCincinnati Youth Orchestra, a free, El Sistema inspired program.
He has two cats, named Tosca and Aida.
 


The American Prize in Conducting—opera (college/university division), 2018-19

The American Prize winner:
Michael W. Moore
Bob Jones University
Greenville SC 
Lucia Di Lammermoor

Michael W. Moore

Conductor Michael W. Moore is in his sixth season at the helm of the Bob Jones University Symphony Orchestra in Greenville, SC, where he serves as the Chair of the Division of Music and teaches conducting and music education courses. Moore has garnered praise for his “clear and spirited” conducting and the “polished sound” he elicits from the student musicians of the “sensational” BJUSO. “Always clear, always expressive… leading and following at the same time with the kind of coordination that is the sine qua non of good opera conducting” (Steven White, Metropolitan Opera).


2nd Place: 
Chad Hutchinson
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison WI 
La Boheme

Chad Hutchinson

Chad Hutchinson is the Interim Director of Orchestras, Assistant Professor of Conducting and Conductor of University Opera at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He conducts the Symphony Orchestra in 5 concerts annually, leads University Opera productions and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting courses. 

Prior to his time in Madison, Dr. Hutchinson was the Assistant Conductor for the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestras.  As comfortable in the pit as on the stage, he has recently led productions at the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Morningside College.

Committed to education, Dr. Hutchinson taught orchestra in the public schools for nine years in Sioux Falls, SD and Williamsville, NY.  He later taught collegiately at Northwestern College(IA) and was the Coordinator/Music Director of the Siouxland Youth Orchestras in Sioux City, Iowa.  He holds conducting degrees from the University of Minnesota and Bowling Green State University and a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Morningside College(IA).  


*** 
Congratulations!

The American PrizeNational Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up and honorable mentions of The American Prize in Composition, 2018-19, in the band/wind ensemble division. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

QUICKNOTES: Although The American Prize does not usually provide written evaluations to semi-finalists, some semi-finalist composers will receive in their certificate packets short comments, suggestions or overall impressions made during the judging. We hope they will prove valuable. All finalists receive written evaluations from a member of The American Prize judging panel.

REMINDER: Because of many requests from artists with late spring and early summer performances, The American Prize 2019-20 will accept applications from CLASSICAL VOCALISTS, PIANISTS, CHAMBER ENSEMBLES and INSTRUMENTAL SOLOISTS postmarked or emailed by the new extended deadline date of Monday, July 1, 2019. Applications from COMPOSERS, CONDUCTORS, STAGE DIRECTORS, CONDUCTED ENSEMBLES, ARTS MARKETERS and in the performance of American Music (BACON AWARD) will be accepted until Monday, August 5, 2019. (Please note that although the dates on the application forms may not be changed, rest assured that your materials will be accepted if sent by the new deadline dates in the respective contest areas.)

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com


The American Prize in Composition—Band/Wind Ensemble (professional division), 2018-19

The American Prize winner:
Ted King-Smith
Mission KS
Between Glimpses of Blue 

Ted King-Smith

Ted King-Smith is a composer, educator, and saxophonist based in Kansas City, Missouri. As a composer he is interested in the combination of acoustic and electronic forces in music, and emphasizes virtuosity and improvisation in his works. Recent recognition for his music has come from I Care if You Listen and BMI. Ted’s music has been featured at numerous conferences and festivals as well as Late Night at National Sawdust, and WFMT and WKCR radio stations.  He holds degrees from the Hartt School of Music, Washington State University, and the University of Missouri – Kansas City. Ted is currently adjunct faculty at Kansas City Kansas Community College and Johnson County Community College where he teaches courses in music technology and multimedia. He is also active as a performer with the Mnemosyne Quartet; and founded the Kansas City Contemporary Music Festival as part of the NewEar Contemporary Chamber ensemble.


2nd Place: 
Andrew David Perkins
Fenton MI
ASYLUM

Andrew David Perkins

An ASCAP Plus Award recipient and GRAMMY nominated music educator, conductor, and composer, Andrew David Perkins (b.1978) holds a Specialist Certificate in Orchestration from the Berklee College of Music (2012), a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan (2007), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Michigan State University (2002). An active composer, conductor and educator, Perkins is a regular guest clinician nationally and abroad. Mr. Perkins has served as an adjunct professor of Film Scoring at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan, and is currently the Director of Instrumental Music and Music Technology at Fenton High School in Fenton, Michigan. He additionally serves as the Music Director and Conductor of the Fenton Community Orchestra. Mr. Perkins is a member of the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and his music is exclusively published through APOLLO STUDIOS (ASCAP). www.andrewdavidperkins.com


3rd Place: 
Larry Tuttle
Van Nuys CA
Across the Divide

Larry Tuttle

Larry Tuttle writes iconic and optimistic music with a strong sense of story and narrative arc. His music is driven by 21-st Century rhythms and sensibilities, while being rooted with the power of archetypal musical elements.

Larry won the Pittsburgh Symphony’s 2014 Audience of the Future Composition Competition with his work CHORALE AND FIDDLE TUNE.  His concert overture BY STEAM OR BY DREAM won second prize at the 2016 Keuris Composers Competition in The Netherlands, in the category of Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Larry recently completed two new works for wind ensemble on commission from the University of Southern California and a large consortium of universities. He is a composing and performing member of Composers Ensemble of Los Angeles, a workshop group dedicated to the development of new music.  Larry is also a renowned master of the Chapman Stick.  You can find out more about his music at www.larrytuttle.com.


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Greg Danner
Cookeville TN
Euphonium Concerto   

Greg Danner

Greg Danner is Professor of Music at Tennessee Technological University. Born in St. Louis, Missouri (1958) he received the B.A. from Southeast Missouri State University, the M.M. from the Eastman School of Music, and the Ph.D. from Washington University. Danner’s awards include the College Band Directors National Association Music for Young Band Prize, vocal category and grand prize in the Delius Society Composition Contest, first prize in the Robert Avalon International Composers Competition, and first prize in the Taghkanic Chorale Composers Competition. Danner has also received both the Louisiana Music Teachers Association and Kentucky Music Teachers Association Composer Commission Awards. He is a three-time winner in the International Composers Guild Composition Contest, including the Grand Prize in 2010. Danner has received annual ASCAP awards for composition since 1989.  Recent commissions include works for the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America, the American School Band Directors Association, and the Trifecta Trio. www.gregdanner.com


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Gregory Fritze 
Daytona Beach Shores FL 
Continental Concerto

Gregory Fritze

Gregory Fritze is a prize-winning composer and Fulbright Scholar. He has written over eighty compositions for orchestra, band, chamber ensembles and soloists.  He won over sixty composition awards including First Prize in 2017 WASBE (World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles) Composition Contest, First Prize Winner in Concurso Tenerife, Spain and others. Several professional ensembles have commissioned and played his music including the Rhode Island Philharmonic, The Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, The Banda Municipal of Madrid, and others. His music is published by several publishers in the US, South America and Europe and recorded on Albany Records, MSR Classics, Crystal Records, Mark Records and others. He has been a guest lecturer at many universities and music festivals in the United States, Canada, Japan, South America and Europe. He taught at Berklee College of Music was Professor and Chair of Composition from 1979 to 2016. He has Composition degrees from the Boston Conservatory and Indiana University.


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Christopher Lowry
Antioch TN
Bicentennial Variations  

Christopher Lowry

Nashville native Christopher Lowry is emerging as one of the leading violists and most performed composers of his generation. Winner of the 2017 Sousa/ABA/Ostwald Competition and two-time winner of the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, Lowry has won prizes in the Vox Novus Call for Scores "Celebrating 200 Years with the West Point Band" (2017), The American Prize in Composition (Band Division, 2017; Orchestral and Chamber Divisions, 2016), 2016 Oklahoma Youth Winds Composition Competition, 2016 Salford International Composers Contest, 2016 Alabama Symphony Orchestra Call for Scores, 2016 BandWidth Music Festival Call for Scores, 2016 Missouri Composers Orchestra Project Composition Competition, 2016 Ablaze Orchestral Masters Call for Scores, NAfME Composition Competition (2015, 2012), Frank Van Der Stucken Composition Award (2015), Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra Composition Competition (2015), and the Anton Stadler International Basset Clarinet Composition Competition (2010), among others. He is also a two-time winner of the World Projects Composition Competition, winning in 2015 with Tranquillo for Orchestra (premiered in Carnegie Hall, June 2016) and in 2016 with Calm After - Chorale-Fanfare for Orchestra (to be premiered June 2017, Walt Disney Concert Hall). His music has been recorded by the Brno Philharmonic (Czech Republic) and performed by the Nashville Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Imperial Symphony, Nashville Philharmonic, Louisiana State University Symphony, Vanderbilt Wind Symphony, Central Band of the Royal Air Force, West Point Band, Baylor University Wind Ensemble. “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band Chamber Ensemble, and many others. Lowry holds a DMA and Master’s Degree from LSU and a Bachelor’s Degree from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music.



The American Prize in Composition—Band/Wind Ensemble (student division), 2018-19

The American Prize Winner:
Celka Ojakangas
Los Angeles CA
Bonehead Fizzix 

Celka Ojakangas

Celebrated for her music's charm and wit, Celka Ojakangas (b. 1992) is an award-winning Los Angeles-based composer who is unafraid to compose music that is both accessible and "out of the box." Her compositions have been performed and commissioned by many artists including USC Thornton’s Wind Ensemble, yMusic, and the Portland State University Opera. Celka is the winner of USC’s 2017 New Music for Wind Ensemble Contest, the honorable mention recipient of IAWM's 2018 Alex Shapiro prize, and a finalist for the Morton Gould Young Composer’s Award in the years 2016-2019. She is also a grantee of Opera America's 2019 Discovery Grants for Woman Composers. Celka is presently pursuing her doctorate at the University of Southern California, studying under Ted Hearne. Current and former mentors include Sean Friar, Frank Ticheli, Mara Gibson and Carlyle Sharpe.


2nd Place:
Keith Allegretti
Austin TX
Petrichor   

Keith Allegretti

A native of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Keith Allegretti is a composer and pianist who enjoys working comfortably in many genres, including chamber, orchestral, vocal, and electronic music, and even musical theater. His music has been performed in Santa Fe, Houston, Berlin, Ann Arbor, New York and elsewhere by professional and amateur ensembles, including Santa Fe New Music, Quartetto Indaco, the Rice University Chorale, the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Circuit Bridges, the Santa Fe Community Orchestra, the American Creators Ensemble, and First Readings Project. He holds degrees in composition from Rice University and the University of Michigan.


3rd Place: 
Marat Sanatullov
Seward NE
Through my eyes: One immigrant's story  

Marat Sanatullov

Marat Sanatullov (b. 1970) began his formal study of music at age 6 and graduated with honors from Yaroslavl Music College as a violin performer and teacher in his native Russia. After studying literature in France and coming to America in 1998, he completed a Ph.D. in language education and taught. As a composer, he completed a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts (May 2018) in Composition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), studying with Tyler White, Eric Richards, Tom Larson and Greg Simon. Inspired by his native Eurasian roots, different styles and mediums, Sanatullov’s music has been performed in high schools and universities throughout the United States. It received the First Prize in the 2015 Third Millennium Ensemble composers’ competition and the 2018 graduate Vreeland Award in Music at UNL. Sanatullov believes in the power of music, education, diversity, democracy and peace between nations and peoples.



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Congratulations!

The American PrizeNational Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, chief judge, is honored to announce the winners, runners-up and honorable mentions of The American Prize in Composition, 2018-19, in the student choral division. Congratulations!

Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.

QUICKNOTES: Although The American Prize does not usually provide written evaluations to semi-finalists, some semi-finalist composers will receive in their certificate packets short comments, suggestions or overall impressions made during the judging. We hope they will prove valuable. All finalists receive written evaluations from a member of The American Prize judging panel.

REMINDER: Because of many requests from artists with late spring and early summer performances, The American Prize 2019-20 will accept applications from CLASSICAL VOCALISTS, PIANISTS, CHAMBER ENSEMBLES and INSTRUMENTAL SOLOISTS postmarked or emailed by the new extended deadline date of
Monday, July 1, 2019. Applications from COMPOSERS, CONDUCTORS, STAGE DIRECTORS, CONDUCTED ENSEMBLES, ARTS MARKETERS and in the performance of American Music (BACON AWARD) will be accepted until  
Monday, August 5, 2019. (Please note that although the dates on the application forms may not be changed, rest assured that your materials will be accepted if sent by the new deadline dates in the respective contest areas.)

Please make us aware of any misprints: theamericanprize@gmail.com


The American Prize in Composition—choral music (student division), 2018-19

The American Prize winner:
Alex Berko
Solon OH 
We Listen; Forgiven Tears 

Alex Berko

Fascinated by the art of story telling, composer/pianist Alex Berko often writes music that combines cinematic elements with a uniquely and widely influenced harmonic pallet, containing a strong emotional narrative. Berko (b. 1995) is an American composer, pianist, and arranger from Cleveland, Ohio whose music has been performed in Asia, Canada, and throughout the United States. He has received performances by The Crossing, NOTUS Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, The Cathedral Choral Society, Cape Symphony Orchestra, Del Sol String Quartet, among many others, and has received recognition from ASCAP/SCI, ACDA (Raymond Brock Memorial Prize), the Cleveland Institute of Music, and more. Berko currently attends Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, pursuing a BM in composition with an outside concentration in piano and entrepreneurship. Primary teachers include David Dzubay, Claude Baker, Keith Fitch, Aaron Travers, Don Freund (composition) and Jean-Louis Haguenauer, Edmund Battersby, and Sandra Shapiro (piano). For more information, visit www.alexberko.com.
 

2nd Place: 
Jacob Beranek
Oconomowoc MI
Our Rhyme 

Jacob Beranek

Jacob Beranek (b. 1998) is a Wisconsin-born composer and pianist. He has been named national winner in several competitions, including the Edwin Fissinger Choral Composition Prize, Steven Stucky Young Composers Competition, NFMC Junior Composers Competition, and Project 21 Prize for Music Composition. Jacob currently serves as Composer-in-Residence with the Midsummer’s Music Festival (Door County, WI) and will return for a second year of residency in 2018. He studied at the 2016 Curtis Institute of Music Young Artist Summer Program and regularly attended the Junior Composers Institute in Minneapolis (2012-15). In addition to composing, Jacob is a serious pianist and avid devotee of Czech music due to his heritage. He graduated with honors from University Lake School in Hartland, WI, and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. You can learn more about Jacob and his musical endeavors at www.beranekmusic.com.


3rd Place: 
Chung Hon Michael Cheng
Sugar Land TX
Fantasia ricercata  

Chung Hon Michael Cheng

Hong Kong-born Chung Hon Michael Cheng began studying the piano at age four and composing around age six. An undergraduate at Harvard, he continued pursuing these passions when he came to the United States in 2006 and has studied composition with Dr. Ann Witherspoon, Prof. Chaya Czernowin, and Dr. Robert Kyr, theory with Dr. Richard Beaudoin, and counterpoint with Prof. Christopher Hasty.

Cheng was awarded the Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) in Music Composition with Distinction in 2013 and attained a perfect score on the Grade 8 Theory Examination of the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM) in 2011. He was declared the national winner of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Composition Competition in 2012 and the national runner-up of the same in 2011 and 2014. In 2016, he was awarded the Hugh F. MacColl Prize in Music Composition by Harvard’s Department of Music.


Finalist Honorable Mention:
Marat Sanatullov
Seward NE
Our Father; Alleluia; Alleluia moderna; I know a place…

Marat Sanatullov

Marat Sanatullov (b. 1970) began his formal study of music at age 6 and graduated with honors from Yaroslavl Music College as a violin performer and teacher in his native Russia. After studying literature in France and coming to America in 1998, he completed a Ph.D. in language education and taught. As a composer, he completed a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts (May 2018) in Composition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), studying with Tyler White (main teacher), Eric Richards, Tom Larson and Greg Simon. Inspired by his native Eurasian roots, different styles and mediums, Sanatullov’s music has been performed in high schools and universities throughout the United States. It received the First Prize in the 2015 Third Millennium Ensemble composers’ competition and the 2018 graduate Vreeland Award in Music at UNL. Sanatullov believes in the power of music, education and peace between nations and peoples. 



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Congratulations!